Organization

Singer

Soprano

Caroline Weynants

Caroline Bardot

Perrine Devillers

Marie-Frédérique Girod

Tenor

Vojtěch Semerád

David Tricou

Antonin Rondepierre

Thibault Givaja Givaja

Bass

Etienne Bazola

Alexandre Baldo

Conductor

Sébastien Daucé

Opéra Royal de Versailles

Orchestra

Ensemble Correspondances

Messe de minuit pour Noël, H.9 -  (Midnight Mass for 4 voices, flutes and violins for Christmas)

Versailles

France

Chapelle Royale

Public

Midnight Mass for 4 voices, flutes and violins for Christmas

Approved

In the religious time of Louis XIV, the Easter period was the most important for the piety of all society. But the Christmas period took on an increasing importance, to the point of being granted a second place in the hearts of the faithful. We thus dedicated specific scores to the times of Advent and the Nativity, using many popular melodies, and silencing the organ from the first Sunday of Advent until Christmas, where it resurfaces with vigor to interpret the famous Christmases. varied!

If Charpentier rediscovered the path of posterity with the first notes of his Te Deum , his Midnight Massis probably one of the main works which earned him recognition. It invites you to immerse yourself in a musical world where learned and popular traditions are not opposed, quite the contrary: all the art and science of Charpentier are illustrated in this invitation of traditional Christmas carols within a mass. composed for Christmas Night, around 1690. These melodies were known to all, peasants and gentlemen alike, who recognized them, interwoven within a subtle counterpoint and a renewed harmony, enriched with orchestral parts. The pleasure of music is offered to everyone: to recognize a known tune, or to grasp its extraordinary arrangement. The simplicity of the original chants also gives the whole Mass a candor and simplicity which spoke universally at the time. 

L ' In nativitatem H.416 to take the place of a vigil before the Midnight Mass, in the manner of the great sacred stories of Charpentier, traces the story of the Nativity where the Angel Gabriel announces to the Shepherds the great news of the birth of the Christ. 

Sébastien Daucé rediscovers this Christmas program which he recorded magnificently, to celebrate the Nativity in a style admired by the Versailles of Louis XIV.

English

Midnight Mass for 4 voices, flutes and violins for Christmas by Charpentier, M., From (2021/2021), Conductor Sébastien Daucé, Chapelle Royale, Versailles, France

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Program, About & Synopsis

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues