Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Messe de Minuit (Gaétan Jarry)

Information

Composer: Marc-Antoine Charpentier

• Messe de minuit pour Noël, H. 9
• Noëls sur les instruments, H. 531 & H. 534
• Troisième Livre d’Orgue: Où s'en vont ces gays Bergers
• Chantons je vous en prie
• Dialogus inter angelos et pastores Judeæ In Nativitatem Domini, H. 420
• Dixit Dominus, H. 202

Caroline Arnaud

Romain Champion

Mathias Vidal

David Witczak

Chœur et Orchestre Marguerite Louise

Gaétan Jarry, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Charpentier’s famed Te Deum may have ensured his historical legacy, but it was his Messe de Minuit that truly shaped his reputation. This work embodies his gift for blending secular and sacred elements, transforming well-known popular Christmas melodies into a refined and joyful mass. Familiar tunes, shared by all social classes, are enriched with graceful orchestral writing, inventive counterpoint, and fresh harmonic colors. The result invites listeners either to relish the recognition of beloved melodies or to admire their sophisticated reimagining. Under Gaetan Jarry, the Marguerite Louise ensemble brings these oratorios and pastorals to life with vivid festive energy.

Gaétan Jarry, French conductor and organist, is founder of the Baroque ensemble Marguerite Louise. A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire and prizewinner at Versailles and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, he is also principal guest conductor of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles, leading productions such as Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Celebrated for around fifteen recordings, Jarry focuses on French Baroque music, reviving works by Lully, Charpentier, Lalande, Rameau, and Mondonville. As a soloist, he recorded Noëls Baroques à Versailles, Handel organ concertos, French Baroque organ works, and Charpentier’s opera David et Jonathas.