Motets de jeunesse de Lalande · théâtre de Caen
18.02.21 ___ 20:00
Théâtre de Caen, Caen
♢
Michel-Richard de Lalande – Cantique quatrième sur le bonheur des Justes et des Réprouvés
Charles d’Helfer – Missa sex Vocum
Michel-Richard de Lalande – Miserere mei
Michel-Richard de Lalande – Veni Creator Spiritus
Michel-Richard de Lalande – La Grande Pièce Royale
Michel-Richard de Lalande – Dies Irae
After Lully’s brilliant career at the Court of the Sun King, 1687 marked a major milestone for the music of the French royal court. Lully had just died, leaving behind him fervent admirers and fascinated disciples: the Florentine monopoly on French music would paralyse musical life, especially opera, for many years. Although he was under the charm of Lully’s music, Louis XIV did not totally give in to the monopolistic demands of his composer. Thus, in 1683, the king himself organized a competition to recruit new musicians for his chapel: the most brilliant composers in the kingdom participated (including Marc-Antoine Charpentier). The king decided: «It is Lalande that I choose». Thus, the 26-years old Michel-Richard Delalande, son of a tailor and trained at St Germain l’Auxerrois, took his place in the middle of this musical world of the court, with the blessing of Lully. Over the years, after Lully’s death, he earned even more the appreciation from Louis XIV, eventually winning all the responsibilities for the court’s music.
During the first years of his career in Versailles, he created a repertoire of great motets that became not only exemplary for Europe, but were also chosen as favourite pieces of the king and the court: conceived within the very institutional framework and richly decorated with the royal chapel, these works were also very popular with the public, since they were part of the programme of the Concert spirituel, a private company organizing concerts in Paris, for many years to come. Thus, born in the royal bosom, these works have known a long history and success, generating an impressive economic benefit for decades after the composer’s death in 1726. After his death, his widow obtained a royal privilege from Louis XV to edit all of his motets. Their success also goes beyond borders: they are played and adored throughout Europe.
Lalande, who produced so much in his youth, does not feel such a need to continue on this dynamic, but rather to rework each of the pieces he conceived in his younger years, refining them (sometimes in depth) until his death. In fact, we now practically only know the ultimate state of these compositions. For this program, we have chosen to return to the source and find the original versions of these great motets, and thus understand the original inspiration of this prodigy from the end of the Great Century and what enchanted Louis XIV’s ear!
Booking information : théâtre de Caen
♢