Messe des morts : le service funèbre de Rameau Paris, 27 IX 1764

Description

The Funeral Service of Jean-Philippe Rameau: World premiere of the Messe des Morts by Jean Gilles in the 1764 version. The Franco-American conductor Skip Sempé chose to mark the commemorations of the 250th anniversary of Rameau’s death with his own imprint, by bringing back to life the Messe des Morts by Jean Gilles, the most famous of the French requiems in the 18th century and which was performed during Rameau’s funeral service at the Oratoire du Louvre on September 27, 1764. Gilles’s requiem was performed tirelessly throughout the 18th century in France; the original version, completed around 1705, was played for Gilles’s own burial (1705), but also that of Campra (1744), Royer (1756), Rameau (1764), as well as that of Louis XV (1774). Based on the version of the requiem that Rebel and Francoeur prepared for Rameau’s funeral, Skip Sempé recreated the boldest version of the requiem, that of 1764, which inserts excerpts from Castor et Pollux, Dardanus and Zoroastre into the Messe des Morts. For this project, Skip Sempé brought together ensembles that uphold a long tradition of excellence: the legendary Collegium Vocale Gent of Philippe Herreweghe, as well as Capriccio Stravagante Les 24 Violons, very likely one of the most agile and innovative orchestras devoted to the French Baroque repertoire.