Michel-Richard de Lalande - Suites pour les soupers du Roy (Hervé Niquet)

Information

• Michel-Richard de Lalande - Suite No. 2: Chaconne du Ballet des Fées
• Michel-Richard de Lalande - Suite No. 6 "Premier caprice"
• Hervé Niquet - Suite entrecoupée (after Lalande's Suites Nos. 2 & 11)
• Hervé Niquet - Millefeuille (after Lalande's Suites Nos. 11, 13, 14 & 15)
• Michel-Richard de Lalande - Suite No. 8 "Troisième caprice"
• Élisabeth-Charlotte de Bavière - Lettre de la Princesse Palatine
• Anonymous - Chanson à boire: "Pourquoi boirions-nous de l'eau"
• Hervé Niquet - Cotillon du spectacle !

Le Concert Spirituel

Hervé Niquet, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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Commemorating the 300th anniversary of Michel-Richard de Lalande’s death, conductor Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel deliver a colorful tribute to Louis XIV’s famed master of music. Conceptually structured around an imagined rehearsal at Lalande’s home, the recording combines instrumental suites and caprices with theatrical period elements, including readings of historical letters by the Princess Palatine and a 1683 drinking song. By weaving high artistic refinement alongside unabashed period humor, Niquet offers an evocative portrait of late 17th-century French court life, capturing both the sophisticated instrumental virtuosity and the earthy, uninhibited charm that characterized the era.

Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657–1726) was a prominent French composer who exerted significant musical influence during the reign of Louis XIV. Rising from a Parisian chorister and organist to superintendent of the Chapel Royal, De Lalande ultimately oversaw all sacred and chamber music at court. Renowned primarily for his 42 grand motets for chorus and orchestra, he elevated French sacred music to the heights Jean-Baptiste Lully achieved in opera through his masterly counterpoint and synthesis of French and Italian styles. Additionally, his instrumental works, including the celebrated Symphonies pour les soupers du roi, earned high royal acclaim and lasting prestige.