Dazzling Le Concert Royal de la Nuit - London Baroque Festival

Le Concert Royal de la Nuit with Ensemble Correspondances led by Sébastien Daucé, the glorious culmination of the finest London Festival of the Baroque in years on the theme "Treasures of the Grand Siècle". Le Concert Royal de la Nuit was Louis XIV's announcement that he would be "Roi du Soleil", a ruler whose magnificence would transform France, and the world, in a new age of splendour.  It was a statement so extravagant that it stunned the unruly Court into submission. As an artistic manifesto, it set out visions of what music, theatre, visual arts  and dance might achieve. From Le Concert Royal de la Nuit, we can trace the origins of the arts as we know them today, not only in France, but in European culture as whole, with implications so wide that they are still felt today.  Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correpondances made an acclaimed recording a few years back,  and have been performing it in semi-staged productions, with dancers. No wonder St John's Smith Square was almost sold out ! 

The original Concert Royal de la Nuit ran over 13 hours,from dusk to dawn, though there were breaks for feasting and rest.  For practical purposes, this version comes in four Veilles (Watches) and 67 individual parts, ending with a Grand Ballet, running around 2 1/2 hours. But what variety ! There are pieces for different groupings from soloist with orchestra to full ensemble, scenes of high drama and moments of quiet contemplation, marking the transition from night to day.   At the beginning, the beating of a single drum, a reminder that the pulse of music is rhythm, and that life itself marches to a rhythm that is greater than any individual.  Despite the glories that are to come,  pastoralism - and war - are never far away.  As King, Louis XIV represented idealized virtues of manliness and refinement, strength and benevolence.  The dances at court were structured displays,  and dance itself a form of physical fitness and mental discipline.  This idea of orderly logic would flow through to design, philosophy, and much more.

But Nature remains present. Like the gardens which Louis XIV would layout at Versailles, nature is contained in defined formal patterns, but in the woods surrounding, nature runs free. A hibou calls (a small archaic pipe) marking the descent into night.  "Languissante clarté", the first Récit, in which The Night reveals herself, a showpiece for Lucile Richardot, who projected the long, flowing legato so it seemed to fill the hall like moonlight. Behind her, murmuring low strings, sussurating like creatures of the night.Richardot   has amazing timbre and range, her voice so expressive that she can "act" with her voice, though here she uses hand gestures reminiscent of those used in drawings of the original performance, an inportant consideration given that Le concert royal was meant to unify visual and aural art.  This was followed by pieces marking the passing of "Hours" (soprano and small groups) and vignettes depicting huntsmen, gypsies and peasants, all well characterized.

The shades of darkness descend in the second Veille, and Venus appears, risen fully formed from the sea. This is a pointed reference to Louis XIV, taking command at the age of 14, throwing off the authority of Cardinals and courtiers. Though the Three Graces sang the praises of Venus, the connections must have been obvious.  Thus choruses of Italians and Spaniards (rivals of the French) praise "unvanquished France", united behind the leadership of  Louis "Le plus Grand des Monarques", as Venus herself declared.  If the Moon symbolizes purity, Hercules symbolizes manly heroism.  The Third Veille is a panorama where countertenor, bass, and male and female voices interact with orchestral interludes, replete with dramatic sound effects (instruments suggesting wind and thunder). The contrast between countertenor and bass  was particularly vivid, performed here with great brio, the orchestra equally animated.  Greek Gods, witches and figures from Antiquity emerge but the real subject is clearly Louis the King. Venus and Juno have extended récits which acknowledge opposition but posit that a strong, benevolent ruler can triumph. The "love" here means love for an absolute King. Also extremely effective, the trio of male voices in the Chorus of Brooks and Breezes,  "Dormi, dormi, o Sonno, dormi".  The last Veille describes Orpheus's entry into the Underworld.  Hero as he is, he cannot defy the laws of Life and Death. Night symbolizes sleep, dreams and submission, to Fate, Time and Nature. Then Apollo appears, promising the retun of "mio figlio", the sun and Spring.

