"If [Solomon's Knot] can make [an] appearance with singing and playing of such a consistently high quality, it ought to have a starry future" Musical Opinion, Jul/Aug 2010 read full review here
 |
The French oratorio, or histoire sacrée, was a modest and short-lived affair compared with the prodigious development of the genre in Germany and England. Nonetheless, its one true champion, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, wrote astonishing masterpieces in this form when he imported it from Italy after his studies in Rome with Giacomo Carissimi. Le Reniement de saint Pierre is perhaps the finest example.
In this programme we also juxtapose 'the two C's' liturgical music, with two fantastically joyful compositions for three lower male voices, and one of Charpentier's deeply affecting Requiem masses.
Project repertoire & personnel
Marc-Antoine Chapentier (1643-1704): Magnificat à 3 H.73
Messe des morts H.7
Marin Marais (1656-1728): pièces de violeLe Reniement de saint Pierre H.424
Giacomo Carissimi (1605-1674): Missa a quinque et a novem (version for TTB) (doubtful)
6 singers ~ 3 viols ~ flute (optional) ~ organ ~ theorbo ~ harpsichord (optional)Historia de Jephte
Performances
2010: St John's Smith Square, London.
 |
| Rehearsing the Magnificat à 3 in SJSS - James Williams Oldfield, Julian Forbes, Jonathan Sells, Manuel Minguillón, Henrik Persson and Florian Carré (behind the organ!). |
