Ensemble Les Surprises, the performing group on this album, was founded in 2010 by viol player Juliette Guignard and organist/harpsichordist Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas.
Cultural Impact
Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum H. 146 gained widespread recognition after its 1953 recording and its use as the signature tune for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Composition History
Henry Desmarest's 'Lyons' Te Deum, featured on this album, is believed to have been performed in August 1725 for Princess Marie Leszczynska's marriage to Louis XV.
Compositional Technique
Charpentier's Te Deum H. 146 is notable for its use of trumpets and drums, which was a standard feature of Te Deums at the time but unique among Charpentier's own settings.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, one of the composers on this album, described the key of D major as 'joyful and very warlike' in his Rules of Composition (1690).
Historical Context
The Te Deum was a sacred hymn used in 17th and 18th-century France for public celebrations, including royal births, marriages, military victories, and religious rites.
Interpretation
The ensemble Les Surprises focuses on rediscovering Baroque repertoire and enriching it with new interpretations, based on musicological and historical research.
You might also enjoy...
Weihnachtshistorie
Handel: Te Teum for Cannons & Chandos Anthem No.8
Heinichen: Lamentationes / Passionsmusik
Vivaldi: Domine Ad Adiuvandum Me Festina, Rv 593 / Credo, Rv 592 / Sacrum, Rv 586
Bach, JS/Bach, CPE: Magnificats/Scarlatti: Messa di Santa Cecilia
Schütz: Weihnachts-Historie
Durante, Astorga, Pergolesi - Sacred Works
Durante, Astorga, Pergolesi / Sacred Works
DHM Splendeurs: Durante, Astorga, Pergolesi / Sacred Works
