The first CD from this monthly selection contains much more than Charles d'Helfer's Missa pro defunctis. This setting of the Requiem text was first performed in Paris in 1656. It was the most successful work of this French composer, who wrote church music exclusively to Latin texts. A manuscript version from 1774 has survived. This is the only version on CD. However, the work here is part of a
… performance that music historians will not be really happy with. The starting point for the performances that took place in Lorraine, Albi, Paris and others in 1993 and 1994 was the reconstruction of the funeral ceremonies of Charles III of Lorraine. That funeral took place on July 19, 1608 in Nancy. The splendor of that event was captured in a series of famous engravings. The CD contains the music on which the funeral guests entered the church and on which they left, the Missa pro defunctis composed of Helfer's Mass written much later and a few compositions that could have been performed at the funeral (Sweelinck, Pascal de l'Estocart , Caurroy, M. Lasson) and a 14-minute excerpt from the funeral orations. The compilers chose the most dramatic moments from the two speeches that together last more than 4 hours. For those interested in French literature, this part of the text is of interest: this type of speech became one of the most important Baroque forms of literature in France. The fragment is recited by EugÞne Green in 17th century French. In addition to this concert performance recorded in September 1993, ao: A Sei Voci, La Psallette de Lorraine and Les Sacqueboutiers de Toulouse.more
