Desenclos was a self-described "romantic" whose music is highly expressive and atmospheric and rooted in rigorous compositional technique.
To support his large family (he was one of ten children), Desenclos had to renounce continuing his general studies and work as an industrial designer in the textile industry until the age of 20, but in 1929, he entered the Conservatory in Roubaix, France, to study piano.
He won the Prix de Rome in 1942, the year in which he co-wrote (with André Theurer) the music to the film The Blue Veil.
Foison's mass was given its "American premiere" on 18 May 2001 in a performance by the Capitol Hill Chorale; soon after, the piece was discovered to be a note-for-note duplicate of Desenclos's.
[2][3] The oeuvre of Alfred Desenclos, most of which was little-known outside the world of liturgic music during his lifetime, has enjoyed a strong revival in the concert hall and the recording studio over the last two decades, his 'Quatuor de saxophones' in particular establishing itself in the 20th century chamber music repertoire.