Of all the composers of the grand siècle to whom William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have tirelessly devoted themselves for over 40 years, Marc-Antoine Charpentier is perhaps the most emblematic. This concert is the sacred counterpart to the secular “feast” of the previous Saturday at the Amphithéâtre: an immersion in the religious music of a great master of the French Baroque, a moment of grace between fervour and contemplation. Among other gems, the public will have the opportunity to rediscover the majesty of the Magnificat, H. 77, the awe-inspiring serenity of the Litanies à la Vierge, and the virtuoso writing of the Nuptiae sacrae—a nuptial dialogue evoking the relationship of Christ to His Church.
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Magnificat, H. 77
Te Deum H. 147
Pange lingua, H. 61
Litanies à la Vierge, H. 83
Pestis Mediolanensis, H. 398 & H. 398 a
Nuptiae sacrae, H. 412
