perform new and existing French works, but also presented the most famous Italian singers. Beginning in 1755, oratorios with French texts were introduced and became popular. The series was soon profitable. In 1762 a well-connected royal functionary, Antoine Dauvergne, forced Royer's widow out of the operation she had run since her husband's death in 1755. Dauvergne and various associates managed the concerts until 1773. The interest of the public was excited by adding a motet competition and by expanding the presentation of instrumental virtuosi beyond violinists to include masters of wind instruments. Although the concerts remained profitable, Dauvergne abandoned the concerts. As a result, the Académie replaced him with Pierre Gaviniès, Simon Le Duc and François Joseph Gossec (1773–1777). From 1777 the Concert Spirituel was directed by Joseph Legros, its last and most brilliant director. Legros, a star singer at the Opera, managed the concerts until they came to an end in 1790 with the French Revolution. He attracted the most famous performers in Europe and renewed the repertoire, eliminating 17th-century grand motets and replacing them with works by Johann Christian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (the Paris Symphony in 1778), Joseph Haydn, whose symphonies were on nearly every program, and others. The final concert took place on 13 May 1790. The 19th century During the Napoleonic era concerts were occasionally held in Paris under the title "Concerts Spirituel", particularly after 1805 as religious feeling revived in France. During the Restoration (1814–1830), the Théâtre-Italien and Académie Royale de Musique gave 6 to 9 Concerts Spirituels per year, but only during Holy Week. They became a regular feature at the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire shortly after it was founded in 1828, and remained so for most of the nineteenth century. They were frequently benefit performances featuring notable soloists - for example, Charles-Valentin Alkan led one of the three Concerts Spirituels in 1828. The 20th century In 1988 Hervé Niquet, a specialist in Baroque music, founded an early-music ensemble called Le Concert Spirituel in order to perform the repertoire of French music composed in the eighteenth century on period instruments. References Sources Entry on Le Concert Spirituel on the Naxos.com website Bibliography Michel Brenet, Les Concerts en France sous l'Ancien Régime, Paris, Fischbacher, 1900, réimprimé à New York, Da Capo Press, 1970. Joann Élart, Musiciens et répertoires de concert en France à la fin de l'Ancien Régime, thèse de doctorat dir. Patrick