Valentin Tournet

The Magnificat, written to celebrate Mary’s joy after the Annunciation, and the oldest Christmas Cantata of Bach (Weimar, 1713), are an overwhelming fresco of a Nativity, foundation of the world. With these masterful works, Johann-Sebastian Bach opens for us the gates of the sacred, as well as the ones to our own relationship with spirituality. These pieces, amongst the most beautiful ever composed, are no doubt the best way possible to open the Christmas period. Led here by the very young but nonetheless inspired, Valentin Tournet who conducts his ensemble La Chapelle Harmonique.

In 1692, Charpentier wrote the Te Deum that would make him famous into the 20th century. Played for the military victory of Steenkerque, most probably at the church of Saint-Louis-des-Jesuites, this masterpiece, which glorified the armies of Louis XIV, is a powerful fresco whose prelude opens with the martial rhythms of the timpani and trumpets, symbolising the Grand Siecle of the arts, but also Louis XIV's conquests. Valentin Tournet adds pieces to the programme whose pomp is matched by their quality and expressiveness: the De Profundis has an extraordinary solemnity, while the Marche de Triomphe sounds the trumpets for the king considered the greatest in the world.