This set presents an interesting cross-section of works by composers
associated with the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France.
This energetic and enterprising monarch revered the arts for
their own sake, as well as for their potential as a political
and diplomatic tool. Whilst the esteem in which Lully was held
by the King is well known but a number of other composers, such
as Charpentier, Couperin, Marchand and Nivers, are also represented
on this ten-disc set.
The performances presented are of rather variable quality. The
set begins promisingly with a convincing account of Charpentier’s
Te Deum, H46, by the Chorale de Jeunesses Musicales de
France and the Orchestre de Chambre Jean-Francois Paillard:
there is plenty of brightness in the instrumental sound, and
the texture is full without straying into denseness. The solo
vocal parts balance this sound admirably, and the ensemble has
a good balance, the individual voices being sufficiently differentiated
to allow for contrapuntal clarity, yet similar enough in timbre
to blend. It is a shame, then, that this quality is not characteristic
of the subsequent performances by the instrumental ensemble.
The Te Deum by Lully that follows suffers from a lack
of energy and incisiveness (a comparison with the performance
by Musica Antiqua Köln is distinctly unfavourable as far as
the French chamber orchestra is concerned); and the pulse, too,
seems often to be on the front edge of the beat: slightly further
back would have resulted in a more defined interpretation. Their
performances on other discs of the set range from the reasonable
to the disappointing: the Dialogus inter angelos et pastores
Judeae in nativitatem Domini by Charpentier (CD2), for instance,
is turgid and ponderous; and, although the ensemble does redeem
itself somewhat by a brightly dramatic reading of Michel-Richard
de Lalande’s Simphonies pour les Soupers du Roy (CD7),
there is, even here, a certain paucity of imagination regarding
variety of textures, voicings and dynamics in those sections
that are repeated.
Indeed, imagination and drama are qualities that, sadly, are
missing from too many of the performances on these discs. Charpentier’s
Le Reniement de saint Pierre, in an account by the Chorale
Philippe Caillard (CD4), lacks pace, drive and dramatic impetus
– the listener is left to reconstruct the emotions inherent
in the story from the barest of cues. The Leçons de ténèbres
by Couperin, that precedes it, is scarcely better: a rather
heavily slow-moving interpretation that has none of the streamlined
vigour that is implied by the scoring. Lalande’s Trois leçons
de ténèbres (CD5) also suffers from a lack of pace; and,
in this case, this lack is compounded by an almost total absence
of pulse or flow in the slower movements.
There are redemptions. The organist Marie-Claire Alain distinguishes
herself in every one of her performances: the Livre d’orgue
by Louis Marchand (CD3) is characterised by an effective use
of registration, especially in the Dialogue; and the
Suite du 2e ton, of the Livre
contenant cent Pièces de tous les tons d’Eglise by Guillaume
Gabrielle Nivers (CD6) is, again, striking and imaginative is
its use of registration and is also incisive: rhythmically controlled,
yet propulsive. The following Messe pour les Couvents de
religieux et religieuses by Couperin is interestingly combined
with Henry du Mont’s Messe du 6e
ton, and the combination of unison chant (delivered with
much refinement by the Compagnie Musicale Catalane) and solo
organ allows for a most compelling contrast of texture and character.
The booklet notes give a thorough account of the place of music
in the court of Louis XIV and interesting biographical information
on the composers represented in the collection, together with
details of the influences they had upon each others’ work. There
are, however, occasional anomalies in the details given of the
ensembles involved with various works; and I felt the
details given of the recordings could have been more effectively
laid out: it would have been useful, for instance, to have had
a list, designed on a work-by-work basis, of the dates on which
each work had been recorded.
In summary, then: although some performances on these discs
are illuminating and insightful, they are, unfortunately, the
exception, rather than the rule. Too many of these interpretations
belie the life, vigour, enthusiasm and sheer delight in exploration
that characterised the court of this most artistically exuberant
of monarchs.
