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CD reviews
André CAMPRA (1660 - 1744): "Messe de Requiem & Les Maîtres de Notre-Dame de Paris"
Ensemble Correspondances
Dir: Sébastien Daucé
rec: Jan 2024, Paris, Église Notre-Dame-du-Liban
Harmonia mundi - HMM 902679 (© 2024) (69'48")
Liner-notes: E/D/F; lyrics - translations: E/D/F
Cover, track-list & booklet
Score Campra
Spotify
André CAMPRA:
Messe de Requiem;
François COSSET (c1610-c1673):
Missa Domine salvum fac regem a 6 (Kyrie; Gloria; Sanctus; Agnus Dei);
Jean MIGNON (1640-1708):
Procul maligni caedite Spiritus a 1;
Pierre ROBERT (c1622-1699):
Christe redemptor omnium;
Templi sacratas a 1;
Tristis est anima mea a 8;
Jean VEILLOT (c1600-1662):
Ave verum corpus a 5;
Domine salvum fac regem a 5
Sources:
Sébastien Mabre-Cramoisy, ed., Antiphonarium Parisiense, 1681;
Pierre Robert, Motets pour la Chapelle du roy, 1684
Caroline Weynants, Eva Plouvier, Perrine Devillers, Caroline Dangin Bardot, dessus;
Lucile Richardot, bas-dessus;
Rodrigo Carreto, Carlos Porto, Abel Zamora, haute-contre;
François Joron, Randol Rodriguez, Thibault Givaja, taille;
Étienne Bazola, Thierry Cartier, basse-taille;
Lysandre Châlon, Renaud Brès, basse
Lucile Perret, recorder;
Matthieu Bertaud, recorder, transverse flute;
Gabrielle Rubio, transverse flute;
Mélanie Flahaut, bassoon;
Patrick Wibart, serpent;
Simon Pierre, Béatrice Linon, Paul Monteiro, violin;
Xavier Sichel, Katherine Goodbehere, violin, viola;
Samuel Hengebaert, Christophe Mourault, viola;
Mathilde Vialle, Noémie Lenhof, viola da gamba;
Gauthier Broutin, François Gallon, basse de violon;
Étienne Floutier, violone;
Thibaut Roussel, archlute;
Mathieu Valfré, organ
If one looks at the frontispiece of the disc which is the subject of this review, one probably won't expect anything new. There is no lack of recordings of André Campra's Requiem. In fact, it is one of the best-known specimens of sacred music of the French Baroque. However, if one looks at the smaller letters, one will discover that this disc has more to offer. With this recording, Campra's Requiem is put into a historical perspective: it is the last work by one of the maîtres de musique of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in the 17th century. Today the sacred music that was written for the Chapelle Royale receives much attention, especially the genre of the grand motet. The label Château de Versailles Spectacles is releasing a series of recordings of such works. In comparison, only specialists know what was performed at the Notre-Dame and who composed the music.
The Cathedral took a particularly important place in the Catholic Church in France, especially since Pope Gregory XV elevated the bishopric of Paris to the status of a metropolitan archbishopric, which also meant that a number of dioceses became its suffragans. "This event was accompanied by the revival of neo-Gallican theories, which claimed that the King, as head of the Church of France, should enjoy a certain independence from Rome. Ruling by divine right, the monarch should be subject only to divine authority, acknowledging only the moral authority of the Pope, who was also a temporal prince. Given its position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy and its link with the monarchy, Notre-Dame was to play an essential role in this dynamic, which reached its apogee at the end of the Grand Siècle." (booklet) In 1638 Louis XIII placed the kingdom of France under the protection of the Virgin Mary, and in the wake of this Notre-Dame became a Marian and monarchical primatial church.
The Notre-Dame chapter introduced liturgical reforms which did not entirely break away from Rome, but were specific French in various ways. Part of this was the creation of chants, which found its expression in the publication of the Missal (1654), the Directorium chori (1656) and, in 1662, the Ceremonial and the Gradual. The programme includes two specimens of this liturgical repertoire, by Jean Mignon, maître de musique from 1664 to 1694, and by his predecessor Pierre Robert. The former's hymn Procul maligni (for the feast of St Mary of Magdalene) and the latter's antiphon for the feast of Candlemas, Templi sacratas, are performed here in monophony to the accompaniment of a serpent, as was the custom in France.
