Search - Du Caurroy, Memoire, Dadre :: Requiem Des Rois De France

Extraordinary

hcf | 10/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first heard Ensemble Doulce Memoire on a sampler CD given to me by a friend. From the moment the CD started playing, my eyes widened. The first track on the sampler (track 4 here) - the regal six-part pavane on cornets, shams and sackbuts, complete with drum rolls - seemed extraordinary. I immediately wrote to the friend who gave me the sampler, demanding to know what possessed him to part with this unbelievable CD. Turned out, my friend, who was just as impressed with the group, gave me the sampler only after buying the full-length CD's from which the tracks on the sampler were taken. Now I'm trying to pass the good news on to you: Doulce Memoire is one of the most exciting young groups in this repertory, and their CD's, especially this one, really deserve your attention. The vocalists on this disc are: Anne Quentin, Marc Pontus, Bruno Boterf, Lucien Kandel, Francois Fauche & Marc Busnel. If you follow early music, you will recognize many of these names - they have done many wonderful things elsewhere, and now they've brought their talents together as Doulce Memoire. The mass on this disc, written in 1606 by one of France's most venerable composers Eustache du Caurroy, was the official requiem for all kings of France between 1610 and 1789. Its writing is quite archaic, but it combines the impeccable counterpoint with the clarity of declamation. The mass is accompanied by instruments. The disc also includes a couple of psalms, several of du Caurroy's instrumental phantasies, and an excerpt from a spoken eulogy on the death of Henri IV delivered during the funeral service for the king at Notre Dame (to those who don't speak French - it is well worth reading the translation)."