Search - La Chapelle Royale :: Gilles:Requiem

Retrieving the music of the Sun King

danielinyaracuy | San Felipe, Yaracuy Venezuela | 02/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If Italian and German music of the XVII and XVIII centuries are alive and well today, only in the past couple of decades we have seen a revival of some of the major French composers like Rameau and Charpentier. Many French composers have only themselves to blame, writing rather for the court than for the "people", worrying more about immediate success at Versailles than spreading their works through France. Now, little by little brilliant music of other composers from these glory days of French culture is coming to a CD player near you. This issue is a gem. First a solemn requiem with an amazing balance of emotion, composure, and theater (the first movement march in particular, an amazing feat just by itself, and one of those "moments" of my musical life). Pure "French" style, and exercise in Classical restraint. And to compensate the solemnity of the Requiem, the director, an inspired Herreweghe, has chosen a "Grand Motet" from Gilles. French music was conceived as much for the music as for spectacle and a sense of theater also pervades this work. Yet is has a sprightly quality that allows you to hum it afterwards. We have to give a big thanks to La Chapelle Royale for bringing back to us Gilles, a provincial composer in France, who shows us that all did not revolve around Versailles. One wonders about what still lies under piles of dust in French libraries. And why did the French waited so long to bring back their musical heritage."

Gagne à être connu

Ron Roy | Canada | 10/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ce requiem méconnu de Jean Gilles est très beau et très bien

interprété sous la direction de Philippe Herreweghe.

Somptueuse musique digne de M.A Charpentier. À découvrir.

"