 A version with orchestration for normal opera house-sized forces was given at the Paris Opéra in May 1917 and received more than forty performances in Paris thereafter.From 1903 to 1921, Fauré regularly wrote music criticism for "Le Figaro", a role in which he was not at ease.Nectoux writes that Fauré's natural kindness and broad-mindedness predisposed him to emphasise the positive aspects of a work.