Minuit

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was the most distinguished French religious composer of his era, whose output includes Masses, motets,psalms and oratorios, many of them extended works rich in texture, color and harmony, and contrapuntally resourceful. Melodically, Charpentier derived a distinctive style, imposing French embellishments and phrase structure on a basically Italian idiom. His 30 or so theater pieces reveal wit and facility. Unfortunately, he remains known for only two works, both of which are on this disc.

Joining her equally stunning Compact Jazz entry, Sarah Vaughan's Autour De Minuit ('Round Midnight) disc makes for a very fine introduction to the singer's extensive catalog. As is the case with the entire 'Round Midnight series, the emphasis here is on the ballad-heavy, after-hours end of the spectrum, which Vaughan handled with the utmost class and skill. The 15 tracks mostly cover her prime '50s and '60s sessions, including combo, strings, and big band dates featuring Clifford Brown, Cannonball Adderley, J.J. Johnson, and top-notch arrangers like Ernie Wilkins and Thad Jones. So, turn down the lights, pour the Remy Martin, and enjoy.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was the French composer of the Grand Siècle who left the largestnumber of works specifically related to Christmas. Here, going beyond the famous Messe de Minuit,listeners will be all the more enchanted by his histoires sacrées (brief oratorios) and Noëls pourles instruments when they are presented by thecomposer’s most fervent advocates.

The World Kora Trio is American cellist Eric Longsworth, kora player Cherif Soumano from Mali, and French percussionist David Mirandon. Their music is the encounter of cultures from three continents, “World music” in the truest sense. The colors of African music embodied by the kora resonate with the jazz and folk universe of the electric cello, and the varied percussions add spice and rhythmic vitality. The compositions are original, brought alive by constant improvisation and interaction, and the pleasure these three musicians have to be on stage together is palpable. Jazz, folk, rock, Maghreb flavours and blues come together with African tradition to create music without borders. Based in France, the World Kora Trio has toured in Canada, Mexico and Europe, and has played notably in Mali, Moldavia, Corsica, and Poland.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was a French composer who was a contemporary of Louis XIV. Charpentier created liturgical works full of grace and energy, using great imagination for his musical settings. This is very much evident in the selections for this recording, the TE DEUM and the MESSE DE MINUIT. The first one is a joyously triumphant interpretation of the thanksgiving text, using eight soloists, chorus and orchestra, including three trumpets, something unusual for the times.

This is a disc of Christmas music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), all the works written during the 1690s possibly for performance at the Jesuit church of Saint-Louis where the composer was Master of the Music. The wide variety of mood, colour and style underlines the extraordinary versatility and originality of this composer, upon whom Carissimi was the strongest influence during his student days in Rome in the 1660s. He was highly prolific (there are no less than 35 works in the oratorio style) and wrote a great deal of both moving and dramatic music.

With four recordings in six months, this seems to be open season for the Poulenc motets. The newcomers are up against stiff competition, and don't emerge unscathed from comparison either with the college next door (under Marlow on Conifer) or with the choir under the musical director of the one further along the road (Rutter on Collegium/Gamut).