Em Marshall-Luck
Full tracklist
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER
(1643-1704)
Te Deum, H146
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632-1687)
Te Deum
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER
(1643-1704)
Magnificat, H79
Messe de minuit, H9
Dialogus inter angelos et pastores Judeae in nativitatem
Domini, H420
Nicolas BERNIER (1665-1734)
Motet du Saint-Esprit
Louis MARCHAND (1669-1732)
Livre d’orgue, Livre I, Ier ton
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER
(1643-1704)
Messe pour les trépassés, H2 (beginning)
Dies Irae, H12
Motet pour les trépassés “Miseremini mei”, H311
Messe pour les trépassés, H2 (conclusion)
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Lecons de ténèbres
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER
(1643-1704)
Le Reniement de saint Pierre, H424
Jean GILLES (1668-1705)
Requiem
Michel-Richard DE LALANDE
(1637-1726)
Trois lecons de ténèbres – 3e Lecon
de Jeudy Saint
Guillaume Gabriel NIVERS
(c.1632-1714)
Livre contenant cent Pièces de tous les tons d’Eglise – Suite
de 2e ton
Nicolas de GRIGNY (1672-1703)
Messe “Conctipotens genitor Deus” – Il Gloria
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Messe à l’usage ordinaire des Paroisses
Messe pour les Couvents de religieux et religieuses
Michel-Richard DE LALANDE
(1637-1726)
Simphonies pour les Soupers du Roy
Sacres solemnis – Hymne pour le Saint Sacrement
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Le Parnasse, ou l’Apothéose de Corelli
Jean-Francois DANDRIEU (1681/2-1738)
Trio Sonata in E minor, op.1 no.6
Michel DE LA BARRE (c.1675-1745)
Suite in E minor for Two Flutes
Élisabeth Jacquet DE LA GUERRE
(1665-1729)
Sarabande in G major
Second Gigue in D minor
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Concert royal no.1 in G major
Jean-Henry D’ANGLEBERT (1629-1691)
Pièces de clavecin
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
L’Apothéose de Lully
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Premier Livre de Pièces de clavecin
Cinq Pièces pour clavecin seul
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
L’Art de toucher le clavecin
Deuxième Livres de Pièces de clavecin, 6e
Ordre
Jacques Champion DE CHAMBONNIÈRES
(1601/2-1672)
Pavane
La Volte
Michel CORRETTE (1707-1795)
Prélude
La Fürstenberg
Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace ROYER
(c.1705-1755)
Pièces de clavecin
Jean-Henry D’ANGLEBERT (1629-1691)
Pièces de clavecin
Joseph Bodin DE BOISMORTIER
(1689-1755)
Première Suite de pieces de clavecin, op.59
Louis COUPERIN (c.1626-1661)
Prélude in A minor
Branle de Basque
Gigue in C minor
Gaillarde
Sarabande et canaries
Francois COUPERIN (1668-1733)
Concert royal no.4
Deuxième Livre de pieces de clavecin, 9e
Ordre
Troisième Livre de pieces de clavecin, 15e
Ordre
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632-1687)
Isis
Amadis
Armide
Martha Angelici, Jocelyne Chamonin, Jennifer Smith,
Francine Bessac, Bernadette Degelin, Edith Selig, Karine Rosat,
Nadine Sautereau, Nicole Robin (sopranos); Jocelyne Chamonin,
Micaëla Etcheverry (mezzos); Hanna Schaer (contralto); André
Mallabrera, Zeger Vandersteene, Jean Nirouet, André Meurant
(counter-tenors); Rémy Corazza, Louis Devos, Jean Caals, Jean-Jacques
Lesueur, Jean Malray, John Elwes, Fernando Serafim, André Mallabrera
(tenors); Georges Abdoun, Philippe Huttenlocher (baritones);
Jacques Mars, Philippe Huttenlocher, Kurt Widmer, Goerges Abdoun,
Michel Brodard, P-M Richez, Xavier Depraz, Roger Soyer (basses);
Maurice André (trumpet); Maxence Larrieu, R. Cotton (flute);
Huguette Fernandez, Philippe Lamacque (violin); R. Boulay (treble
viol); Jean-Louis Charbonnier (viola da gamba); Bernard Fonteny
(cello); Marie-Claire Alain, Maurice Duruflé, Anne-Marie Beckensteiner,
Antoine Sibertin-Blanc, Laurence Boulay (organ); Robert Veyron-Lacroix,
Anne-Marie Beckensteiner, Laurence Boulay, Françoise Lengellé
(harpsichord); Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France, Ensemble
Vocal “À Coeur Joie” de Valance, Gents Madrigaalkoor, Cantabile
Gent, Ensemble Vocal Stéphane Caillat, Chorale Stéphane Caillat,
Chorale Philippe Caillard, Les Chantres de la Chapelle, Compagnie
Musicale Catalane, Orchestre de Chambre Jean-François Paillard,
Musica Polyphonica
Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra, Lisbon, Louis Martini, Jean-François
Paillard, Louis Devos, Louis Frémaux, Michel Corboz, Philippe
Caillard, Emmanuel Mandarin, Josep Cabré, Stéphane Caillat (directors)
rec. Chapelle Royale, Palace of Versailles, 1962 (CD6: 01-07;
CD7: 18-24); Notre-Dame de Liban, February 1966 (CD8: 08-12),
January 1984 (CD7: 01-07); Paris, 1972 (CD10: 01-06; 16-20);
Igreja da Graça, Lisbon, July 1972 (CD3: 03-15); Église évangélique
allemande (Evangelische Christuskirche), Paris, 1972 (CD9: 31),
September 1977 (CD5: 14-23); Église Notre-Dame d’Auteuil &
Église évangélique allemande (Evangelische Christuskirche),
Paris, 1974 (CD9: 24-30; 32; 33); Chapel of the Lycée Gabriel
Fauré, Tournon-sur-Rhone (CD1: 12-15); Église Saint-Clément,
Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels, April 1983 (CD2: 01-09); Cathédrale
Sainte-Cécile d’Albi, April 1989 (CD6: 09); Cathédrale Saint-Pierre,
Poitiers, September 1996 (CD6: 08), October – November 1998
(CD6: 10-24).
rec. March 1953 (CD1: 01-11); March 1956 (CD5: 01-13); 1960
(CD9: 01-23; CD10: 07-15); October 1960 (CD8: 01-07; 13-28);
June 1961 (CD2: 10-15); December 1961 (CD2: 16-22) ADD / DDD
rec. 1953-98