This set the context for the Grand Ballet, where Louis XIV himself appeared,  garbed in golden splendour as the Sun, his headress emanating rays of light."Depuis que j'ouvre l'Orient" the récit of Aurore - beautifully sung and phrased by tenor, "jamais si pompeuse et si fiere......Le Soleil qui me suit c'est le jeune LOUIS". The Chorus, representing the Planets hail the king. Now the orchestra burst forth with full enegy, percussion announcing the triumphal procession of the King into centre stage. The rhythmic energy of these orchestral interludes suggests that Louis XIV was an accomplished athlete - nothing wimpy about that dancing. Hercules and Beauty (baritone and soprano) united to sing of "Altro gallico Alcide orso d'affecto". Cosmic forces indeed! Glorious final chorus, "All'impero d'Amore hi non cederà, S'à lui cede il valore d'ogni deità". The effect must have dazzled the Court of Louis XIV, blinding them into silence. Le Concert Royal de la Nuit marks the start of music, theatre, dance and opera as we know them now, but also marked a turning point in French history.  Ensemble Correspondances have been performing Le Concert Royal  de la Nuit in staged performance, complete with dancers, in recent years (premiering in Caen), so let's hope a miracle happens and we might get to see it in London.  (William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have done a shortened unstaged version but with dancers). Until, then, give thanks and praise to Saint John's Smith Square and above all to the London Festival, of Baroque Music who had the courage to sponsor this remarkable series.  Support their committment and dedication !
Please also see:Painterly Charpentier : Histoires Sacrées 
Ensemble Correspondances Perpetual Night - Early English Baroque 

 Le Poème Harmonique - Lalande Motets - Majesté
Why we ALL Need to save St John's Smith Square  

Perpetual Night - Early English Baroque Sebastien Daucé

New from Harmonia Mundi,  Perpetual Night. a superb recording of ayres and songs from the 17th century, by Ensemble Correspondances with Sébastien Daucé and Lucile Richardot. Ensemble Correspondances  are among the foremost exponents of the music of Versailles and the French royalty, so it's good to hear them turn to the music of the Stuart court.  Though the songs are in the English language, they are in artistic terms very much attuned to wider European influences.  In 1610, King James's son Henry became Prince of Wales, importing into his household musicians who favoured the "new music" of the era. Many were singer-lutenists, who could be deployed into flexible ensembles with other instruments, like the then-new theorbo providing continuo.  Among the other new forms introduced was what is now called declamatory song.  As Peter Holman writes in his notes these have the "character of a grace almand, or air, the vocal line mirrors speech inflections, and often illustrates words with appropriate images, so they are rarely tuneful though they tend to have more melodic coherence than true recitative".  

Although Prince Henry died only two years later, the innovations he favoured took root, and were further developed by Charles, who was to become King Charles I. .Robert Johnson's  Care-charming sleep  was written for a play by John Fletcher, performed by the King's Men (Shakespeare's company). making the connection between Jacobean poet/playwrights and music, which would later flourish in the Restoration.  John Corpario (1570-1620) was born John Cooper, adopting an Italianate name in line withn the fashion of the time. He also served the next Prince of Wales, Charles, who was later to become Charles I.  His Go Happy Man is a song for high voice and lute, where the vocal line stands clear,  the poetic purity of the vocal line revealed through intonation and phrasing.  What tears dear Prince, can serve, by Robert Ramsey (c1590-1645) is a song of mourning, but so beautiful that it may well express personal sorrow.  In contrast, Ramsey's Howl not, you ghosts and fairies is a miniature drama, illustrating a scene from Orpheus and Euridice for multiple voices including bass and a possibly allegorical extra character.  Like Britanocles the great and good appears (William Lawes 1602-1645), it is an early example of a genre which would later become popular.  Rise, princely shepherd (John Hilton 1599-1657) is a setting of The Judgement of Paris. In Lawes's Music, thy master of art, is dead, the interplay between different voices is pure polyphony. This emphasis on the beauty of vocal line elevates intonation and phrasing, employing voices as if they were instruments.  In Adieu to the pleasures (James Hart 1647-1718) the instrumental introduction and postludes are more prominent, setting a context for the largely unaccompanied voice, and in Sarabande (Matthew Locke 1621/3- 1677), for variety, the instruments are unaccompanied by human voice, a rather appropriate prelude to When Orpheus Sang (Henry Purcell). Poor Celadon, he sighs in vain (John Blow) the flow of the voice, with clipped consonants and plangent, stretched vowels evokes the "English tenor" aesthetic.  John Blow's cheery Epilogue: Sing, Sing,  Ye Muses brings this delightful recording to a logical conclusion.  

