A marvelous celebration of long-standing musical partnerships in one of the pinnacles of the sacred vocal art from the French Baroque comes with a new recording of the LeÃ§ons de tÃ©nÃ¨bres by FranÃ§ois Couperin from Les Nouveaux CaractÃ¨res, directed from the keyboard by SÃ©bastien d'HÃ©rin. This Glossa release features the French vocal pairing of the ensemble's co-founder, soprano Caroline Mutel and mezzo Karine Deshayes, an active participant in many of the recordings devoted to the ongoing renaissance of French nineteenth-century music to add to her bel canto skills, yet who still retains her love and technique for the Baroque. Indeed, when the ensemble was founded, one of the first fellow artists to agree to perform with them was Deshayes, and a concert in Versailles, dating back over a decade, saw Deshayes, Mutel and d'HÃ©rin join forces for these three LeÃ§ons de tÃ©nÃ¨bres. From the mid-seventeenth century onwards the monadic leÃ§ons de tÃ©nÃ¨bres spread from Italy into France, and the genre was taken up by FranÃ§ois Couperin, a leading advocate of the union of the two national styles. His surviving composition in this genre dates from 1714 and provide the singers with powerful opportunities to reflect the moving and harrowing texts taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, no more so than in the demanding duetting in the TroisiÃ¨me LeÃ§on. Instrumental and vocal music feature highly in Les Nouveaux CaractÃ¨res' programmes even if, in recent years, it has focused on Baroque opera - a Glossa Purcell Fairy-Queen, Leclair, Colin de Blamont, Campra, Rousseau, and a Glossa Rameau Les Surprises de l'Amour. This new recording adds instrumental music from Couperin and his uncle Louis to grace the vocal pearls.

Tracklist:

Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 1, Incipit Lamentatio - No. 2, Aleph
Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 3, Beth
Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 4, Gimel
Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 5, Daleth
Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 6, Heth
Première Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 7, Jerusalem, Convertere
Pavane In F-Sharp Minor
Deuxième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 1, Vau
Deuxième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 2, Zain
Deuxième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 3, Heth
Deuxième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 4, Teth
Deuxième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 5, Jerusalem, Convertere
Pompe Funèbre
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 1, Jod
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 2, Caph
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 3, Lamed
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 4, Mem
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 5, Nun
Troisième Leçon De Ténèbres: No. 6, Jerusalem, Convertere
Les Carillons De Paris

UPC: 8424562227033
Label: Glossa
Release Date: 3.20.20
Format: CD

Couperin / Mutel / Dherin - Lecons de Tenebres (CD)