Andre Campra: Messe de Requiem and the Masters of Notre-Dame

The cathedral at Notre Dame has always been an influential center of church music. This was especially true in the late 1600s.  The Pope elevated the Bishopric of Paris in 1622. 

The now metropolitan archbishopric ruled over the other French bishoprics. This made it the center of Catholic worship in France. In the 1640s, the Notre Dame archbishop developed new liturgies and new music with it. 

This release features the music masters of Notre Dame who set those new standards. The centerpiece of the album is the Messa de Requiem by Andre Campra. Campra wrote both religious and secular music, specifically opera. 

His Messa de Requiem was written in the 1720s. The choruses are lushly harmonized, and almost operatic. Yet there's a clarity to this music I found refreshing. 

Contemporary sacred music written at Versailles is grandiose. After all, it was written to the glory of the king as well as to the glory of God. Campra's Requiem is less florid and more focused. This is music written to inspire contemplation in the vast space of Notre Dame.

The style of the other composers follows the same aesthetic. Francois Cosset and Jean Veillot were Notre Dame choir masters. They were a generation before Campra. Their harmonies seem a little simpler, while the ensemble sounds thicker. But this is still music for worship (and not of the king). 

The Ensemble Correspondaces has a beautifully crafted ensemble sound. It's warm, yet detailed. The instrumental ensemble is mostly strings, with a few wind instruments and organ. They provide understated accompaniment to the choir.

My impression of French 17th-century sacred music came from the Versailles composers.  Hearing the music created in the spiritual -- rather than the political -- center of France was enlightening, indeed.  

Andre Campra: Messe de Requiem
and the Masters of Notre-Dame, Paris
Ensemble Correspondances: Sébastien Daucé
Harmonia Mundi