Superlative performances from Ensemble Correspondances with lithe, agile voices, especially the higher voices, male and female, complemented by Lucile Richardot. Her range is impressive, enhancing and integrating the other voices.  At  St George's, Hanover Square, on Wednesday 16th May, she will be doing a  Hommage to Lully concert as part of the St John’s Smith Square London Festival of Baroque Music.  The theme of the 2018 Festival is The Treasures of the Grand Siècle, curated by Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances, and is exceptional, bringing many of the finest baroque specialists to London in an eclectic and very unusual programme of  French music.   READ MORE HERE AND BOOK !  . Lots to look forward to ! It will culminate with their Le Concert Royal de la Nuit on 19th May. The recording is available on Harmonia Mundi and possibly soon on DVD (with dancing).  Le Concert Royale marks the beginning of "modern" music, opera and ballet.  It is also a metaphor for the baroque spirit, where audacity fuels extravagant imagination, elegance restraining excess, technical achievement balanced by refinement, agility andenergy.

Les Funérailles Royales de Louis XIV, Versailles : Pygmalion, Pichon

Les Funérailles Royales de Louis XIV, with Ensemble Pygmalion, conducted by Raphaël Pichon now on DVD/Blu -ray from Harmonia Mundi.  This captures the historic performance at the Chapelle Royale de Versailles in November 2015, on the 300th anniversary of the King's death.   When Louis took control of his kingdom, he marked the occasion with an extravaganza, Le Concert Royal de la Nuit, a grand statement that was as much political as artistic  (read more about that HERE)   Just as the Sun King announced his arrival at Dawn, dressed as the sun, his funeral was staged in darkness : the Sun having gone down on his world.  Everything Louis XIV did was a form of theatre, from the audacity of his vision for France, to Versailles, and even to his wigs and clothing. Though extremely well played and sung, this performance needs to be experienced visually for maximum impact.  Nightime shrouds the architectural splendours of  the Chapelle Royale, but this is how things should be. In the presence of death, material glory is nothing. In the presence of God, even the Sun King is mortal man.  The original funeral rites took place over a period of 24 hours, with ovations, prayers and lying in state.  Here, instead, we focus on the music, and its liturgical meaning.  Darkness enhances the experience, intensifying the mystery that is life and death.

A single bell tolls. Out of the gloom we hear the Subventi sancti Dei, sung as if by monastic choir.  The voices echo out into the distance, filling the recesses of the chapel.  The echo in this performance space is glorious, more otherworldly and spiritual than can be replicated in modern buildings or studios.  We catch quick glimpses of marble alcoves, lit for a moment before darkness falls again.   Later the spotlight lingers on a soprano/tenor/baritone trio. The black and white starkness is warmed by flashes of golden light, contrasting with blue light through the windows beyond, reinforcing the idea of "eternal light" in the distance.  But the days of wrath are still to come. The "monastic choir" intones, led at times by a bass baritone.  A descent into total darkness, the silence broken by the thud of a single drum.  André Danican Philidor Marche pour le Convoy du roi accompanies the procession of the King's simple black-draped coffin as it slowly enters the chapel and down the nave.  Even in death, Louis XIV recognized the power of symbolism.  The chapel door closes. The King is no longer "of the world".  An extended De profundis by Michel-Richard de Lalande, led by the magnificent bass baritone of Christian Immler, reminds us of the achievements of the King's past.  From a position near the roof, a solo bass voice intones,imploring God to grant mercy. His voice, and the voices of the two small choirs in balconies above the nave, reverberate as if unto the Heavens.  The haute-contre, Samuel Boden sings an unearthly In paradisum.  He isn't visible, but his voice is heard as we ponder the ornate ceiling fresco which depicts God. A de Lalande Dies Irae follows, Immler singing of the trumpet call that shall awake the dead to the Day of Judgement.  A beautiful passage, where Samuel Boden sings of hope and redemption.  Light is beginning to fill the chapel.  The cameras linger on the singers and players, the mortals Jesus was sent to Earth to save.  "Lord grant him Mercy" : soloists, choirs, and players all together in harmony, as the camera pans on the image of the sun above the altar, painted gold, its rays descending on the ensemble below. Soloists included Céline Scheen, Lucile Richardot, Samuel Boden, Marc Mauillon and Christian Immler. Realisation for film was by Stéphanien Vérité, lighting by Bertrand Coudere. Raphaël Pichon conducted the Ensemble Pygmalion orchestra and choirs.  We're not supposed to "enjoy" funerals, but Louis XIV must have gone out in style.

