Gaeten Jarry Grands Motets de Mondonville

Joseph Casanéa of Mondonville, a native of Narbonne who died on the hilltops of Belleville, in Paris, was as well-known in his day as Jean-Philippe Rameau and far more celebrated. He conducted the famous Concert Spirituel and his grand motets combine emotion with a dance-like theatricality in perfect harmony with the decorative spirit of Sevandoni, the architect and decorator of Saint-Sulpice and of Saint-Bruno in Lyon.

Although celebrated for opera and harpsichord in his fifties, Rameau had formerly been first and foremost a master of sacred music. These works, composed between 1712 and 1721 when he was in his thirties, are marvels of balance, fully bearing the seeds of the splendor that Rameau would later display on the Parisian opera scene. In the French tradition of Lully and Lalande, which places the sacred text at the heart of a sumptuous musical performance, this complete set of Rameau's Motets is performed with jubilation and grace by the soloists, the choir and the Marguerite Louise Orchestra under the inspired direction of Gaétan Jarry.

When churches were closed by clerical ordinance on special feast days, Parisians of the mid-18th century went instead to Concerts Spirituels of music ranging from grand motets to intimate chamber music. Mondonville's contributions are exceptional for their unusual timbral mix. They include a dozen Pièces de clavecin avec voix ou violon, the harpsichord parts designed not as continuo infill, but fully self-sufficient, while nonetheless accompanying violin and soprano soloists. Three of them here create a rare and arresting soundscape.