Charpentier, Marc-Antoine : Messe de Minuit H 9

Of the 11 surviving settings of the Mass by Charpentier, the present work, Messe de Minuit, ist without doubt one of the most popular. The work belongs to the tradition of the parody-Mass: the composer adapted 10 noels whose titles are given in the autograph to the Text of the Ordinary. The resulting music is fresh, charming and jubilant. The single extant source is book 66 of the 25th volume of Charpentiers autograph Meslanges which was sold to the Bibliothèque Royale (now Bibliothèque Nationale) Paris. The manuscript is extremely clear. All editorial additions are placed in square brackets. (Jean-Paul Montagnier)