The Grand Siècle, London Festival of the Baroque 2018

The Treasures of the Grand Siècle come to the London Baroque Festival in May. Curated by Guest Director Sébastien Daucé, this promises to be one of the most exciting events in town this summer. Anyone aware of Daucé's Le Concert Royal de la Nuit with Ensemble Correspondances (Harmonia Mundi) will know what to expect. Le Concert Royal de la Nuit was Louis XIV's  revolutionary manifesto, announcing the dawn of an exuberant new age. It was performed only once, on 23rd February 1653, in the palace of Petit-Bourbon in Paris : an extravaganza where the star was its subject : Louis XIV, the King of France.  It ran for 13 hours solid,  from darkness to dawn, dawn being, of course the return of the sun. Thus Louis revealed himself as the Sun King, his countenance bringing light to the nation.  He appeared, in the costume pictured right,  dressed as the sun, the centre of the solar system, the bringer of light and growth. The Sun King was taking command, not only of the Court but also of France, then the most advanced and sophisticated nation in Europe.

The influence of Le Concert Royal de la Nuit can hardly be overestimated : it marks the beginning of "modern" music, opera and ballet.  It is also a metaphor for the baroque spirit, which lives on in French style. Its audacity lies in its extravagant imagination, elegance restraining excess, technical achievement balanced by refinement, agility and energy.  And intelligence - the spectacle was designed by and for minds who understood the value of the mind as a source of civilization.   It evolves in four parts, comprising numerous scena and interludes, depicting the known and unknown world. Gods and Symbolic Deities mix with mortals and (glorified)  peasants, representing the multitudes whom Louis would rule over, in fact as well as in allegory.  Musicians, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers : the plethora of styles and skills reflected the diversity of the Empire and the scale of Louis's ambition, the abundance of human experience elegantly ordered into artistic form. No way could the original be matched today. But Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances have produced Le Concert Royal in a semi-staged edition., most recently in Caen last year. What they'll be able to do at St John’s Smith Square, I don't know, but it will certainly be an experience.  We'll have to use our imaginations, as Louis XIV did so long ago.  Before the performance on Saturday 19th May, Daucé will discuss the reconstruction of the 1653 spectacle, which exists in manuscripts and documents of the period.
The Spirit of the Baroque encompasses the whole world. Not for nothing it followed on from the Age of Discoveries, when Europeans encountered cultures very different from their own. Consider Les Indes Galantes and Jean Jacques Rousseau, implanting ideas of change and the innate dignity of mankind. At a stretch, the values that led to 1789 and to Napoléan ! The Festival, begins with Le Poème Harmonique on Friday 11th May and an anthology  exploring the influence of exoticism , featuring Le Ballet des Nations from Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme  and works by Cavalli and Mouliniè.  Le Poème Harmonique (director Vincent Dumestre) excel in this genre : a concert not to be missed.  Then, on to Versailles with Fuoco E Cenere and "Paris-Madras"  with Le Concert de L'Hostel-Dieu where the music of Couperin is interleaved with an ancient Râga d'Inde Alaap, Jor et Jhala played on Indian instruments.

La Nuova Musica (Director David Bates) present Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice with soloists Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan and Rebecca Bottone on Sunday May 13th,  and on Tuesday 15th May, at Westminster Abbey, no less, James O'Donnell leads St James Baroque and the Choir of Westminster Abbey in Te Deums by Henry Purcell and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.  Normally these would be  highlights of the London Baroque Festival, though this year they face stiff competition.  At St George's, Hanover Square, hommages to Lully and Couperin.

Another major highlight, Charpentier Histoires Sacrées with Ensemble Correspondances and Sébastien Daucé, staged by Vincent Huguet.  This telling of the stories of three women in the Bible (Judith, Cecilia and Mary Magdalene)  represents the "Sacred theatre" tradition developed by the Jesuits, defying the prohibition on combining religion and theatre.  Yet again, the connection between art and intellect. This piece was first heard in Louis XIV's private chapel - no-one would have dared censure the King.  

Claude Le Jeune Le Printemps with Doulce Mémoire (Director Denis Raisin Dare)  on Friday 18th May at St John's Smith Square. Olivier Messiaen  taught the importance of this work as a foundation of French style, since it bridges early music and the baroque.  A wonderful opportunity to hear the whole work, performed by great specialists in the field.  Lots of other late evening and afternoon concerts and an all-day workshop on the art of building harmonic flutes !

