Customer Reviews

Gilles: Requiem

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The Boston Camerata has long been one of my favourite groups. I have this disc on the same shelf with another of their productions, 'The Sacred Bridge', also by Erato (which is also one of my favourite labels). Under the direction of Joel Cohen, the Boston Camerata has over a dozen musicians who play instruments from the medieval and Renaissance periods; they also play into later periods, as this CD suggests. Here they are paired with the Ensemble Vocal Sagittarius, under the direction of Michel Laplenie.

Jean Gilles is not a well known name in music, which was not the case in his lifetime. Born in 1668, he spent much of his life in positions of music until dying in 1705 at the age of 37. Because of his premature death, he did not rise to the grand appointments, nor did he have the publishing time he might have had. The Messe des morts, the Requiem played here, was not published until 1764 in an edition for general use, although the piece was generally played before then, being a well-respected piece of music by the public and the composer community alike.

The Requiem is scored for soloists, a five-voice choir, and instruments. It begins with a funeral march that leads into the Introit. The other mass pieces, the Kyrie, Dies Irae, Offertoire, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Post-communion piece show great power. One commentator states, ' The Messe des morts by Jean Gilles gained widespread admiration in 18th-century France for its lively character. The vocal soloists and orchestra predominate, often with dance-like music, while the chorus contributes climactic endings to each main section in a largely homophonic style.' Another scholar states that this Requiem is written more for those who are used to music of the theatre than of church. Gilles wrote it as a commissioned piece for the leaders of Toulouse, but they refused to pay given the opulence of the piece exceeding their expectations. However it is this kind of opulence that led to its use as the funeral requiem both for Jean-Philippe Rameau and Louis XV.

This is a remarkable recording, and with Gilles' Requiem still being a relatively unknown piece, it is a rare recording. It will definitely give the listener new insights into what comprises a Requiem.