Campra | Requiem

We don’t know much about the circumstances or dates surrounding the composition of André Campra’s Requiem, which remains one the major works of French religious music of the 18^thcentury. One particular aspect of this astonishing score stands out: the omission of certain parts of the text, which tends to orient this mass more towards peace and the clemency of the Almighty rather than the wrath of the Last Judgment. The overall colour of the work seems to lead the way for the Requiem masses of Fauré and Duruflé. Another gem of French sacred music, the Grand Motets raise, like lyric tragedy, the ad hoc creation of a national idiom. Rameau’s In convertendo Dominus is known for the majestic fugue that concludes the work. Mondonville’s In exitu Israël recounts the crossing of the Red Sea by the Hebrews, and gives us another opportunity to enjoy the composer’s extraordinary talents, so brilliantly displayed in 2018 in L’Amour & Psyche.