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Cavalli, Lully et al.: The Royal Wedding of Louis XIV / Dumestre, Le Poème Harmonique, Choir of La Tempête
Château de Versailles Spectacles

Cavalli, Lully et al.: The Royal Wedding of Louis XIV / Dumestre, Le Poème Harmonique, Choir of La Tempête

$20.99

Details

Composer
Various
Artist
Vincent Dumestre, Le Poeme Harmonique
Format
CD
Label
Château de Versailles Spectacles
Released
May 27, 2022
Catalog #
CVS066
UPC
3770011431755

About

The wedding of Louis XIV with the Infanta of Spain, on 9 June 1660, was an exceptional event, sealing the peace between two monarchies that had been opposed for centuries. The 21-year-old King set off on a journey lasting thirteen months to cross and discover his kingdom: 15,000 people and 8,000 horses, 3,200 km in 95 stages, culminating in a wedding in Saint Jean de Luz! The greatest festivities took place during the wedding ceremony, then on the journey of their Majesties, for their solemn entry into Paris and finally for the opera given in the Louvre in honor of the bride and groom! The finest composers contributed to the celebrations: the King’s trumpets opened the concert, while the church galleries hosted Du Mont’s symphony, organ and motets; finally, the most beautiful excerpts from Cavalli’s Xerxes and Lully’s accompanying ballets celebrated the Royal Wedding of Louis XIV through opera. Vincent Dumestre brings to life the musical splendors of the wedding of the century!

Includes:

Jean-Baptiste Lully - Sonneries pour les trompettes du Roi; Entrée pour la Maison de France; Les Espagnols; Les Basques; Motet pour la Paix (Jubilate Deo)

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers - Livre d'Orgue contenant Cent Pièces: Plein jeu du 3e ton & Récit de cromorne du troisième ton

Francesco Cavalli - Magnificat; Xerse: Lasciatemi morire

Juan Hidalgo - Celos aun del aire matan; Dos zagalas venian

REVIEW

“The wedding of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Austria was the event of the century!” trumpets the website material for this disc. The King’s various wars might have been even more important events, but as royal weddings go, the one on 9 June 1660 was certainly a big one, not least politically, which for 17th century royals usually meant dynastically. Maria Theresa was the Infanta of Spain, so the marriage brought peace to monarchies long opposed.

Never mind the title and the recording location. The knot was not actually tied in Versailles. The 21-year old King first went on a year’s royal progress around France to see his new kingdom, and the Infanta of Spain by tradition could not leave her country until she was married. So the borderland of the Basque country was the venue and the celebrations – of marriage and a peace treaty – were held in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, before the new couple progressed through France to Versailles, where yet more celebrations were held.

Music accompanied the royal couple along the way as well. Couperin and Lully tagged along at times, and there was Lully’s now mostly lost Ballet de Toulouse written for one of the stages en route. Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique have assembled here just over an hour’s programme selected from across these extended festivities; the exact works used at any point are often uncertain. Matthieu Franchin’s excellent booklet says that the disc “offers […] a selection of music from among all those that may have accompanied, directly or indirectly, the festivities taking place within the vicinity of this wedding”.

The pieces are arranged in five sections to reflect the ceremonial sequence: Aux portes du temple, Entrée des délégations, Célébration de la paix, Mariage and Réjouissance et ballet des nations. The programme opens with a regal sound of some splendour with trumpets and drums of Lully’s fanfare “Sonneries pour les trompettes du Roi”, and these instruments feature quite often in later parts. Couperin’s austere organ prelude follows, to remind us we are in an ecclesiastical building. Lully’s ballet music offers dances suitable for Spaniards and then Basques, the former with guitars and castanets. Veillot’s “O filii e filiae” launches the celebration of the peace with simple and attractive monophony, first with women’s voices solo and choral, with the men joining later.

Lully’s Jubilate Deo sequence, also known as his “Motet de la Paix”, is one of two larger works on the disc included in their entirety. This excellent motet is known to have been much admired by the King, who commanded several performances. It opens with a fine five-part instrumental prelude (or “symphony”), and the choral writing is at times richer still. The choir Compagnie de la Tempête sound thoroughly idiomatic, as do the vocal soloists, none of whose names I knew but who all have attractive voices and the right style and scale for the era.

Two organ pieces by Nivers and a Sinfonia by Rossi lead the sequence for the Marriage itself, which is dominated by the other extended work on the disc, Cavalli’s Magnificat. Every time I hear an unfamiliar piece by the great Venetian, he sounds in the same league as Monteverdi, and so it is here. There is an impressive range of music within the work, plenty of praise and joy of course, but also a brief but searching Et misericordia (“His mercy continues from generation to generation”). The livelier sections are sung and played with impressive agility.

The final Réjouissance (rejoicing) brings secular song and opera, ending with a contribution from the Spanish side. Hidalgo’s opera was commissioned to celebrate the peace and marriage, and was the first Spanish opera, or possibly the first that survived. It makes a light-hearted and jolly close, of the sort not only royal weddings require. We are not quite eavesdropping on history, as this exact sequence of pieces is acknowledged as speculative. But in its spirit of intelligent and informed reconstruction, it is to be celebrated.