The earliest maître de chapelle in the programme is Jean Veillot, who held this post from 1640 to 1643; in the latter year he became sous-maître at the Chapelle Royale. He was not the last who made this move, which shows the competition between the two institutions. At the Chapelle Royale he was the inventor of the grand motet, which was then further developed by Pierre Robert and Henry du Mont. He was highly appreciated in his time, but unfortunately only a handful of his compositions have been preserved, among them the two motets for five voices and basso continuo included here.
Veillot was succeeded by François Cosset, but that was not a great success. That was due to his personal behaviour towards the choirboys, whom he mistreated, and his conflicts with the canons. In 1646 he was dismissed and returned to his native city of Reims. His oeuvre comprises only eight masses for four to six voices. These are written in the stile antico. According to the work-list in New Grove, three of the masses are lost, among them the Missa Domine salvum fac regem from which four sections are included here. According to the booklet, the mass was published in 1659. Has this mass been found? The liner-notes say: "In keeping with contemporary usage in music performed for the 'extraordinary' liturgy, but also with the evolution of practices at the end of the seventeenth century, it is here given increased stature by the use of instruments, modelled on the arrangement of the mass undertaken in the 1680s by the composer Sébastien de Brossard, himself
maître de chapelle in Strasbourg and subsequently in Meaux. This version 'en symphonie', which was no more than sketched out by Brossard, has been completed by Sébastien Daucé." This seems to suggest that the version by Brossard is the source of this performance because the original version has been lost. I wonder why not the entire mass was performed, given the duration of this disc.
From 1646 to 1653 Valentin de Bouronville acted as maître de musique. Only two masses of his pen have been preserved. In 1653 Pierre Robert was appointed his successor. He received his first musical education at the choirschool of Notre-Dame in Paris. He acted as maître de chapelle at Senlis Cathedral (1648-1650) and in Chartres (1650-1652). In 1663 Louis XIV appointed him as one of the sous-maîtres of the Chapelle royale. In 1672 he, along with Henri du Mont, one of the other sous-maîtres, was appointed as compositeur de la musique de la chapelle et de la chambre du roi. When he resigned in 1683 he was granted a considerable pension which he was able to enjoy until his death. As already has been mentioned, Robert played a substantial role in the development of the genre of the grand motet. Nearly all compositions of his pen that have come down to us, date from his time as sous-maître at the Chapelle Royale. That also goes for the grand motet included here: Christe redemptor omnium, a hymn for the first and second Vespers of the feast of All Saints. One of the few works written during his time at the Notre-Dame is Tristis est anima mea, an expressive setting for eight voices of one of the Tenebrae responsories.
The disc opens with the latest work in the programme, the Messe de Requiem by Campra, who acted as maître de musique from 1694, succeeding the above-mentioned Jean Mignon, to 1700, when he was dismissed by the canons because of his activities in the field of opera, following the great success of his L'Europe galante, which premièred in 1697. He continued to compose sacred music, though, especially for the Jesuits, with whom he had begun collaborating in 1698. There are different views on the date of composition of the Requiem and the reasons why Campra composed it. The liner-notes point out that a new theory has been presented with a new edition of the work, which the author, Thomas Leconte, believes to be convincing. Campra follows the Roman liturgy rather than the Gallican Rite, and this was according to the custom of the Jesuits. A specific occasion where Campra's Requiem may have been performed was a funeral service at the Église des Mathurins, in memory of Louis Boucherat, Chancellor of France, in March 1700, probably under the composer's own direction. During the 18th century Campra's work was frequently performed, especially outside Paris, and in particular in the south-eastern part, his native region.
As I wrote, there is no lack of recordings of Campra's Messe de Requiem, and some of these are very good. Recently I reviewed the recording by Emmanuelle Haïm, which I appreciated very much. This performance by the Ensemble Correspondances is even better. That is due to the quality of this ensemble, which is hard to surpass, but also the fact that it is such a fine unity. The singers are a real ensemble, but individually they deliver highly expressive performances in the solo parts. I don't need to specify them, but I can't resist mentioning Lucile Richardot with her unique voice. François Joron and Étienne Bazola are also particularly impressive. The playing of the instrumentalists is excellent.
This disc is more than just another recording of Campra's Messe de Requiem. It is put into its historical context, which is hardly known. It is to be hoped that the music performed at the Notre-Dame in Paris in the 17th century is going to be thoroughly explored in the near future.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)
Relevant links:
Ensemble Correspondances