M-A Charpentier
Messe de minuit; In navitatem Domini canticum etc
Ensemble Correspondances/Sébastien Daucé
Harmonia Mundi HMM 902707 80:52 mins
Although barred by Jean-Baptiste Lully’s jealously guarded monopoly from composing operas, Marc-Antoine Charpentier invested much of his talent for dramatic vocal and instrumental writing in music for the Catholic Church. The Christmas story in particular provided Charpentier with ample material to explore human relationships, emotions and spirituality through various genres, including the two dramatic motets and the celebratory mass on this recording.
The central work is Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit for four voices, flutes and violins. Written around 1694, it was probably commissioned by the Jesuits of Saint-Louis in Paris and contains rich harmonies, popular melodies and lively rhythmic motifs. The simple, rustic aspects of the mass are reinforced by the inclusion of folk-like ‘noëls’ – similar to Christmas carol tunes. These and the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei are sung with joy and gentle intensity by Ensemble Correspondences, although director Sébastien Daucé shies away from some of the rougher-edged textures that might have enhanced the work’s popular festive spirit.
The two motets – In nativitatem Domini canticum and In nativitate Domini nostril Jesu Christi canticum – are more serious retellings of the Nativity story. In the first, the orchestra of strings, woodwind and continuo is integrated into the drama with the inclusion of two programmatic interludes. The second motet is a shorter, tighter work, scored for three upper voices and continuo. It recalls Charpentier’s training under Carissimi in Rome in the 1660s and is exquisitely sung, with delicate instrumental support. The recording (from the Seine Musicale in Paris) is warm and sympathetic. John-Pierre Joyce