Leçons de Confitures

Michel Lambert was a court composer to King Louis XIV of France, and the father-in-law of Lully. He has been known, if at all, for his court airs setting common French poems of the day. He wrote two sets of Tenebrae Lessons, of which the one recorded here is the earlier. Reconstructing it sounds like a pretty speculative enterprise, which is probably why it hasn't been recorded before; contemporary descriptions mention a vocal trio, but here a single voice is used.

Niquet’s performances of Charpentier with Le Concert Spirituel are generally characterised by their liveliness. Niquet uses quite small forces, which emphasises the chamber nature of much of Charpentier’s writing, even in his grandest works. Niquet’s version of the Te Deum is one of the bounciest that I have heard. Crisp and lively playing from the instrumentalists emphasises the work’s dance-like qualities in a charming way. The faster sections are taken with remarkable speed and dexterity, but never feel rushed and they contrast admirably with the slower movements.

A most famous composer in London at the time of Haendel and a great protagonist of the Ospedali musicali in Venice, Nicola Antonio Porpora (1686-1768) is nevertheless forgotten gloomily of our musical culture. To the rare discographic recordings dedicated to his music, we can add this one, conducted magnificently by Jérôme Correas. (…) Correas interpretation is sensitive, vivid and it stands like a mirror of Porpora's vocal vuirtuosity ; this exaggerated virtuosity is here a natural and vital component of the score, fostering an atmosphere of fervent mysticism (…) that arouse emotions.

Des synthèses thématiques, classées par ordre alphabétique, pour préparer aux épreuves écrites et orales des grandes écoles de commerce, du concours d'entrée en seconde année des instituts d'études politiques ou des concours administratifs. …

The music of the French Baroque has always been a tougher sell than the flashy Italian or the faith-embodying German, and when French Baroque sacred music is recorded it's almost always in the weighty grand motet genre, redolent of French court splendor. These Leçons de Ténèbres, or Responsories for Holy Week, of Michel-Richard de Lalande are something else again: intimate pieces for soprano and a small ensemble.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier studied in Italy with Giacomo Carissimi, and he was one of the first composers to introduce aspects of Italian styles to France. His big motets lend themselves naturally to operatic singing, and even in liturgical works like the ones collected on this release, the Italian influences are still there. Sample the Magnificat à 3, with its ground bass-like construction and its unusual texture, including three male voices (bass, tenor, and haute-contre). The opening Litanies de la vierge are for a six-voice group, but the bulk of the program consists of the titular Leçons de ténèbres, solo works (two for bass and one for haute-contre) with a small ensemble to which is given a good quantity of expressive writing and contrapuntal clashes.

There’s an embarrassment of riches where Couperin’s Read more are concerned. My current favorite is Christie/Les Arts Florissants (Erato 017067), with Patricia Petibon and Sophie Daneman the latter exquisite in her tightly focused but sweet tone and immaculate ornamentation. Equally good in its way, with a slightly richer tone though a trifle too expressively restrained for my tastes, is Christopher Hogwood with Emma Kirkby and Judith Nelson (L’oiseau Lyre 430283).