Benjamin Godard was regarded as one of the most promising young composers in France but, standing firm against the 'Wagner fever' of his contemporaries, his music fell out of favor after his untimely death. Most of his piano works are character pieces such as the descriptions of water in Sur la Mer. This is a feature shared by the Schumann-like fairies and sprites of the Sonate Fantastique, contrasting with the powerful virtuoso abstraction of the Second Sonata.