Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Grands motets
Quam dilecta tabernacula (RCT 15)
In convertendo Dominus (RCT 14)
Laboravi clamans (RCT 16)
Deus noster refugium (RCT 13)
Maïlys de Villoutreys, Virginie Thomas (dessus), Mathias Vidal (haute-contre), François Joron, Nicholas Scott (taille), David Witczak (basse-taille)
Choeur & Orchestre Marguerite Louise/Gaétan Jarry
rec. 2020/21, Chapelle Royale, Versailles, France
Texts and translations included
CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES SPECTACLES CVS052 [78]
Sacred music takes a minor place in the oeuvre of Jean-Philippe Rameau. Today, he is considered the main French opera composer of the 18th century, and some of his operas are frequently performed and recorded. There is also no lack of recordings of his harpsichord works, many of which are closely connected to his operas. Among his most popular pieces are his only chamber music works, the Pièces de clavecin en concerts. Rameau's first opera, Hippolyte et Aricie, premiered in 1733, and from that moment on he focused on composing operas. One would almost forget that in that year he was already 50 years of age. We know relatively little about the first 50 years of his life, except that he occupied many different positions as organist in several towns, just like his father and other members of his family. Not a single note of organ music from his pen has been preserved. Whether he has written any organ music is impossible to say. We should not forget that organists were expected to improvise, and from that angle, there was little need to write anything down or to publish organ music.
Rameau was closely involved in the liturgy, but his positions did not require the writing of sacred vocal music. His oeuvre includes three so-called grands motets, which are part of a genre that had emerged in the mid-17th century, when Henry du Mont and Pierre Robert, soon followed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, composed such works for performance at the mass in the Chapelle Royale. In the course of time the grand motet became increasingly important, and it was Michel-Richard de Lalande, who developed into the most prolific composer of motets. These were highly appreciated by Louis XIV. In 1725 the Concert Spirituel was founded in Paris. Part of the repertoire that was performed at this concert series, which lasted until the French Revolution, were Lalande's grands motets, some of which he had reworked in the later stages of his career. Other composers also contributed to the genre, and one of them was Rameau. His motets were not written for the Chapelle Royale, but for concert performance at the Concert Spirituel or elsewhere. This part of his oeuvre does not receive that much attention. I have been able to find three older recordings, by Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie and Hervé Niquet respectively. From that perspective this new recording is most welcome, also because it has a few things to offer that are missing in the three recordings I just mentioned.
The programme opens with Quam dilecta tabernacula, which is a setting of verses from Psalm 84: "O how amiable are thy dwellings". It was written between 1713 and 1722, and is scored for a five-part grand choeur and four-part petit choeur with an ensemble of strings and basso continuo, which in some sections are joined by one or two transverse flutes. That is the case, for instance, in the very first section, which is a récit for soprano. This scoring results in this section's intimate nature, which reflects the text. Notable is the second section, which is a double fugue. In the fifth section, 'Beati, beati', the tenor is interrupted now and then by the petit choeur. In the closing section, the chorus is extended to six parts.
In convertendo Dominus was composed between 1713 and 1715; the original version has been lost. What has come down to us is a revision, made for a performance during Holy Week 1751 at the Concert Spirituel. It is a setting of Psalm 125, which is about the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon. The scoring is for four solo voices, four-part petit choeur and five-part grand choeur and an ensemble of strings and basso continuo with additional winds. It is notable that the instrumental ensemble is in four parts rather than in five, as in the other motets. Again, the motet opens with a récit, this time for the haute-contre, accompanied by flutes and violins. The second section is another fugue. The fifth section, a solo for soprano, is remarkable for its instrumental scoring for three oboes and two bassoons. Moreover, this verse - "Praise the name of the Lord in song" - is not part of Psalm 125, but rather taken from Psalm 68.
Deus noster refugium may have been written for the Société des Concerts Lyon; the title appears in the catalogue of 1713 of the library of this organisation. The motet is a setting of verses from Psalm 46, which refer to storms and floods: "the earth is moved and the mountains cast into the sea"; "the waters roared and swelled". The way Rameau has set these verses betrays his theatrical instincts, long before he composed his first opera. The motet is scored for six solo voices and a four-part choir and orchestra, the latter with oboes joining the strings. It is in this motet that this recording offers something missing in previous performances. The penultimate verse - 'Vacate, et videte' - is incomplete: only an introduction of 51 bars for transverse flute and basso continuo has been preserved. In previous recordings this section has been entirely omitted. Gaétan Jarry has attempted to complete it. It is not known for which voice Rameau intended this section; Jarry elected to set it for soprano. In my ears this sounds entirely convincing, and it is a fine addition to this great work by Rameau.
The second addition to previous recordings is the inclusion of Laboravi clamans, a single verse from Psalm 68, which originally may have been part of another grand motet. Rameau included this piece for five voices and basso continuo in his Traité de l'harmonie as illustration of the fugue. Gaétan Jarry, in his liner-notes, mentions that this piece was intended for five solo voices, but he decided, "as is customary, to approach this motet with the whole of the chorus in order to give it a certain depth and musical coherence in the context of this recording." That is a bit of a shame; I had preferred a performance by an ensemble of solo voices, which would be an interesting contrast to the rest of the programme.
That said, I am not sure if in that line-up, the performance would have been really satisfying. And this brings to the performance: the choir and the orchestra are really excellent, but I am not entirely happy with the performances of the soloists. All have very fine voices, but most of them use a bit more vibrato than is justified. For me, the main disappointment is the haute-contre Mathias Vidal. He is responsible for some wonderful moments, but often I noted a pretty strong flutter in his voice, which is not nice to hear. The vibrato in several voices - not very big, but clearly noticeable - also damages the ensembles.
Even so, given that there are not that many recordings and the three I mentioned are already pretty old, this new recording is to be welcomed, also because of the two additions I mentioned above. However, I am still in hope that we may see a recording by Vox Luminis, which delivered such wonderful performances at the Utrecht Early Music Festival of 2018.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Published: November 16, 2022
