Il Caravaggio is an ensemble founded and conducted by Camille Delaforge, bringing together a new generation of musicians playing period instruments; the ensemble will celebrate it's tenth anniversary in 2027. They are joining Alpha Classics for several recording projects, starting with this programme centred on three sacred works by Purcell (The Witch of Endor), Ferrandini (Il Pianto di Maria) and Charpentier (Le Reniement de Saint-Pierre): 'I was 17, I'd just started playing the harpsichord and I discovered the final chorus of Le Reniement de Saint-Pierre. A world of profound humanity opened up before me. I did not yet understand the codes of this music, but I already I sensed that a key was turning, unlocking the door to an intensely emotional space,' says Camille Delaforge. She continues: these works 'all depict a similar spiritual journey; that of a person faced with abandonment: Mary's grief, Peter's remorse and Saul's terror in the face of the invisible in Purcell" With leading singers, Camille Delaforge and Il Caravaggio perform these sacred stories with great passion; stories that have stood the test of time and still move us today. With leading singers, Camille Delaforge and Il Caravaggio perform these sacred stories with great passion; stories that have stood the test of time and still move us today.
It is now twenty years ago that Henri Ledroit left us. He had been one of the first artists to have faith in the grand enterprise that Ricercar launched in 1980; the recordings that we then took such great delight in making now enshrine priceless memories of him and his art. Henri Ledroit personified the both the joy of singing and the intelligent delivery of the text; these qualities, combined with his richly warm and yet so delicate and fragile voice, created his magic. This recording -- our 2009 catalogue is included with it -- is devoted in the main to repertoire that is indeed seldom performed: the cantatas and airs de cour by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. We are now proud to present it for re-release, accompanied by an introductory text by Catherine Cessac. The recording has been completed with several sacred compositions that were amongst Henri Ledroit's first recordings. This compilation also marks the re-release of the complete recordings made by this wonderful musician. This recording offers the listener the pleasure of rediscovering the unique moments of emotion that Henri Ledroit shared with such generosity with all who had the pleasure of hearing him. These same emotions are still alive today: those that he brought to us and those that we experienced as we listened to him.
Motets Pour Le Grand Dauphin - Charpentier / Desenclos, Pierre Robert Ensemble
Alpha
CD
$8.99Mar 10, 2009
As eldest son of Louis XIV, Louis of France, nicknamed le Grand Dauphin, was marked out to become king of France at his father's death. He was therefore given the education of a monarch, as this would have been conceived in the 17th century: running the affairs of the kingdom required knowledge of diplomatic and commercial relations, but also the acquisition of the external manifestations the Sun King had resorted to so skilfully, subjecting architecture, drama, painting and music to the requirements of his government. Just like his father, the Dauphin surrounded himself with chosen personalities, amongst whom the composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Removed from an official position at court by the talent and the intrigues of Lully, he was not allowed to write for the opera, for which the "Surintendant de la musique" had obtained a royal privilege. He therefore concentrated his creative activity primarily on sacred music, giving it the "Italian style" expressivity he had learned in Rome, where he had studied with Carrissimi. This religious lyricism deploys itself in the motets composed for Monseigneur's religious services. The later would remain Dauphin for eternity since he died in 1711, four years before his father.
Charpentier: Acteon / Stubbs, Sheehan, Wakim, Boston Early Music
CPO
CD
$18.99Nov 16, 2010
Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Actéon is a pastorale or miniature opera based on Greek mythology. Staged in 1684, the story is about the hunter Actaeon who peeks at the bathing goddess Diana, turned into a red deer, pursued and killed by his own hounds. The music is continuously imaginative with rhythmic choral parts, elegant solos and dramatic flourishes.
Charpentier: Les Plaisirs de Versailles, Les Arts Florissants / Boston Early Music Festival
CPO
CD
$18.99Aug 02, 2019
Charpentier & BEMF Again at their Best. In 2015 our most recent Charpentier recording to date, La Descente d’Orphee aux Enfers with young soloists and the Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble, received the Grammy Award for the “Best Opera Production” of the preceding year and Gramophone’s “Editor’s Choice.” Our new album featuring two “mini-operas” by Charpentier again offers enthralling performances of this court music of charming dance character and elegance. In contrast to Charpentier’s other operas, Les Plaisirs de Versailles is directly associated with Louis XIV. The title of the manuscript score registers very clearly and unmistakably what is involved in this composition, and its equation of the “plaisirs,” the “pleasures,” with the king’s residence not only serves to reveal the subject but also the context: on the one hand, the work describes the pleasures that could be experienced in the royal palace; on the other hand, it itself is supposed to be one of these pleasures. Once again a beautiful and top-quality work from opera history is made available to listeners of the twenty-first century: “An important addition to the Charpentier discography” (Toccata).
