The week before Easter is traditionally called the Holy Week, the week that reflects the suffering and death of Christ. Jeremiah's Biblical Lamentations played an important role during the services of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. During the reign of the French Sun King, these vocal performances were referred to as Leçons de ténèbres. In fact, these were motets for a small
… line-up of a single singing voice with continuo. However, it was often the best singers who performed this music. Even the sisters of some Parisian monasteries managed to command respect from the musical connoisseurs at court. There was no other way, because this pious music was often as modest as it was rich in declamation. Virtuosity was therefore desirable, without being too obvious. No wonder that the great composers of the time - including Charpentier, François Couperin and Michel-Richard de Lalande - were attracted to the artistically high-quality genre. The Leçons de ténèbres (for Holy Saturday) and the Miserere (also for one voice) of this CD were published in 1730, four years after the death of Michel-Richard de Lalande. (HJ)more
