the leading tone

Charpentier - Alma redemptoris mater, H. 21
Concerto Vocale

Though his family might not have felt the same, we can be glad that Marc-Antoine Charpentier dropped out of law school at age 18 and bolted for Rome; he would go on to become one of the most prolific composers of the French Baroque, especially through his associations with the Duchess of Guise—which allowed him a fighting chance amid an awful lot of Lully—and, later on, the chapel of Louis, Dauphin of France. 

(photo by Francisco Antunes)