The Sun King Dances - Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit, performed at Caen last month, broadcast on France Musique HERE, with Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances who recreated the spectacle for modern audiences,  preserved in their recording for Harmonia Mundi in 2015. The original was performed only once, on 23rd February 1653, in the palace of Petit-Bourbon in Paris : an extravaganza where the star was its subject : Louis XIV, the King of France. No way could the original be matched today.  It ran for 13 hours solid,  from darkness to dawn, dawn being, of course the return of the sun. Thus Louis revealed himself as the Sun King, his countenance bringing light to the nation.  He appeared, in the costume pictured right,  dressed as the sun, the centre of the solar system, the bringer of light and growth.   An audacious statement, so dazzling that the court was stunned into submission.  And he was only 14 years old.  Though Louis wasn't formally crowned until the following year, Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit marked the beginning of his reign of glory.

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit also marks the beginning of modern music, opera and ballet.  It comprised music from several composers, (Jean de Cambefort, Antoine Boësset, Louis Constantin, Michel Lambert — Lully's father-in-law, Francesco Cavalli, Luigi Rossi),  secular as well as religious. It evolves in four parts, comprising numerous scena and interludes, depicting the known and unknown world. Gods and Symbolic Dieties mix with mortals and (glorified)  peasants, represented the multitudes whom Louis would rule over, in fact as well as in allegory.  Musicians, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers : the plethora of styles and skills reflected the diversity of the Empire and the scale of Louis's ambition, the abundance of human experience elegantly ordered into artistic form.  Later, Louis's minions would create the gardens of Versailles,  "civilizing" nature in formal parterres, preserving the forests beyond, for hunting.  In the Grand Ballet with which the spectacle ends, Louis danced - not folk dance by any means, but a form of pageant derived from courtly disciplines like gymnastics. Fencing was aristocrat physical fitness, but also good training for minds that had to keep alert and wary,  keeping counsel but acting swiftly and decisively when need. arose.  Medieval jousting, adapted for more sophisticated intrigue.  Dance was a principal foundation of French Opéra, but also influenced the development of French music in a wider sense,where  the virtues of clarity, lucidity and intelligence prevail. Passion is no less intense in a cultivated mind, it's just more focused.

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit is a metaphor for French style.  Its audacity lies in its extravagant imagination, elegance restraining excess, technical achievement balanced by refinement, agility and energy.  When Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances made their recording for Harmonia Mundi, the release was audio only, though the performance was partly staged.  Yet this first great Gesammstkunstwerk was meant to be seen as well as to be heard.  Perhaps one day, who knows? Til then, there are clips and stills to stimulate the mind.  Read more about the original HERE and enjoy the videos in THIS LINK.

La Nuit de Louis XIV William Christie Versailles

"Pour célébrer le tricentenaire de la mort de Louis XIV, l'orchestre des Arts Florissants, dirigé par William Christie, fait résonner les plus beaux airs de Lully, Charpentier, Delalande, Couperin, Desmaret et de Visée au cœur du château de Versailles, où ils ont été joués pour le plaisir du roi des arts. Bercée par la voix de Denis Podalydès et rythmée par les pas de danse de Nicolas Paul, de l'Opéra de Paris, cette promenade nocturne nous entraîne dans trois espaces emblématiques : l'Atys de Lully enchante l'Opéra royal du château, les Te deum retentissent dans la Chapelle royale, et la musique de cour fait virevolter la galerie des Glaces."

It's not often that we can hear a concert in the heart of the Palace of Versailles. In June, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants marked the 300th anniversary of the death of Louis XIV with a presentaion so unique it should not be missed. Enjoy it here on arte.tv for a limited period. The camera pans over Versailles at dusk. The palace is huge, a spectacular statement of the Sun King's glory. Yet we hear a single owl, calling from the forests around it. An important detail - think about it. Next. we're in the performance space where Louis XIV would have enjoyed his entertainments. It's lovely, but immediately the film pans to the empty stage.

An actor, Denis Podalydès,  expounds. "La musique nouurit...." every aspect of life. Do not fast forward, since this introduction encapsulates the spirit of French style - intellect, logic, intense passion without maudlin sentimentality, flamboyance energized with rigour.  I don't know the sources of the texts, but Podalydès delivers with passionate commitment.  Each instrument is introduced in turn, like a personage, for if music is divine, its messengers are heroes. Notice, too, the dancer. He moves as if the very sculptures and paintings around him were coming alive. Then you realize how Podalydès's style derives from centuries of theatrical tradition, to Molière and before. And how the spoken voice "sings",  with dramatic cadences and stylized gestures.. Music unites instruments, singers, dancers, dramatists, composers and listeners in rich continuum.