Charpentier: Te Deum / Tubery, Choer de Chambre de Namur, La Fenice
Ricercar
CD
$11.99Mar 27, 2020
The works presented on this release place us firmly in the midst of the events and ceremonies of 17th century France, the period known as the Grand Siècle. That period’s unusually splendid pomp and ceremony can be seen in the famous Te Deum, whilst the devotion and ritual suitable for a solemn feast day are evident in the Messe pour plusieurs instruments au lieu des orgues. The conjunction of these two pieces casts a spotlight on Charpentier’s musical language, whose archaic and modern style of writing and vocal and instrumental colors were unique in the 17th century.
After the success of the Red, Yellow, Blue and Pink collections (a total of 56 reissues), which brought the pearls from the Baroque catalogues of the house labels back into the spotlight, here are fourteen new titles offering a chance to rediscover more Baroque treasures and rarities. Like the last series, this fifth installment also opens up to the Classical (Mozart) or Renaissance (Dufay) repertories - recordings that are an integral part of Alpha's identity and history. This series' reissues are performed by the finest musicians in the field; most of these recordings received one or more awards on their first release. The albums come with proper booklets, including notes in three languages (French, English, German). Photographers from many different backgrounds illustrate the covers of the series with their works: this time the main theme is the color white. The present album features Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Vespers for Saint Louis, performed by Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and Olivier Schneebeli.
"[A] glorious programme of petits motets for Lent, . . . [where] each piece is a tender, introspective contribution to the Passion story.
"Ensemble Pierre Robert’s resonant textures and skilful dramatic timing make these heartfelt performances spring to life . . . full of beautifully emotive polyphony.
"The Alpha label deserves its plaudits for enterprising repertoire, lavish attention to artwork, and beautifully recorded sound."
Charpentier: Orphee aux enfers / Meunier, Vox Luminis, A Nocte Temporis
Alpha
CD
$20.99Jan 10, 2020
The Orpheus myth was as important for the birth of opera in France as it had been in Italy. In 1684, Charpentier composed a work for three voices, Orphée descendant aux Enfers. With this piece, remarkable for its style and concision, he showed how well he had assimilated Carissimi’s art. It is a dramatic scene, similar to the ‘sacred histories’ of the Roman master. The text, by an unknown author, narrates Orpheus’ quest for his beloved in the Underworld. The hero’s haute-contre gives him an elegiac timbre – this was the vocal register in which Charpentier, himself a singer, excelled. In 1687 he created his second illustration of the myth, La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers. In its two acts can be discerned the outline of a possible complete opera – the manuscript has reached us shorn of the third act in which Orpheus would presumably have lost Eurydice before being devoured by the Maenads. While La Descente d’Orphée has already been recorded several times, the Orphée of 1684 is a rarity and a magnificent discovery. In these two roles that might have been written for him, Reinoud van Mechelen is at the peak of his artistry, while his ensemble A Nocte Temporis and Lionel Meunier’s group Vox Luminis blend in perfect symbiosis.
Following the success of 10 Famous Cathedral Organs, this release Includes more Famous Cathedral organs with splendid sound. The Cathedrals are Westminster, Winchester, Salisbury, Hereford, Wells, Liverpool Anglican, St. Giles Edinburgh, Coventry and also King's College Chapel. Westminster Abbey, York Minster.
The rare biblical opera 'David and Jonathas' is like 'Médée', one of the major works of the French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The opera has been in the repertoire of Les Arts Florissants since 1988 and was first presented in a stage production by William Christie at the Aix-en-Provence Festival 2012. This DVD release is a special event for all Baroque music lovers.
Written a year after the death of Lully, this lyric tragedy allows Charpentier to develop beyond the religious dimension, a story of male friendship and forbidden love between David and Jonathas. An excellent cast gathered around William Christie and Les Arts Florissants brings young singers to the title roles: Pascal Charbonneau, a tenor and a former student of the European Academy of Music, sings David. The role of Jonathas is given to a woman: soprano Ana Quintans.
The staging by Andreas Homoki (Director of the Zurich Opera since summer 2012) focuses on the psychological aspect of this forbidden love story, giving a moving reading of the drama.
Direction: Andreas Homoki Scenography: Paul Zoller Costumes: Gideon Davey Lighting: Franck Evin
R E V I E W: 3721880.az_CHARPENTIER_David_Jonathas_William.html
Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s lack of official affiliation with the French court’s rather formal musical establishment under Jean-Baptiste Lully had two effects, as I noted in my other review this issue. First, he was free to do other things, and since Lully was not especially interested in sacred music, Charpentier was pretty much left on his own to develop music in the church, which he did in a grand style. As a sideline, he was also freed from the inevitable debate that arose between adherents of the French and Italian styles, for having been trained in Italy, he felt free to dip in and out of both with some alacrity. Second, as someone not under Lully’s sway, his desire to compose for the stage was rather curtailed, since the tragédie lyrique was not something he was able to compose officially. Not until 1693 did his only work in this genre, Medée, come to the stage, notably a number of years after Lully’s death and the implosion of his musical dynasty. In the meantime, he dabbled in the form with a series of Jesuit works for the Collège de Louis-le-Grand, of which David et Jonathas from 1688 was the most “operatic” (though of course he was able to get a number of pastorals and ballets performed at the Opéra). Consisting of the usual five acts and prologue, he altered the form somewhat, interspersing the Divertissement at the beginning and end of each act instead of placing it all in a bunch at the end. Otherwise, the flow of the work pretty much follows that of the normal secular works composed by Lully and others.
