CHARPENTIER: Sacred Choral Works

Le Concert Spirituel, Niquet, Hervé

8.553175

The Mass, H. 1, is probably the first of the eleven vocal Mass settings written by Charpentier. It is in four parts with the accompaniment of two treble instruments and basso continuo. The Sanctus uses two extra voices and the Hosanna is for double choir. Charpentier is one of the rare French composers to have written concerted Masses. The Mass, H. 1, in spite of its modest proportions, offers passages of strong feeling, as in the Credo where the death of Christ (the word passus, suffered)is underlined by chromatic writing for all voices. The motet for the Elevation, Panis quem ego dabo, has been chosen from among a number of pieces composed by Charpentier, intended for the elevation of the sacred Host. Since the reign of Louis XIII, it had been traditional to end the service with the last verse of Psalm XIX, Domine salvum fac Regem. Included here is one of the numerous versions of this text that Charpentier set, ending Mass, H. 1. The setting of the Te Deum, H. 147, is the last written by Charpentier and seems to date from the period when he was choir-master at the Sainte-Chapelle, between 1698 and 1704, the year of his death. Even if this Te Deum may lack the brilliance of instrumental display, it was surely composed, as was the custom, for an event of importance, usually affecting the King (his recovery from illness, his military victories) or his family (birth, baptism or marriage).

CD x 1

Naxos

31.03.97

730099417525