Versailles was Louis XIV's "music as architecture". Jean-Baptiste Lully was his ideal composer, and Lully's Atys (1676) his favourite opera. Atys is a seminal work in music history, and a speciality of William Christie and Les Arts Flo. Christie is looking older these days, but this added to the sense of occasion. With his halo of white hair and wise expression, Christie seems an embodiment of the Age of the Enlightenment, beaming affectionately at his musicians, most of whom he's worked with since they were very young.  He conducts with vigour, inspired by his love of the art to which he's dedicated his whole life. These extracts from Atys were produced with elegance and deep feeling. Again, seamless integration of orchestra, singers and dancers.  The impact came from the sheer excellence of performance, infinitely closer to the ideals of the genre than gimmicky period costumesfor those who can't use their imaginations.

If anything, the second part of the concert is even more profound. Again, we hear the lone owl calling as the night draws in on Versailles. this time the performance takes place in the Chapelle Royale, for we are commemorating the death of Louis XIV. Podalydès recites extracts from the Sermon sur la mort et la brièveté de la vie (1662). Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the author, was the leading theologian of his time, and a great orator, so this performance also made the connection between religion and theatre. Orators are showmen, working on the emotions of their audience. This also connects the role of religion as part of the power structure. "Politics as theatre" could describe Louis XIV's monarchy , where spectacle glittered over ruthless absolutism.  Bossuet was also Louis XIV's personal chaplain. Louis went for the ultimate in  all things. King and Bishop would have attended Mass in this very chapel. No doubt Bossuet heard  Louis XIV's confessions. Like the call of the owl, this, too, is an important detail. The King ruled in all his glory, but the moment he died, he was mortal, like all men.  This we see, way up above the gilded sculptures and marble columns,  a dancer writhes like a soul in Purgatory.

 Drumstrokes introduce extracts from Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum. Watch carefully at how Christie throws himself bodily into his conducting. Again, this isn't for show. He's in symbiosis with his singers and players, bringing out together the full force of the music. In the angelic Lully Regina Caeli , he sings the Alleluias. silently, at one with the trio and their intricate interactions. The camera pans to the chapel's painted ceiling with its images of heaven. A trio from Henri Desmarest Usquequo Domine  follows and then 5the choral finale from Lalande Te Deum laudamaus, another Les Arts Flo speciality.

The concert now moves to the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles' crowning glory. Ordinary tourists may not  get to see the chandeliers lit up like this, their light refracted in multitude, illuminating the entire room. Podalydès is seen, walking silently in awe. Echoes of his "La musique nouurit....." speech resonate.  Now, at last we see the audience. They're wearing ordinary street clothes. Polyadès smiles and welcomes them in though they don't seem to notice because Les Arts Flo are playing again. Podalydès then addresses the throng : perhaps he's Louis XIV proud of what he's achieved throwing his arms open, too, to the world outside, still visible though dusk encroaches.

Podalydès leads Eloide Fonnard by the hand as she sings Charpentier Les plaisirs de Versailles,, as the King might have led a muse in one of the mythical enactments he enjoyed so much.  More Charpentier, more Lalande and music written for Versailles. Now the singers walk through the crowd,  smiling and occasionally striking dance poses, followed by the theorbo player.and then the whole chorus. Again, this is more than detail, but central to meaning.

Christie and Les Arts Flo concluded with some of  Charpentier's incidental music for Molière's Le malade imaginaire, shocking "new" work that departed from Lully's stranglehold on  French music., paving the way for Rameau and masters to come. "LOUIS ! LOUIS ! and "Mille fois, mille fois", the singers sing. Is Charpentier picking up a theme from Lully's Atys ?  Just as the candles and mirrors of the Galerie des Glaces reflect light, the musical achievements of the reign of Louis XIV are reflected endlessly so long as there are those who listen, care and create anew. Suddenly, the Hall of Mirrors is eclipsed by  a spectacular fireworks display on the terraces, such as Louis XIV adored. Christie waves his arms in a flourish. He looks exhausted, but deliriously happy, and so he should be. For this was truly the "Night of Louis XIV".

Also enjoy this docu about Louis XIV and baroque dance