Lecons de Tenebres

The most famous 'Lecons de Tenebres' are those of Francois Couperin, dating from 1714. At the end of the rein of Louis XIV, the sacred emotions composed by Couperin for his female singers would appear to have originated in an opera... In the Parisian convents, people made haste to listen to these divine voices singing the Lessons of Holy Week, the faceless voices of young convent recluses, voices form heaven... but more often Opera singers! The candles were extinguished as the Tenebrae service progressed, concluding in the darkness of the night... The Lecons by Francois Couperin, organist of La Chapelle Royale for 37 years, are the pinnacle of French sacred art in the Century of Louis Le Grand. The sublime and juvenile voices of Florie Valiquette and Sophie Junker intertwine in virtuosity and lamentations, giving this music a fascinating freshness. At the head of the soloists of the Royal Opera Orchestra, Stephane Fuget works on the ornamentation in the time-honored traditional manner, giving meaning to each phase, and bringing out the brilliance of this apotheosis of French baroque singing.