Here are two sacred works by Charpentier which, to the best of my knowledge, have not previously been commercially recorded. One of them In honorem sancti Xaverii canticum, was intended for the Jesuits for whom Charpentier composed following the death of Mlle de Guise in 1688. Judicium Salomonis (a histoire sacree), on the other hand, was written later after he had been appointed music-master to the children of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in 1698. Indeed, Catherine Cessac, in her note reckons it to have been his last work post-dating the masterly and affecting Mass, Assumpta est Maria by about three months.
The Jesuit church in the Faubourg Saint-Germain was dedicated to Saint Francois Xavier and it seems likely that Charpentier's piece was intended for performance there on the Saint's feast day. The scoring is for two sopranos, alto tenor and bass with four-part chorus and an orchestra of two recorders, strings and continuo. The form falls somewhere between a petite histoire sacree—Charpentier's answer to Italian oratorio and a motet with a certain amount of characterization in the role of Xavier, whose words are in direct speech. Much of the music is engaging without ever reaching the level of Charpentier's finest, most sustained utterances. The solo singing is variable and the playing inclined to be undernourished in sound and ragged in ensemble. The writing has more lustre than this performance allows and the choir turn in worthy rather than sparkling singing. Gilles Ragon as Xavier succeeds rather better.
Judicium Salomonis (''The Judgement of Solomon'') is a true histoire sacree dating from 1702 when it was sung for the opening of the French parliament. It's a more impressive and more expansive work than the other but suffers to a similar extent from a lacklustre performance. Textures, especially choral ones, are muddy and few of the singers, solo or in groups, seem able to find the centre of their notes with reliability. In a word the performance sounds under-rehearsed. The exceptions are John Elwes who turns in an assured account of Solomon's role, and Gregory Reinhart who is appropriately resonant and authoritative as God. Weakest by far is the alto Alain Zaepffel who as the True Mother is often painfully under the note and whose voice sounds too often under a strain. Seldom did I feel that the music was vintage Charpentier, though in a ravishing Prelude for strings and recorders which begins the second part of the oratorio he exerts his irresistible magic as so often elsewhere.
In summary, a slightly disappointing issue but which is not devoid of redeeming features. The music, though as I say not perhaps consistently on the highest level of inspiration, is appealing and well worth becoming acquainted with. If the choir had been able to project themselves with more vitality and the orchestra had been more sharply focused and better disciplined, listeners would undoubtedly have been better served. Charpentier enthusiasts will certainly wish to hear these performances but they leave much to be desired. Recorded sound is clear and ideally resonant.'