This is the 12th release in Genuin's "Unheard-Of" series initiated by Michael Schefer. Presented here is the unusual repertoire of Jacques Charpentier who was a friend and pupil of Oliver Messiaen. This album connects ancient Indian raga tradition with modern Western music resulting in a very unique sound.

Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was never as famous as his contemporary Jean-Baptiste Lully. He never was a court composer, and did not get involved in the social or political circles of Versailles. His music was largely unappreciated until its rediscovery in the 1900s. Charpentier’s large output of sacred music, which includes more than 500 works, show his indisputable compositional refinement and prove the talent of this largely unperformed composer. L’Apotheose and Ricercare perform these works for voice, flute, string instrument, and more, drawing out the harmonic and melodic refinement that defines Charpentier’s music.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

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).

Classical Music

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.

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.

Passionate advocates of French music, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas and Les Surprises tackle its intimate and spiritual side with M.-A. Charpentier and S. de Brossard. They share their vision of the Meditations for Lent, a masterpiece for three male voices and basso continuo. Founded in 2010 by Juliette Guignard and Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, the ensemble Les Surprises seeks to convey its passion for the music of the 17th and 18th centuries through varied and original programmes. In borrowing its name from the opéra-ballet by Jean-Philippe Rameau Les Surprises de l’Amour, the group has placed its destiny under the lucky star of this composer, with the aim of exploring operatic music in all its shapes and forms. The work of the ensemble is anchored in a process of musicological and historical research, indeed Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas wishes to highlight scores that have never been released since the 18th century, thanks to music libraries such as Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF) or Bibliothèque de l’Opéra de Paris.

Charpentier, M.-A.: Sacred Music, Vol. 4

Charpentier, M.-A.: Sacred Music, Vol. 3

Classical Music

Classical Music

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.