Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

For admirers of the work of Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) this release is a true Christmas gift. The music is Charpentier at his best, the performances by period ensemble Ensemble Correspodances, both vocally and instrumentally are outstanding, the audio quality equally good, and the CD booklet notes illuminating. But, inevitably, there is a but. Your reviewer enjoys a bit of baroque in the background while he does other things and this album is melodic and indeed fills the bill for background music but it deserves a more serious listen which is where I struggled. My French is nowhere near sufficiently fluent to follow the story and if I have to read the text, supplied in translation in the CD booklet, the music ceases to be in the background. While this is no bad thing, as Charpentier is usually worth hearing, reading the text shows us that the composer has let his imagination run away with him. In the "Pastoral On The Birth Of Our Lord Jesus Christ" we have a band of shepherds and shepherdesses with an elder of the shepherds, the obligatory Chorus of Angels, and Mary and Joseph who do not actually appear in the score. While it is clear that the birth of Jesus is being celebrated there is so much going on that is not found in any of the Gospels that this listener got in a muddle. To add to my confusion there are alternative versions of some scenes which will no doubt delight scholars studying the piece but left me wanting less. Also included are Charpentier's version of the "Great 'O' Antiphons for Advent": "O Radix Jesse" ("O Root Of Jesse"), "O Emmanuel", and the rest. Being more familiar with the Latin texts I was able to follow these short pieces more easily and would very much like the opportunity to sing them myself. We also get a most lovely ballad "Or Nous Dites Marie" ("Now Tell Us Mary") that certainly put a smile on this reviewer's face. So for students of French baroque this is an essential purchase, for those who enjoy baroque in general the gold outweighs the dross sufficiently to make this a recommended listen, but for those wishing to expand their repertoire of Christmas carols this is not for you.

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.

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