Leçons de ténèbres | Couperin
Under the lively and precise direction of Hervé Niquet, Le Concert Spirituel always finds the right eloquence and tone. While many recordings featuring excellent choirs and orchestras are somewhat spoiled by soloists who fall short, that is not the case here. The young cast assembled showcases nothing but talents to watch! A release that joins the ranks of benchmark recordings, which include, once again, Harry Christophers (Collins/Coro, 1993), Stephen Cleobury (Decca, 2000), and Pierre Cao (Eloquentia, 2010).
Philippe Gelinaud, Opéra Magazine, October-November 2025
Information
Produced by Alpha Classics.
Co-produced by Le Concert Spirituel & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France.
Recorded in October 2022 at the Arsenal de Metz (Cité musicale-Metz).
Program produced by Le Concert Spirituel
Release date: October 31, 2025
CD duration: 70'
Distribution
Myriam Leblanc
Lucie Edel
Lena Sutor-Wernich
Andreas Wolf
Alexandre Baldo
Laurence Kilsby
choir and orchestra Le Concert Spirituel
Hervé Niquet conductor
Composed in 1727 by George Frideric Handel for the coronation of King George II of Great Britain and Queen Caroline on October 11 of that same year, these four anthems were the first commission given to the composer as a newly naturalized British citizen.
If Israel in Egypt premiered on April 4, 1739, in a three-part structure, Handel likely composed this oratorio without a complete text initially. Hervé Niquet has chosen to record the version that Berlioz—and the entire 19th century—considered definitive, namely in two parts: theExodus and the Moses' Song. Created in the wake of Covid, this production also serves as a testament to the joy felt by the singers and instrumentalists of Le Concert Spirituel to be making music together again: the final chorus "is a cry of happiness in unison," says Hervé Niquet, who sees in these works an "almost palpable drama: two choirs, positioned face to face on either side of the orchestra, respond to one another, between violent exchanges and monumental unisons. Their interweaving in infernal movements is like a scene playing out before our eyes."
