To punctuate the celebrations for Malta's 2017 presidency of the European Union, the Ensemble Correspondances, led by the brilliant Sébastian Daucé, headlined this exceptional concert from St. John's Co-Cathedral in the Maltese capital of Valletta! On the program: a selection of the most beautiful choral motets of Henri Dumont, as well as Charpentier's beloved, time-honored Te Deum.
It is to Dumont that we owe the form of the motet pour grand choeur (motet for large choir, or grand motet), created while the composer served as master composer of the Royal Chapel of Versailles under Louis XIV, as well as Master of the Queen's Music. This grand motet form became France's musical hallmark throughout Europe, a symbol of the country's cultural and political influence. While Dumont composed his work in close quarters with the royals, the prodigious Marc-Antoine Charpentier wrote while serving the Duchess of Guise, far from the Sun King's court—though nonetheless with the same aim of glorifying the French monarch, notably with his Te Deum, likely written to honor the victory at Steenkerque in 1692.
Throughout this evening at the 2017 edition of the Valletta International Baroque Festival, the Ensemble Correspondances dazzles with their impeccably realized interpretations of these delicate and elegant works. St. John's Co-Cathedral, a quintessentially Baroque monument, is the perfect backdrop for this gem of a concert!
