Beginning in 1917, young French composers under the influence of Eric Satie and Jean Cocteau began associating with each other: they were searching for an intellectual community and also with the ambition of organising joint concerts and even joint works. Their sense of identify was strengthened by common rejection of the romantic psychologising of contemporary musical aesthetics and principally of the Wagner cult. As a result of a newspaper article, they were nicknamed Les Six (the six, by analogy to the Mighty Five of 19th Century Russia) in 1920 and the name stuck. One of these young Frenchmen was Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) who was also the youngest of the group. Poulenc was encouraged by the others to turn his attention in the twenties to circus and ballet music. Later he was involved in his forging his own brand of neo-classicism, filling his works with humorous mockery and ironic references. In 1935, he rejoined the Catholic church and then wrote a number of ecclesiastical works. The Gloria was written in 1959-60 around the time of Laudes de Saint Antoine de Padoue or Sept répons des ténébres.

The stresses of Gloria in excelsis Deo stubbornly contradict the natural inclination of the words, while the soaring melodies of the soprano soloist provides testimony to Poulenc faith, about whom Michael Tippet said: “he commits himself totally.”

The hugely successful premiere in January 1961 was conducted by Charles Münch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra with soloist Adele Addison.