The disc has added to my collection no fewer than six names I had not known, and the music is worth hearing. Perhaps it is not quite, in the end, a sequence greater than the sum of its parts, so that one might listen selectively on subsequent playings of the disc. But the standards of execution under Vincent Dumestre’s direction are very good, justifying the high reputation of Le Poème Harmonique, whose earlier discs have won much praise. The booklet, on which I have drawn much here, is very informative, as it must be for this programme. The sound is atmospheric, doubtless reflecting the acoustic of the Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles, and captures the tang of the colourful old instruments.

--MusicWeb International (Roy Westbrook)

Tracklist 29 tracks

  1. 1 Le temple de la paix Suite: Sonneries pour les trompettes du Roi 02:07
    Track
    1
    Title
    Le temple de la paix Suite: Sonneries pour les trompettes du Roi
    Duration
    02:07
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  2. 2 Prélude [Autre Livre - Grand Livre d'Orgue], OL 46, "Il faut jouer cecy d'un mouvemen fort lent" 02:57
    Track
    2
    Title
    Prélude [Autre Livre - Grand Livre d'Orgue], OL 46, "Il faut jouer cecy d'un mouvemen fort lent"
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Louis Couperin
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  3. 3 L'Hercule amoureux: I. Entree: Le Roi representant la Maison de France 01:36
    Track
    3
    Title
    L'Hercule amoureux: I. Entree: Le Roi representant la Maison de France
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  4. 4 Les folies d'Espagne 01:25
    Track
    4
    Title
    Les folies d'Espagne
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  5. 5 Les Basques 02:18
    Track
    5
    Title
    Les Basques
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  6. 6 O filii e filiae 05:59
    Track
    6
    Title
    O filii e filiae
    Duration
    05:59
    Composer
    Jean Veillot
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  7. 7 Jubilate Deo omnis terra 03:22
    Track
    7
    Title
    Jubilate Deo omnis terra
    Duration
    03:22
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  8. 8 Qui posuit fines nostros pacem 02:48
    Track
    8
    Title
    Qui posuit fines nostros pacem
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  9. 9 Lux orta est justo, et restis corde laetitia 02:29
    Track
    9
    Title
    Lux orta est justo, et restis corde laetitia
    Duration
    02:29
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  10. 10 Taliter non fecit omni nationi 03:28
    Track
    10
    Title
    Taliter non fecit omni nationi
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  11. 11 Jubilate, in conspectu regis 02:34
    Track
    11
    Title
    Jubilate, in conspectu regis
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Jean-Baptiste Lully
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  12. 12 VIII. Plein jeu 01:00
    Track
    12
    Title
    VIII. Plein jeu
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  13. 13 IV. Récit de Cromorne 01:36
    Track
    13
    Title
    IV. Récit de Cromorne
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  14. 14 Il primo libro delle sinfonie e gagliarde: Sinfonia grave a 5 01:40
    Track
    14
    Title
    Il primo libro delle sinfonie e gagliarde: Sinfonia grave a 5
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Salamone Rossi
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  15. 15 Magnificat anima mea 01:24
    Track
    15
    Title
    Magnificat anima mea
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  16. 16 Et exultavit 01:26
    Track
    16
    Title
    Et exultavit
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  17. 17 Quia respexit 01:01
    Track
    17
    Title
    Quia respexit
    Duration
    01:01
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  18. 18 Omnes generationes 01:05
    Track
    18
    Title
    Omnes generationes
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  19. 19 Quia fecit 01:07
    Track
    19
    Title
    Quia fecit
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  20. 20 Et misericordia 01:31
    Track
    20
    Title
    Et misericordia
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  21. 21 Fecit potentiam 00:39
    Track
    21
    Title
    Fecit potentiam
    Duration
    00:39
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  22. 22 Deposuit potentes 00:55
    Track
    22
    Title
    Deposuit potentes
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  23. 23 Esurientes 01:44
    Track
    23
    Title
    Esurientes
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  24. 24 Suscepit Israël 02:24
    Track
    24
    Title
    Suscepit Israël
    Duration
    02:24
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  25. 25 Gloria Patri 02:00
    Track
    25
    Title
    Gloria Patri
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  26. 26 Xerse, Act III: Lament: Lasciatemi morire 05:25
    Track
    26
    Title
    Xerse, Act III: Lament: Lasciatemi morire
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Francesco Cavalli
    Performer
    Victoire Bunel
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  27. 27 Livre des Libertés, Book 10: Après une si longue guerre 01:57
    Track
    27
    Title
    Livre des Libertés, Book 10: Après une si longue guerre
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    André de Rosiers
    Performer
    Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  28. 28 Ô France 02:46
    Track
    28
    Title
    Ô France
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Nicolas Métru
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre
  29. 29 Celos aun del aire matan: Dos zagalas venian 04:22
    Track
    29
    Title
    Celos aun del aire matan: Dos zagalas venian
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Juan Hidalgo
    Performer
    Ana Quintans, Victoire Bunel, David Tricou, Serge Goubioud, Virgile Ancely
    Ensemble
    La Tempête, Le Poème Harmonique
    Conductor
    Vincent Dumestre