Queen Maria Theresa,
wife of Louis XIV of France, died in
1683 having married Louis in 1660. Memorial
services were held throughout France
from August to September and Marc-Antoine
Charpentier wrote music for one such
occasion, though the exact details of
the original performance are unknown.
Charpentier held no official court position
and the occasions when he wrote music
for the court were limited. In 1679
he had written a mass for the Dauphin,
but his most constant patron was the
Duchesse de Guise.
The first piece, In
obitum augustissimae nec no piisime
gallorum Reginae Imentum, hovers
somewhere between motet and oratorio.
Written for 6 or 7 voices with the addition
of recorders, flutes, 5 string parts
and continuo, it is a dramatisation
of the opposition between grief inspired
by death and rejoicing at the promise
of everlasting life. After a short instrumental
prelude, which is well shaped by Musica
Polyphonica, the messenger (Zeger Vandersteene)
gives notice of his grief at the death
of Maria Teresa; Vandersteene is suitable
impassioned but his voice sometimes
sounds a little uncontrolled. Faith,
Hope and Charity (Bernadette Degelin,
Diane Verdoodt and Marina Smolders)
sing a lovely trio bewailing their grief,
this develops into a solo for each of
the women. None of them is quite perfectly,
but the combine beautifully. The people,
represented by the chorus, interject
periodically. The Choeur de Chambre
de Namur are vigorous and quite stylish
in their interjections.
In the second part,
the Angel (Howard Crook) exhorts the
people to rejoice, informing them that
Maria Theresa is not dead but looking
forward to life everlasting. Crook makes
a lively, rather perky, Angel, providing
some lovely, stylish singing. There
then develops a dialogue on this theme,
between the Angel, Faith, Hope, Charity
and the people ending in general praise
for King Louis.
The second funeral
piece is Luctus de morte augustissimae
Marie Theresiae reginae Galliae.
This is altogether on a smaller scale,
being written for just 3 male voices,
two instruments and continuo. It is
a finely wrought piece, sombre and sober
and profoundly moving. It is an invitation
to everyone to lament and bewail themselves
on the fate of the Queen. The vocal
parts are notable for their use of silence.
Charpentier’s extensive and supremely
apposite use of the rest only serves
to heighten the atmosphere of profound
emotion. The piece opens with Howard
Crook singing what is billed as a counter-tenor,
but which I presume to be haut-contre.
Whatever the name of the part, he sings
it with superb control. For me, one
of the highlights of the whole disc
is the trio which follows on from this;
I found it remarkably haunting.
Between the two pieces,
the ensemble give us one of Charpentier’s
motets for the Elevation at the Mass,
Famem meam quis replebit? Like
the first piece on the disc, it takes
the form of a dialogue between Christ,
a noble Kurt Widmer, and Hunger and
Thirst.
This disc is, perhaps,
slightly short measure at 56 minutes
but it contains some fine music-making
and highlights some of Charpentier’s
most profoundly moving music.
Robert Hugill
Choeur de Chambre de Namur 
