François I’s decision to move his court to the Valley of the Loire coincided with a period of French architecture in which the Italian Renaissance style was notably influential, often combined with the existing Gothic, resulting in the preponderance of imposing Chateaux in the region. The music accompanying this tour of the Loire is all by Fryderyk Chopin. Born in Poland of a Polish mother and émigré French father, Chopin settled in Paris and generally spent the summer months in the Black Valley. The music chosen here is taken from his many Waltzes, a popular dance that he elevated from the ball-room to the concert salon.