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CD reviews
"Un bouquet de myrrhe - Musique pour les cathédrales françaises au XVIIe siècle" (Music for French cathedrals in the 17th century
Les Pages & les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles
Maud Caille, cornett;
Volny Hostiou, Patrick Wibart, serpent;
Isabelle Saint-Yves, viola da gamba;
Haruna Nakaie, organ
Dir: Fabien Armengaud
rec: April 12 - 14, 2026, Château (Chapelle Royale), Versailles
Château de Versailles Spectacles - CVS197 (© 2026) (59'42")
Liner-notes: E/F; lyrics - translations: E/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
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[in order of appearance]
anon:
Cantate Domino O Turonenses
[Le jardin des délices]
Étienne MOULINIÉ (1599-1676):
Flores apparuerunt;
anon:
Fasciculus mirrhae;
Quasi cedrus exaltata sum;
Surge aquilo
[Le cantiques des cantiques]
anon:
Quam pulchra es;
Vulnerasti cor meum;
Henry DU MONT (1610-1684):
Quae est ista;
anon:
Surge amica mea;
Tota pulchra es;
Te decet laus
[L'évocation de la mort]
anon:
Tristis est anima mea;
Impetum fecerunt;
Beati mortui;
Ecce homo;
Guillaume BOUZIGNAC (1587-1643):
O mors ero mors;
anon:
In pace in idipsum;
Ha plange filia Jerusalem
[La figure de la Vierge]
Antoine BOËSSET (1587-1643):
Salve regina;
anon:
Alma redemptoris mater;
Regina caeli laetare;
Tu cum virgineo
[La rédemption]
Jean MILLET (1618-1684):
Ave verum;
anon:
Ecce panis angelorum;
Omnes gentes
solo: Marie Baron, Henri de Montalembert, soprano;
Flavien Lecomte, haute-contre;
Joé Loyola, Antoine Magnin, taille;
Dario Jara Novoa, Gaspard Layet-Lecuyer, Sacha Riera, basse(-tailles)
Recordings devoted to sacred music under the ancien régime in France mostly focus on the oeuvre of some of the greatest composers, such as Charpentier, Lully, Lalande and Couperin. One could get the impression that this part of the repertoire shows less variety than in, for instance, Germany or Italy. To some extent that may be true: fact is that France was a highly centralized state, and music life had Paris and Versailles as its centres. One of the reasons that so much music was written in Germany and Italy is the political division of these two parts of Europe. There were many political entities, ruled by aristocrats, who had their own musical establishments. In protestant Germany another factor caused the large production of sacred music: each Sunday or feastday of the ecclesiastical year required music connected to the Gospel of the day, and music was mostly not performed more than once.
However, the French sacred repertoire is larger and more varied than one may expect, and that has much to do with modern performance practice, which tends to ignore what was written and performed in other parts of the country. It is only recently that more systematically the repertoire which has been produced in, for instance, the south of France, is given attention. Even in Paris music was performed that has received little interest, as the disc "La naissance de Versailles" shows.
The present disc includes music from two important collections of sacred music. It is unfortunate that the booklet does not offer any substantial information about these sources. Fabien Armengaud, in his liner-notes, gets straight to the point: "The Tours and Deslauriers manuscripts feature over three hundred vocal pieces and are a fundamental record at early 17th-century music in France". But what are these manuscripts he refers to? Where do they come from, and when they were put together?
On the site of the Centre de Musique Baroque Versailles, I found this: "The manuscript in Tours and the Deslauriers manuscript housed in France's national library are rare examples of early 17th century sacred music, as most of the repertoire disappeared after the French Revolution. Their exceptional musical value is matched by their historical interest. The CMBV has been working on the publication of these works since 2012 is preparing a first edition of these collections under the supervision of Jean Duron." It is part of a project which "hopes to gain insights into how the religious music was organised and deployed in French chapter choir schools. They reflected ecclesiastical power and prestige through their music, but also echoed the faith of the common people. The project researches into how musicians were trained under the Ancien Régime. Most came from such choir schools, which were actually music conservatoires long before their time. The project thus explores the fundamental issue of the craft of musicians." That is at least something. However, more information would be most welcome.
That said, Armengaud indicates that not that much is known about them. "Perhaps these two collections represent a kind of musical cartography, the work of a musician who, throughout his life and during his travels, collected the compositions that he considered most remarkable? Or do we have before our eyes the masterpieces of the era: pieces that won the competitions then called "Puy de musique? The mystery remains unsolved..."
