While the majority of renowned French composers during the late 17th century spent most of their time at Versailles, Marc Antoine Charpentier spent most of his holding various appointments throughout Paris, including one at the Jesuit church of St. Louis. On this recording director Olivier Schneebeli offers a mostly solemn yet often moving Vesper service that’s constructed to resemble one that Charpentier might have created for the order (a typical setting from the period nearly always was assembled using music both by the composer and his contemporaries). Unlike Michel Corboz, who employs a full period orchestra in a similar Jesuit reconstruction (Cascavelle), Schneebeli uses only two viola de gambas, theorbe, bassoon, and organ for instrumental support.
While Schneebeli’s choice heightens the intimacy of the evening mass, there are moments–in the introductory Deus in adjutorium, for example–when the impact of the soloists and choirs would have benefited from more substantial forces. The full-bodied sound of the magnificent organ at the recording’s venue–the Royal Chapel at Versailles–helps somewhat, though given the sublime nature of the music’s subject, as well as the consistently excellent performances Schneebeli inspires from his crew, this is a case where more certainly would have meant more.
That said, lovers of sacred music from this period should not be deterred, as they certainly will find plenty to enjoy here. Soloists Robert Getchell, Herve Lamy, and Alain Buet deliver beautifully sung, exuberant yet reverential performances that befit the occasion. However, Les Pages (the boys choir) and Les Chantres (the mixed chorus) steal the show, fully revealing the beauty of Charpentier’s frequent displays of antiphonal texture and nuance. The third-movement Domine quinque talenta, 11th-movement Laudate pueri Dominum, and especially the 14th-movement In Honoreum sancti (Motet for Saint Louis), with its emotional gradations ranging from heroic urgency to complacent despondency, are three cases in point. Again, in this lovely motet you can’t help but wonder if its impact would have been greater had its text (“With drums and organs and loud trumpets…”) been followed more to the letter regarding instrumental forces. Alpha’s sound is superb–especially in light of the apparently numerous acoustic challenges of the recording’s locale. Informative and engaging notes by Catherine Cessac and Denis Grenier as well as many photographs taken during the sessions by Robin Davies are featured in the lavish and thorough accompanying booklet. Recommended.
