Pour un reposoir - Sonate à 8 - Noëls pour les instruments

Description

A pinnacle of French instrumental Baroque. Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s instrumental music is still very little known. A large part of this repertoire consists of pieces intended for the liturgy, the most famous being the Messe pour les Instruments au lieu des orgues, which was already recorded by La Fenice and Jean Tubéry for Ricercar (RIC 245). It was around 1685, at a time when a few private circles were becoming acquainted with Italian sonatas, that Charpentier wrote the Sonate à huit. This revelation was shared by François Couperin, who also began composing sonatas in this style, which LES DOMINOS magnificently recorded last year (RIC 330), a disc praised by excellent reviews (5 DIAPASONS, FFFF from TELERAMA). From the outset, Charpentier’s Sonata, which combines the Italian style with the principle of French dances, is one of the pinnacles of instrumental music in the French Baroque. The symphonies Pour un Reposoir are intended to accompany an outdoor procession, where there is no organ. But the most important part of this disc is the collection of Noëls pour les Instruments that Charpentier intended for the orchestra supported by the organ. Returning to the manuscript, this performance respects the instrumentation indications and the use of the Grand organ, for which Charpentier specifies certain registrations. Alongside these pieces by Charpentier, one can also hear the original versions of the Noël songs with their many verses as they can be found in French collections from the early 18th century. A Christmas disc to enjoy all year round!