Dominic Desjardin Concerto à Quatre Pattes

A great choice of tunes and an outstanding supporting cast mark this album from the outset. With performers of the caliber of Steve Swell and Dominic Duval behind her, vocalist Mary LaRose (not to be confused with the equally impressive jazz vocalist Dena de Rose) spins a tight yet expansive story, one that goes deep into the belly of the melodies, distorting them just enough to make them feel fresh. LaRose is a modernist, yet she values old-fashioned tunefulness and emotion. Trombone, sax, and acoustic bass may at first blush seem like an odd combination to back a jazz singer, but with her elastic vocal chords, the mix is nearly perfect…

A contemporary of Lully and Lalande, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was something of an outsider to the French court of Louis XIV, which helps to explain his comparative obscurity. A period of study in Rome doubtless gave Charpentier exposure to the polychoral style long-established from the time of Gabrieli, and this recording presents the triple-choir Salve Regina alongside the opulent Messe à quatre chœurs – written for four separate choirs, with a large continuo team of four organs, four theorbos, bass viol and great bass viol! The possibilities opened up by such a wealth of musicians engender music which seems as close to the proverbial “choir of the angels of heaven” as could be desired.

An Italian travel diary. Paris, 1665: a young composer leaves the Saint-Michel district to embark on a journey to Rome. The journey promises to be a long one, its stopovers rich in encounters for Charpentier. On this new recording, Sébastien Daucé invites us on an imaginary recreation of that voyage of initiation, from Cremona (Merula) to Rome (Beretta), by way of Venice (Cavalli) and Bologna (Cazzati). A journey in space, but also in time, through the sources of inspiration of a composer whose future works were to recall the colours of Italy – as the magnificent Mass for four choirs testifies.