Recently I have been fascinated by Yann Tiersen (Or more famously known for his work for the soundtrack of
Amélie)... Quite minimalist, no large orchestral type songs, and not too fast paced. Some of the tracks are but a fair few are soothing rather than forceful even if they are slightly faster.
I am binging on
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, which is the soundtrack to what the English world received as
Amélie, as well as another album called
Le Phare. Both have quite a bit of solo piano work inside. I highly recommend to everyone reading this thread.
I love majority of Mendelssohn's work classy, however I cannot remember Songs without Words Op. 19, No. 1.
Who performed it on your CD?
Again, Yann Tiersen, quality stuff so far
EDIT - However, it does have quite a bit of French folk influence, easily identifiable by the use of use of traditional French and European instruments, such as the accordian for various songs.