Le Prince: Missa Macula non est in te Le Concert Spirituel & Hervé Niquet

• Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704): Gaudete fideles, H. 306
• 1Gaudete fideles, H. 30603:22
• Louis Le Prince: Missa Macula non est in te
• 2Kyrie03:55
• 3Gloria04:40
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Gratiarum actiones pro restituta regis christianissimi sanitate anno 1686, H. 341, Circumdederunt me dolores
• 4Gratiarum actiones pro restituta regis christianissimi sanitate anno 1686, H. 341, Circumdederunt me dolores10:20
• Missa Macula non est in te
• 5Credo08:07
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Ouverture pour le sacre d'un eveque, H. 536
• 6Ouverture pour le sacre d'un eveque, H. 53603:55
• Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687): O dulcissime Domine
• 7O dulcissime Domine06:07
• Missa Macula non est in te
• 8Sanctus03:58
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Elevation, H. 245, O pretiosum
• 9Elevation, H. 245, O pretiosum03:48
• Missa Macula non est in te
• 10Agnus Dei03:26
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Domine salvum, H. 299
• 11Domine salvum, H. 29903:15
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Magnificat, H. 75
• 12Magnificat, H. 7508:54
• Total Runtime01:03:47

Info for Le Prince: Missa Macula non est in te

Hervé Niquet once more returns to the gloriously rich world of 17th-century French sacred music with his musicians from Le Concert Spirituel. On this occasion, he is bringing to our attention a scarcely-known composer – in Louis Le Prince – who worked in Lisieux in Lower Normandy, interspersing the maître de chapelle’s Missa Macula non est in te with a mighty handful of motets by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (a figure much better known to us today in part through Hervé Niquet’s own frequent stylistically-masterful renditions of Charpentier’s music).

Mass and motets are given in this new recording from Glossa in versions for female voices and instruments. Whilst some of the pieces sung here were written specifically for high voices, it was a regular practice in the Baroque era to perform polyphonic masses with forces locally available and, thus, convents could well have sung Le Prince’s six-part mass – a homage to the Virgin Mary – making use of female singers. This practice is outlined by Fannie Vernaz in her accompanying booklet article and follows in the line of Hervé Niquet’s exploration of the Requiem Mass by Pierre Bouteiller (a work which he adapted for a choir consisting only of male voices). The gorgeous sonorities of Charpentier’s motets (and a petit motet by Jean-Baptiste Lully) contribute to an Office constructed by Hervé Niquet around the Ordinary of the Mass by Louis Le Prince, to demonstrate with great clarity the variety of the musical glories of Louis XIV’s grand siècle.

“Le Prince's polyphony is closely wrought and rather severe. Charpentier and Lully are less formal and more overtly sensuous. The performances are, as one might expect, ravishing” (The Guardian)

“This ‘nuns version’ is done here with great skill and performed tastefully on its own terms… fine music very well performed” (Early Music Review)

Le Concert Spirituel
Hervé Niquet, conductor

Recorded at Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, in October 2012
Engineered by Manuel Mohino
Produced by Dominique Daigremont
Executive producer & editorial director: Carlos Céster

Le Concert Spirituel
was the first company to perform private concerts in France. Founded in the eighteenth century, it closed with the outbreak of French Revolution. Its name was revived by Hervé Niquet when he founded his ensemble of ancient instruments in 1987, bringing back to life the great French repertoire played at the court of Versailles. In this spirit, Le Concert Spirituel collaborates closely with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and is devoted to airing the works of the great composers of French musical heritage, from Charpentier to Lully, by ways of Campra or Boismortier.

Expanding its repertoire to Italian, English and other masters, Le Concert Spirituel has made a name for itself on the national and international stage as one of the authoritative ensembles for the interpretation of Baroque music. Guest to the Salle Pleyel, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Château de Versailles each year, Le Concert Spirituel is also invited at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London’s Barbican Center and Wigmore Hall, at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Prom’s, at the Luxemburg Philharmonie, Tokyo Opera, BOZAR in Brussels, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Shanghai Concert Hall, and Theater an der Wien etc.

Hervé Niquet is proud to assemble an orchestra of keen musicians who interpret music, make instruments and conduct historical researches. This dynamic confederation provides for a "team ethic" which enables the realization of projects that are on the cutting edge of the latest discoveries in interpretation on period instruments. The Fireworks & Water Music production, whose recording received the Edison Award, is typical of this work.

While Le Concert Spirituel specializes in French sacred music and is recognized the world over for its work on this repertoire, an important part of its activity is also devoted to lyrical music. The ensemble unveiled works that received the most prestigious international awards : Marais's Sémélé was voted « Opera Recording of the Year » by the ECHO Klassik Awards in 2009, Grétry's Andromaque was awarded a “Grand Prix – Académie du disque Charles Cros” in 2010, and Campra’s Carnaval de Venise lately received the Supersonic Award and German Record Critic’s Award in 2011.

These musical adventures were also the opportunity to work with directors and choreographers as diverse as Gilles and Corinne Benizio (alias Shirley & Dino), Karol Armitage, Georges Lavaudant,and Joachim Schloemer. This process involving French operas has given birth to a collection of book-CD's in collaboration with the label Glossa (distributed by Harmonia Mundi), with whom Le Concert Spirituel has an exclusive recording engagement since 2000.

In 2013-2014, Le Concert Spirituel had scheduled a series of events: a European tour with Striggio’s Mass for 40 voices in Paris, Utrecht, Bremen, Bruxelles and Metz, a unique re-creation of the French version of Mozart’s La Flûte Enchantée at Salle Pleyel in Paris, a new production of Rameau’s Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra royal de Versailles and the Palais de Beaux-Arts of Bruxelles (250th death anniversary of Rameau), the production of Purcell’s King Athur (stage directors Corinne and Gilles Benizio alias Shirley et Dino) at the Opéra de Massy, a production of Purcell’s The Indian Queen (stage director Joachim Schloemer) at the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz.

Le Concert Spirituel, in residence at the Opéra-Théatre de Metz Métropole and the Arsenal de Metz - Metz en Scènes, is funded by the Ministry for the Arts and the Communication and the City of Paris. Le Concert Spirituel is funded by the Fondation Bru.

Booklet for Le Prince: Missa Macula non est in te