Nicolae Bretan (06/04/1887 - 01/12/1968), a Rumanian composer from Nasaud. He occupies a special niche in the history of Western music. In his several operas and prodigious number of art songs, Bretan looked to the essential nature of song itself, and to the capabilities of the human voice in regard to its expressive functions and possibilities. In this sense he can be compared to Gluck, and also, in the directness and "natural" qualities of his musical language, to Mussorgsky.