The track-list includes several pieces by composers whose oeuvre has been the subject of recordings: Étienne de Moulinié, Antoine Boësset, Guillaume Bouzignac and Henry Du Mont. However, we know Boësset almost exclusively from his secular oeuvre (especially the airs de cour) and Henry Du Mont from his grands motets. Only Bouzignac and Moulinié are represented which pieces not unlike those performed on this disc.
The programme has been divided into five sections, preceded by a psalm of praise, Cantate Domino O Turonenses; the title refers to Tours. First we get pieces under the header "Le jardin des délices" (The garden of delights). This section opens with Moulinié's Flores apparuerunt, a text from the Song of Songs, where the word "turturis" ([the voice] of the turtle) is vividly illustrated. It ends in a slow tempo, reflecting the text: "I languish with love". In Surge Aquilo images from the Song of Songs are connected to Mary: "Awake, O North wind, and come, thou South; blow, O blow upon the garden of Mary".
The Song of Songs is the subject of the second section. The anonymous Vulnerasti cor meum is notable for its chromaticism, which seems not specifically to be inspired by the text. Du Mont's Quae est ista is set for high voices, as is the anonymous Tota pulchra es. As one may expect, rising figures are used to depict the text in Surge, amica mea. Te decet laus is performed instrumentally.
The third section is entitled "L'évocation de la mort" (The evocation of death) and opens with a setting of one of the Tenebrae Responsories, Tristis est anima mea. Next follows Impetum fecerunt, which is about the death of Stephen, the first martyr: "They ran upon him with one accord. And they cast him out of the city, and stoned him". This text is vividly depicted in the music. It ends in a slow tempo on the text: "He fell asleep in the Lord". A remarkable piece is Ecce homo. It is a dialogue between Pilate (sung by a solo voice with serpent) and the crowds during the process leading to Christ's crucifixion. It is a highly theatrical scene, taking just 90 seconds. This piece is followed by another very short motet, O mors ero mors, one of the best-known pieces by Bouzignac. In pace in idpisum - "I will sleep, and I will rest in peace" - is set to long notes to be sung in a slow tempo. This section closes with Ha! plange filia Jerusalem, a piece on the Passion of Christ: "Ah! Lament, O daughter of Jerusalem (...) Behold the hands, behold the feet, behold the side, behold the body pierced with the cruel spear." The repeated words "Ha! plange" (Ah! lament) have a dramatic effect.
Obviously pieces about Mary could not fail to be included ("La figure de la Vierge"). This section includes two of the Marian antiphons: Salve Regina and Alma redemptoris mater. Regina caeli laetare is a piece for Easter, and is performed with solo voices.
The last section is "La rédemption" (Redemption), opening with Jesu nostra redemptio: "Jesu, our redemption, our love and our desire. O God, the creator of all things, Man in the ending of all times. Amen." Ave verum by Jean Millet - a piece not in one of the two manuscripts - is performed instrumentally. This section and the entire programme close with another psalm of praise: Omnes gentes, which has the same exalted character as the opening psalm: "O clap your hands, all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph. Alleluia."
All the pieces on this disc are short, taking between one and three minutes. Most of them are homorhythmic, some also homophonic. This may well reflect musical practice in schools. That does not say anything about their quality. It is remarkable how much these short pieces have to offer with regard to the connection between text and music, which is one of the basic ingredients of the baroque style. Most of the composers may have remained anonymous, they were masters nevertheless. The fact that these pieces are rather short may explain why they are not often performed or recorded, although they could find a place in many thematical programmes. That makes this recording all the more important.
The performances are pretty much ideal. The line-up is based on what is known on the basis of historical research about the forces in French maîtrises of the 17th century. "[Current] knowledge has led us to favour a group of about ten children, the Pages, accompanied by a men's choir of the Chantres. A cornett, a viol, two serpents, and an organ accompany the choir, as was customary in the cathedrals of France at the time".
The young singers (boys and girls) are excellent, and so are the adults. Together they deliver impressive performances, which perfectly convey the expressive content of each piece. The use of serpents is one of the nice aspects of this recording. I hope this is not the last recording of this very interesting repertoire, that is not part of the mainstream, but deserves to be thoroughly explored.
Johan van Veen (© 2026)
Relevant links:
Les Pages et les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles