CHARPENTIER Messe pour le Port-Royal. Veni Creator. O salutaris Hostia. Domine salvum me fac. Laudate Dominum. Ave maris stella. Flores o Gallia. Magnificat pour le Port-Royal • Emmanuel Mandrin, cond; Michel Chapuis (org); Les Demoiselles de Saint-Cyr • NAÏVE 8912 (69:05 Text and Translation)

This is another Naïve reissue with an Astrée disc (E 8598) inserted in a slipcase. It was favorably reviewed here (21:2) as a collection of music composed for the Cistercian nuns of Port-Royal in Paris. This house is not to be confused with the original convent outside of Paris that became a hotbed of Jansenism. The nuns who accepted orthodoxy remained in Paris, and Charpentier’s sister Marie was a nun in the Paris convent, where the sister of the archbishop of Paris became abbess in 1685. The Mass sung on this disc was written with Propers of St. Francis and St. Margaret, the baptismal patrons of the archbishop and the abbess. It is possible that the Mass was sung at Port-Royal on July 20, 1687, in thanksgiving for the archbishop’s recovery from illness. On this disc the Propers of St. Francis are sung, a fortunate choice, since the only previous recording (12:5) included the Propers of St. Margaret.

The other pieces that fill out the disc include a Magnificat for Port-Royal that was also included on the earlier recording of this Mass. The elevation and the prayer for the king are inserted into the Mass according to the custom of the period, and like the remaining pieces were first recordings on this disc. All of this music is as austere as the nuns for whom it was written. The Mass is largely monodic with a few sections for two or three voices, and the only instrument is the organ. This is a fine 1735 Cliquot instrument at Houdan, most recently restored just before the recording was made. It speaks with a strong and beautiful voice. As an alternative to the trumpets and drums of Charpentier’s most celebrated works, this disc shows another side of the composer. The singers are lovely, making the most of the limited means provided to them. The emphatic recommendation of the earlier review is repeated here. It is important to note that these Naïve reissues are midpriced.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber