In 1852 Gounod had become conductor of the Orphéon Choral Society in Paris, for which he wrote a number of choral works, including two masses. From 1870 he spent five years in London, formed a choir to which he gave his name (and which later became the Royal Choral Society), and devoted himself almost entirely to the writing of oratorios. Gallia, a lamentation for solo soprano, chorus, and orchestra, inspired by the French military defeat of 1870, was first performed in 1871 and was followed by the oratorios La Rédemption and Mors et Vita (Life and Death) in 1882 and 1885. He was made a grand officier of the Legion of Honour in 1888.