The Leçons de Ténèbres became increasingly popular musical compositions in the mid-17^th century. Michel Lambert was the first in France to compose a full cycle in 1662, soon followed by Charpentier and Lalande. But the most famous – and the first to be rediscovered by the recording industry and the wider public – are those of François Couperin, dating from 1714.

At the end of Louis XIV’s reign, France was a land of piety, but also of Italian influence in music, including sacred music. The emotional intensity that Couperin composed for his singers is so dramatic, it could be mistaken for opera. Vocal expression and spirituality are artfully combined, reflecting the refined style of French singing practised in salons and theatres as well as in places of worship. In the convents of Paris, people would flock to hear these divine voices intoning Les Leçons pour les jours de la Semaine Sainte, the faceless voices of young conventual recluses, voices from heaven… but often opera singers when the halls were closed in times of penitence! Traditionally, candles were extinguished one by one during the Office of Tenebrae, ending in the darkness of night. The three surviving Leçons by François Couperin were written for Holy Wednesday and represent one of the high points of early 18^th-century French sacred art.

Catherine Trottmann and Ana Vieira Leite, two outstanding sopranos of the younger generation, bring this musical miracle back to life under the direction of Chloé de Guillebon, in the deepening night when, one by one, the candles are extinguished…

Royal Opera Productions.

CD available in the Château de Versailles Spectacles collection.

Couperin : Leçons de Ténèbres

Candlelight concert.

Sébastien de Brossard (1655-1730)

Stabat Mater

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

Le reniement de Saint-Pierre

François Couperin (1668-1733)
Trois Leçons de Ténèbres pour le Mercredi Saint

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PRESTIGE CATEGORY: Excellent seats, you will receive a complimentary programme and a glass of champagne.

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