Insofar as the plot goes, this seems to have been a gloss on a play by Etienne Chamillart, performed at the same time, which fleshes out the story of the friendship of David and Jonathan. In a prologue, the seer (here called somewhat ironically La Pythonesse instead of the Witch of Endor) foretells Saul’s defeat through the shade of the prophet Samuel. Act One opens with the Philistines, here seemingly dressed in a motley sartorial concoction of djelabas, working clothes with suspenders, and bright red fezzes, cheering on David (sung here by high tenor Paul Charbonneau), while their King, Achis (sung with a resonant bass by Frédéric Caton, dressed like a Grand Mufti), decides to negotiate a truce with Saul (sung in an equally expressive and resonant bass by Neal Davies, dressed in a weskit and working-class pants). This annoys the general of the Philistine army, Joabel (sung in a lighter tenor by Kre?imir ?picer, who is somehow dressed in a strange turban and has a stringy long goatee), who then plots to destroy David. In the meantime, David meets with his friend Jonathas (sung in a pants role by soprano Ana Quintans, who sports a strange intellectual look replete with dark-rimmed glasses). In the Third Act, Saul’s jealousy explodes, and when Achis won’t execute David and Jonathas also refuses, he prepares to abrogate the truce with the Philistines. Jonathas is gravely wounded in the battle that follows, and although filled with remorse, Saul still attempts to kill David, even though mortally wounded himself. When Jonathas dies in David’s arms, David is overcome with despair, and even the proclamation by Achis that David is now the King of Israel fails to cheer him up.
As far as plots for operas go, this one is probably a step up from the usual opera seria or French classical plot of the time, for it contains a great deal of pathos and character development. If there is a moral to the story, it seems rather dispersed among the various turns of the plot. The music is set in a through-composed manner, with recitative and aria flowing easily in and out of each other, and Charpentier’s choice of limiting the dances to the beginnings and ends of each act allows for the plot to develop more smoothly.
Insofar as the music goes, the singing is first-rate and, as expected, William Christie’s venerable Arts Florissants ensemble is virtually flawless in their execution of Charpentier’s rich score. If this was a disc, I would purchase it in an instant. I found it every bit as good if not better than his release back in 1998 on Harmonia Mundi (which was re-released just this past year), and I like it much better than the old Erato recording with Opera Lyon. Unfortunately, it is not, and the reason is the staging. The set is a movable wooden box, with basically a large wood picnic table and chairs for props. The walls are movable, including an awkward moment in the final triumphal chorus scene at the end where the chorus is crowded together as the walls hem them in, looking very much at one moment like the interior of a cattle car. The costumes are also bizarre. The Israelites look very much like refugees from some sort of Russian steppe, sometimes with Hasidic hats, while the Philistines are a mismatched bunch of pseudo-Turkish peasants, looking for all the world like they desperately need both shaves and baths. The principals are not immune to this sartorial faux pas, for Jonathas looks like a bit of a nerd and David a working-class bloke straight from a factory. Even their “friendship” is supposed to heighten the homoerotic story, but Quintans doesn’t really act like a guy, just someone who has cross-dressed. Finally, Neal Davies has been directed to play Saul mostly on his knees, grimacing ferociously into the camera. Even the Pythoness and her hoard of priestesses look like they stepped right out of a rural diner in their checked gingham dresses. Of course, this has nothing to do with Charpentier or his dramatic music, or even the terrific musicality of the vocalists. But for visuals, this is yet another bizarre attempt to “update” the setting by doing something artistically unfathomable. Too bad; the artistry of the performers deserves better.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, with his Messe a quatre choeurs, delivers a unique work that reflects a rare encounter between French tradition and the splendor of Roman Baroque. Inspired by the grand polychoral works of Gabrieli and Benevoli whom he listened to attentively during his stay in Italy he unfolds a choral dialogue of exceptional breadth. Four vocal and instrumental ensembles face each other, respond, and intertwine in a play of echoes and timbres that transcends the liturgical space. Jean-Baptiste Nicolas brings an exalted momentum to this masterpiece of sacred music, combining stylistic precision with interpretative finesse.
While the famous Te Deum secured Charpentier's place in history, it was undoubtedly his Messe de Minuit that most contributed to his renown. True to Charpentier's genius, this mass is a perfect synthesis of the secular and the sacred, popular melodies and refined composition, offering a piece of remarkable originality and joy. These melodies, familiar to all, peasants and gentlemen alike, are enriched by orchestral parts and interwoven with subtle counterpoint and renewed harmony. The pleasure of music is thus offered to everyone: to recognise a familiar tune, or to grasp it's extraordinary arrangement. Under the direction of Gaetan Jarry, the Marguerite Louise ensemble sublimates these Latin oratorios and French pastorals, infusing the Christmas celebration with unparalleled fervour!
![CHARPENTIER, G.: Louise [Opera] (Vallin) (1935)](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/169364.jpg?v=1786623657&width=400)
