Reviewed by Dave Massey

This little-known French composer from Aix en Provence deserves to be more widely heard, and I have no doubt that this set will do the trick. Jean Gilles' (1668-1705) music is from the Renaissance, performed here by Le Concert Spirituel with an authentic orchestra which includes a Theorbo - an enormous member of the lute family. The result is a recording of the highest quality. The "Motet a Saint Jean Baptiste" is one of the best that I've heard, and affords us a glimpse of Gilles' originality as, unusually, he includes oboes and flutes along with the strings. His sense of melody rivals Handel's. There are some clever devices used too, and they give an impression of a composer in full command of his abilities. The "Lamentations Of Jeremiah" are preceded by letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Hebrew scribes were fond of acrostics) and Gilles responds by setting each letter with an increasing number of voices until the whole choir is singing. In the "Requiem" too, Gilles imparts a sense of peace and tranquillity by using long, sustained notes and then contrasts this with a sparkling fanfare representing the 'Flames Of Eternal Light1. The singers and players of Le Concert Spirituel know this kind of music inside out - and it shows in a marvellous recording that would be the crown in the best collection. . .

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