Charpentier: Judith. Pages & Chantres De Versaille

Dagmar Saskova¡ (soprano), Erwin Aros (counter-tenor), Jean-Francois Novelli (tenor), Arnaud Richard (bass-baritone), Les Pages & Les Chantres de Versailles, Olivier Schneebeli

CHARPENTIER Judith sive Bethulia liberata, Caedes Sanctorum Innocentium

On this live recording from the Chapelle Royale at the Chateau de Versailles, Olivier Schneebeli and Les Pages & les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles illuminate Marc-Antoine Charpentier's admirable synthesis of Italian chiaroscuro and the radiant grace of the French Baroque. The disc presents two of the composer's Histoires sacres - Judith sive Bethulia liberata and Caedes Sanctorum Innocentium. Stimulated by his years of training in Rome, these works represent a kind of "sacred theatre." They deploy unprecedented vocal and instrumental invention to portray major episodes from the Old and New Testaments, focusing on their emotional and psychological aspects.