Fran�ois-Joseph Gossec
is generally considered as a French composer, though he was born in Walloon,
which was then a part of France, but is now Belgium. He served
as a choirboy in Antwerp Cathedral, before moving to Paris at the age of 17. He
remained in France for the rest of his life, working with aristocratic patronage
before the French revolution, and composing revolutionary hymns for the R�publique
afterwards.
He wrote chamber music, some symphonies, and operas for the Op�ra Comique
and for the Com�die Italienne.