Of These, Hope
charpentier’s te deum & campra’s requiem
programme
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Te Deum in D major, H. 146
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Motet pour les trépassés à 8, H. 311, "Plainte des âmes du Purgatoire”
André Campra
Requiem
about
Festival artist Reinoud Van Mechelen - together with his baroque ensemble, a nocte temporis, and the Chamber Choir of Namur - perform André Campra's Requiem. This French composer was a transitional figure between Lully and Rameau. His works, both religious and secular, are distinctive for their French-Italian lightness and restraint.
Before achieving success as a composer of operas, André Campra was employed for a time as Kapellmeister at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. In this capacity he composed a requiem that proved so popular that, 100 years later, parts of it are still played at funerals in southern France. The score, rediscovered in the 20th century, was composed for four groups of performers: a five-voice Grand Choeur, a two- to three-voice Petit Choeur, three soloists and an instrumental group.
The most famous work by the slightly older Marc-Antoine Charpentier is without doubt the Te Deum, the first eight measures of which are used as the opening music for events such as the Eurovision Song Contest. In this ‘grand motet’, a genre developed at the court of the Sun King, timpani and trumpets are much in evidence. In D major - the 'key of glory' - they celebrate together with the choir and soloists both God and the King.
Credits
coproduction
Klarafestival, Bozar
image
© Senne Van der Ven