La Capella Reial de Catalunya & Le Concert des Nations

Two major scores by Charpentier vibrate in the expert hands of Jordi Savall: to the delicate liturgy of the Messe, anchored in the ancestral poetry of Christmas, responds the flamboyant and hymnic elation of the famous Te Deum.

Composed around 1694, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de minuit is based on an arrangement of 10 traditional Christmas songs, set within the vocal and instrumental ensemble like precious gems in the crowns of the Magi. Gracious and paced, but not without rhythmic vigour, this celebration of the Nativity maintains, despites its refined writing, a seductive organic link with the popular cultural heritage. Made famous as the theme song for the Eurovision competition, the Te Deum is a song of praise to the divinity and a musical  celebration. Written for choir, five soloists and instrumental ensemble, it incarnates the triumph of Versailles and its civilisation of grandeur. As testament is the famous Prelude, which has come to symbolize the Grand Siècle: trumpets and timpani, in the martial key of D major, a flamboyant gateway into this galvanizing music.  

La Capella Reial de Catalunya
Le Concert des Nations
Musical director Jordi Savall

Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Te Deum
La Messe de minuit