Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

In this debut recording for Harmonia Mundi French conductor and musicologist
Sébastien Daucé and his musicians present a sumptuous interpretation of the six-voice motets composed by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) for Princess Marie, the last duchess of the House of Guise. These works, headed by the "Miserere", are like a breath of fresh country air when compared to the much more formal and often stilted music being written for the French royal family and their places of worship. The creative genius, the inwardness and the intense fervour of a composer surrounded by his faithful company of singers and instrumentalists speak to us all the more intimately because Charpentier appears here as both copyist (the surviving scores are in his handwriting and with musical directions where the composer writes memos to himself) and performer (he sang countertenor). Since its formation in 2008, the Ensemble Correspondances have devoted themselves chiefly to French sacred music of the 17th century. Brought together by Sébastien Daucé during their studies at the Conservatoire de Lyon, the musicians of Correspondances pursue this work (focusing on Marc-Antoine Charpentier) with infectious enthusiasm and this album captures their joie de vivre. To this reviewer's ears the best comparison is to the sacred music of Bach where serious texts are brought to life by a talented composer. The musicianship of Ensemble Correspondances is first class.

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