A student of Franck in both piano and composition Duparc led a retiring life after the age of 36. It was prior to this time, however, that he completed most, if not all of his compositions. All that is left are 13 songs for he suffered from an acute case of hyperaesthesia (an extreme sensitivity to pain, touch, heat or cold) though he was not insane. His music is filled with emotion and interesting harmonies sometimes built on progressions of ascending fifths and occasionally using the minor third of a major key as the sixth of a distant major key (i.e. Eb major through Gb/F# to A major). Duparc also employed the use of complex vocal lines to convey the depth of sensations and feelings in the text of a song. Duparc's harmonies ranged from broken chords to complex counterpoints; his enormous pathos was a precedent to the development of Faure. ~ Keith Johnson, All Music Guide