Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

For 20 years (from 1663 to 1683) Henry Du Mont directed the music of the chapel of Louis XIV, ("the Sun King"). For the daily Mass heard there he built up a new musical repertory consisting of motets for full chorus and more intimate pieces for solo voices. The former aimed to transpose to the context of the 'ordinary' the format of the large-scale works conceived for extraordinary ceremonies. Sébastien Daucé presents an innovative approach to these 'grands motets' that at once links specific musical features with historical data and reveals all their beauties in every detail. The music is of its time (late 17th century) and place (France) and listeners who enjoy the work of Du Mont's contemporaries Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) or Francois Couperin (1668-1733) will enjoy Du Mont. I found it to be pleasantly tuneful background music but with little that was memorable. Sébastien Daucé and his Ensemble Correspondences certainly give full value with 70 minutes of outstanding singing and the booklet notes by Laurence Decobert add to our understanding and enjoyment of what was, to me at least, an unknown composer.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.