Lully: Grands Motets - Benedictus

Lully's Grand Motets were the first masterpieces of the "grand format" style which was to become the hallmark of French sacred music and an emblem of the century of Louis XIV. For the King's daily office at Versailles, the liturgy was very particular: the low mass was said by the priest and adorned by a permanent concert of voices and instruments, among the most sumptuous imaginable, the Grands Motets pour la Chapelle du Roi.

To revive these works, so iconic for Versailles, Stéphane Fuget has brought together the best performers for this project, a veritable "army of generals" in which the choir is composed of exceptional singers, who alternate between solo parts and large choral pieces, as in Lully's time, for a dazzling result. The variety and number of musicians also contrasts with modern performance practices: eight instruments of the flute family called on when needed, the twenty-four violins of course, the organ and harpsichord, the theorbo, the flamboyant band of oboes, in short, an opulent musical ensemble such as has never been assembled to (re)perform the music of Lully or his contemporaries. This will be the challenge of this third volume of a complete CD of Lully's Grands Motets, which the same interpreters have been performing for two years now.

This concert will bring together three of the most beautiful motets: Benedictus, composed in 1685 shortly before Lully's death, its architecture is extraordinary and transcends sacred drama; Notus in Judea Deus, a true song of victory celebrating the Glory of God; Domine Salvum fac Regem, the energetic "God saves the King" systematically sung in honour of the Sovereign to close religious services and special occasions, accompanied by the sublime Magnificat by Henry Du Mont, who was in charge of the Music of the King's Chapel until 1683.

If you wish to hear the most incredible orchestral and choral colours of the Grand Siècle, in Lully's powerful masterpieces, Stéphane Fuget and the Epopées await you at the Chapelle Royale.

This programme will be recorded for the discographic collection of Château de Versailles Spectacles' label. You can find the volumes 1&2 of Lully's Grands Motets in the discographic collection Château de Versailles Spectacles.