Marc Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was never as famous as his contemporary Jean-Baptiste Lully. He never was a court composer, and did not get involved in the social or political circles of Versailles. His music was largely unappreciated until its rediscovery in the 1900s. Charpentier’s large output of sacred music, which includes more than 500 works, show his indisputable compositional refinement and prove the talent of this largely unperformed composer. L’Apotheose and Ricercare perform these works for voice, flute, string instrument, and more, drawing out the harmonic and melodic refinement that defines Charpentier’s music.
