The programme alone makes this disc highly valuable. These Leçons de Ténèbres are largely unknown, and Charpentier’s instrumental music is seldom played. They only serve to confirm that he was a brilliant composer who is often—and rightly so—mentioned in the same as greats such as Monteverdi, Bach and Purcell. It is interesting to note that Alexis Kossenko mentions the fact that Charpentier himself always wrote down the complete score, including the inner parts—unlike Lully, who had assistants to do that for him. He quotes Charpentier that “a chord is a chord only with its filling: it must be complete”. It just shows how much attention he gave to the expressive facets of his compositions and how important harmony was to him. That is one of the reasons that his music never fails to compel. This disc includes a rather curious find: a piece for solo voice without instrumental accompaniment. If you didn’t know that Sancti Dei, a motet pour plusieurs martyrs was from Charpentier’s pen, you would never have guessed it. You would probably not have placed it in the baroque era.

A programme as interesting and engaging as this deserves a perfect performance, and that is what it receives. I have never associated Stephan MacLeod with French music, but he does a very fine job. He sings with great sensitivity and understanding, both in regard to the expressive qualities of the music and its style. Arte dei Suonatori delivers colourful and refined performances of the instrumental parts. The Charpentier discography is quite extensive, but there is still much to discover in his oeuvre, as this disc proves. This is a highly valuable addition to the discography, and a disc to treasure. © MusicWeb International Read complete review