MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER
Noël Baroque au temps de Louis XIV

ALIA VOX
AVSA9961

Total:
73,35

Marc-Antoine Charpentier
NOËL BAROQUE
AU TEMPS DE LOUIS XIV

1. Premier Noël: Une Jeune Pucelle (Lise Viricel soprano) 2’00

PASTORALE SUR LA NAISSANCE
DE NOTRE SEIGNEUR JÉSUS-CHRIST H. 483 (1684)

2. 1. OUVERTURE 1’10
PREMIÈRE PARTIE
3. 2. Scène première : Que nos soupirs, Seigneur / Symphonie 10’43
4. 3. Scène seconde : Régnez, calme profond 7’40
5. 4. Scène 3e : Célestes compagnons 0’14
6. 5. Scène 4e : Gloire dans les hauts lieux 4’12

SECONDE PARTIE
7. 6. Scène 5e : Pasteurs, éveillez-vous ! 8’21
8. 7. Scène 6e : Joignons nos flûtes et nos voix 4’36

9. NUIT · Interlude Instrumental
(De In Nativitatem Domini Canticum, H. 416, 1690) 3’46
10. Deuxième Noël: Or, nous dites Marie (Jeanne Lefort soprano) 1’49

MESSE DE MINUIT, H. 9 (ca. 1694)

11. 1. KYRIE 6’54
12. 2. GLORIA 5’10
13. 3. CREDO 10’48
14. Troisième Noël: Laissez paître vos bêtes 1’06
15. 4. SANCTUS 2’34
16. 5. AGNUS DEI 2’28

La Capella Reial de Catalunya
SOLISTES
Jeanne Lefort, Maria Cristina Kiehr, Lise Viricel sopranos
Gabriel Díaz contreténor
Víctor Sordo ténor / haute-contre
Mauro Borgioni baryton
Christian Immler basse
Lluís Vilamajó préparation de l’ensemble vocale
Le Concert des Nations
JORDI SAVALL
Dessus de viole & Direction

·

Marc-Antoine Charpentier
(1643-1704)
In Festo Nativitatem Domini

Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ, is, together with Easter, one of the principal feasts in the Christian calendar, and occupies a pre-eminent place in the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Although his works dedicated to the Nativity were commissioned, the composer, as a man of faith, gave them the very best of his inspiration. Charpentier’s most frequently performed work today is his Messe de Minuit, composed on a number of noëls (Christmas carols) whose tunes were familiar to all. However, to celebrate this feast, the composer also chose a variety of other genres, including instrumental Christmas music, the histoire sacrée (or oratorio) and pastorale.

The two major works presented here were commissioned by different patrons for whom Charpentier composed extensively and who influenced the evolution of his career in Paris. Not born into a family of musicians, Marc-Antoine was the son of Louis Charpentier, a master scribe, and spent his childhood and adolescence in the Saint-Séverin district of Paris. We know nothing about his musical training, but we do know that he attended the Faculty of Law. Perhaps he did part of a university degree, learning all aspects of music, like many of his colleagues. Or perhaps it was during the three years he spent in Rome, where he travelled for reasons that are not entirely clear, that he perfected his skills by studying and listening to the great masters who were active there at that time, such as Francesco Foggia, Alessandro Melani, Francesco Beretta and above all Giacomo Carissimi.

CATHERINE CESSAC
+ information in the CD booklet