Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)
Messe à 4 Chœurs; Cori Spezzati
Œuvres polychorales de Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Benevoli & Charpentier
Chœur de la Maîtrise du CRR de Paris; Chœur de l’Opéra Royal
Consort Musica Vera/Jean-Baptiste Nicolas
Details of programme and singers beneath review
rec. 2024, la Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles, France
Latin texts with French & English translations
Château de Versailles CVS164 [69]

As the note on the rear cover explains, the main work here, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe à quatre chœurs, “reflects a rare encounter between French tradition and the splendor of Roman Baroque” and was “inspired by the grand polychoral works of Gabrieli and Benevoli—whom he listened to attentively during his stay in Italy.” The subtitle of the anthology here, “Cori spezzati” (split choirs) indicates that this is music written for four separated choirs to create a dramatic spatial effect. The inclusion of music by Monteverdi and Agostini further broadens the exposition of the sacred – and indeed progressive – music to which the young Charpentier would have been exposed in Rome. The conductor’s note discusses the decision to employ a percussionist in addition to the usual battery of period instruments, based on the evidence of illustrations of liturgical events; his presence certainly lends enormous impact to the large-scale works here.

The programme opens with what is by far the most famous piece here: the opening to Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Virgin. It is given as grand and stirring an account as any I have ever heard, and thus starts this recital very promisingly; my only reservation is that the reverberative acoustic and vigour of the choir combined slightly overwhelm the cornets and sackbuts. It is no fault of the performances here that words, too, are often indistinct because of the overlapping of the dense choral and instrumental textures, making the provision of text all the more welcome. The sopranos soar angelically in the chanted “Sancta Maria” above the intricate curlicues and flourishes of the band in the second extract from the Vespers that follows Benevoli’s imposing, multi-layered Dixit Dominus. Agostini’s Magnificat is another grand affair; Charpentier must have been bowled over by the sumptuous waves of the sound he encountered in the great papal chapels. The inclusion of the purely instrumental Canzon per sonar quarti toni by Gabrieli allows us to savour the warmth and sonority of the combined wind instruments. The jaunty, jagged, syncopated coda is striking.

Some of the solo soprano voices are a little edgy and the tenors are hardly open-throated, while the absence of vibrato among many the soloists will not be to all tastes but is no doubt authorised by what now passes for authenticity. That is not invariable; the two female soloists in the Magnificat employ it judiciously and the sopranos are similarly willing to indulge in it in the Mass. It is rich, open-hearted music, almost primitive in its massive insistence, underlined by the prominence of the timpanist; waves of sound assault the listener, bludgeoning us into fidelity! It is a remarkably vivacious treatment of sacred text; I love the way the percussionist is almost continuously employed, pounding away for God. Reverence and awe are usurped by sheer energy and enthusiasm for the Deity. Moments of repose such as in the Benedictus are scarce but welcome. We quickly default to celebratory jollity in the Agnus Dei and the concluding Domine salvum is equally martial, accompanied by thunderous timpani thwacks and emphatic vocalisation.

The handsomely illustrates colour booklet contains photos, a detailed and informative essay, contemporary engravings and paintings, biographies, full Latin texts and English and French translations.

NB: something has gone wrong with the proofing of the booklet as the timings of the first six tracks are way out, whereas those for the Mass are correct. I append below a list, corrected track by track.

Ralph Moore

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Contents:
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)
Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206: I. Deus in Auditorium
Orazio Benevoli (1605-1672)
Dixit Dominus. Secondo tono a XXIV voci, cioè sei cori
Monteverdi
Vespro della Beata Vergine, SV 206: XI. Sonata sopra Sancta Maria ora pro nobis
Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612)
In Ecclesiis, Ch. 78
Lodovico Agostini (1534-1590)
Magnificat a 20 voci a cinque Cori
Gabrieli
Canzon per sonar quarti toni, Ch. 185
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)
Messe à 4 chœurs, H. 4
Domine salvum fac regem, H. 285

Singers:
Pauline Gaillard (soprano), Attila Varga-Toth (tenor), Léo Guillou-Kérédan (tenor), Halidou Nombre (baritone), Laurence Pouderoux (soprano), Evann Loger Raymond (alto), Noé Chapolard (bass), Marion Harache (mezzo-soprano), Clémence Carry (soprano), Ariane Le Fournis (alto), Loïc Paulin (tenor), Jordann Moreau (bass), Emmanuelle Jakubek (soprano), Sonia Sheridan Jacquelin (mezzo-soprano), Edouard Hazebrouck (tenor), Lucas Bacro (bass)

Corrected tracklist timings: