Messe de Minuit pour Noël H 9

Scoring: Soli SST(A)TB, Coro ST(A)TB, 2 Fl, 2 Vl, 2 Va (Vl, Va), Bc

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Christmas mass, the Messe de Minuit, is throughly in the French tradition, celebrating the joyful news of the Birth of Christ with cheerful happiness. In this midnight mass, composed in 1694, ten traditional French Christmas hymns have been rearranged, lending the work a dance-like energy alongside charming tone coloring. In independent movements the relatively small instrumental ensemble consisting of two flutes, strings and organ plays a significant role in the musical events of this mass, alternating with various combinations of the vocal parts. Solo voices are only used together in small ensembles and, in accordance with the practices of the period, the boundaries between solo ensemble and choir are fluid, meaning that these solo passages can also be sung by members of the choir.