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Charpentier, Leçons de ténèbres : Les Talens Lyriques (Erika Escribá-Astaburuaga (soprano), Isabelle Poulenard (soprano), Anders Dahlin (tenor), Kaori Uemura (viola da gamba), Christophe Rousset (conductor, organ and harpsichord), Wigmore Hall, London 11.4.2009 (MMB)


Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) is possibly one of the least known French composers of the Baroque period; however, the vast majority of people will be familiar with one of his tunes, namely the Prelude to his marvellous Te Deum, which was selected as Eurovision’s official musical theme. 

Charpentier was almost completely forgotten after his death but re-discovered in the 20^th Century and finally hailed as a genius, a designation that he truly deserved. His compositions are mostly of a religious nature (Charpentier was a devout catholic and a protégée of the pious and powerful Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise), but he managed to create music in which beauty and devotion cannot be separated, thus resolving the conflict between faith and pure beauty, which was, at the time, perceived by the Church being incompatible. While still in his twenties, Charpentier travelled to Italy where he studied for three years with Giacomo Caressimi, one of the greatest Italian composers of the early Baroque. With him, Charpentier learned to love and to use the Italian style of composition, which would be strongly present throughout his work. 

In the 6^th Century B.C., the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem. It is said that a poet of the time (believed to be the prophet Jeremiah) described the destruction in a long series of “Lamentations”. Centuries later the Roman Catholic Church adapted the Latin translation of these “Lamentations” as part of the ritual to mourn the death of Christ during Holy Week. These were sung in the evening office of Tenebrae (literally darkness, or shadows in Latin), and inspired many composers from the early Renaissance until well into the 17^th Century. Leçons de ténèbres, composed by Charpentier in 1680, followed in this tradition but his music for the Office of Tenebrae is radically different than most as he used melodic techniques and ornaments that are operatic in style rather than religious. Although Charpentier worked with the Gregorian Chant associated with the Lamentations, its characteristic melodic style is well disguised and this is exactly what makes Charpentier’s Leçons so unusually appealing; different and technically difficult to sing. 

This concert - a selection of Charpentier’s Leçons de ténèbres - was perfectly suited to the intimate atmosphere of the Wigmore Hall. Christoph Rousset, founder of the distinguished vocal and instrumental period ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, demonstrated here what a fine organist and harpsichordist he is, providing the main accompaniment to the beautiful vocal lines. He was lovingly seconded by the excellent Kaori Uemura playing the viola da gamba and together, they perfectly cushioned the marvelous singing. 

The Leçons presented in this concert were scored for one, two or three voices. Charpentier’s autograph score identifies three singers, all of them nuns at the Abbaye-aux-Boix. The most interesting is undoubtedly the lowest voice that, though a woman’s, was sung in the range of the haute-contre, a high tenor voice, sometimes called alto and other times mistakenly designated as counter-tenor. The latter sings in falsetto, the haute-contre reaches very high notes but in his own natural voice.  Anders Dahlin, a young Norwegian high tenor, sang the lower voice part of the Leçons very effectively, achieving a truly great performance. His voice is clearly beautiful, with easy, soaring high notes, delicate phrasing and rich in sonority. All three singers were excellent but Dahlin was, to my mind, the most impressive. He appears to have specialised in the baroque repertoire for which his voice is perfectly suited. His biography, contained in the programme notes, stated that one of his forthcoming engagements is in London, singing Castor in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with Sir John Eliot Gardiner; judging by his performance here it promises to be something truly special and not to be missed.  

The other two singers, Spanish soprano Erika Escribá-Astaburuaga and French soprano Isabelle Poulenard were equally excellent; their voices complementing each other’s and Dahlin’s in perfect harmony. Escribá-Astaburuaga has a crystalline voice, with superb coloratura and delicate high notes, which she effortlessly sustained through impeccable technique. Poulenard has a darker, rounder soprano voice, richer in tone and colour, sounding more like a mezzo in the lower register, which offered a beautiful and effective counterpoint to Escribá-Astaburuaga’s brilliant highest register. 

This concert at the Wigmore Hall was not only a truly great performance but also a real delight. Personally, I am not a lover of religious music. I tend to find it slightly fastidious; the texts in Latin enhance this feeling and the intensely serious spirituality leaves me a little indifferent. However, Charpentier’s music could not be farther from this description. His ornamentations make the Leçons sound like virtuoso arias from exciting operas and one forgets that this is religious music, which used to be sung in church by nuns during the Holy Week. Christophe Rousset effectively led Uemura and the three singers in a vibrating, marvelous performance, which deservedly received roaring applause from the audience. At the end, Rousset and his musicians gave two welcoming encores of further pieces included in the Leçons. I left the hall with a general feeling of satisfaction and it was interesting to observe that there was a kind of happy glow on most people’s faces, as proof of the delightful performance we had been given. 

Margarida Mota-Bull


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