Originally recorded in 1989, this disc remains a standout choice for listeners interested in beginning to explore the splendors of French Baroque music's public side. Charpentier worked in Parisian churches attended by members of the French nobility, and much of his music was connected with state celebrations. The Te Deum, H. 146, although its exact origin is unknown, is a massive festival piece with trumpets, drums, and grand gestures all around. American-French conductor William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts ...
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Originally recorded in 1989, this disc remains a standout choice for listeners interested in beginning to explore the splendors of French Baroque music's public side. Charpentier worked in Parisian churches attended by members of the French nobility, and much of his music was connected with state celebrations. The Te Deum, H. 146, although its exact origin is unknown, is a massive festival piece with trumpets, drums, and grand gestures all around. American-French conductor William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants give the music appropriate sweep. Part of Charpentier's genius lies in the qualities of his contrasting sections for soloists and groups of solo singers: he does not simply alternate choruses and airs but balances pomp and sensuality. The full range of his writing comes to the fore in the rarely heard Missa Assumpta est Maria, H. 11, as sensitive a setting of the Catholic mass text (plus a concluding prayer for the king's health) as has ever been composed. Charpentier breaks up...
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