It was the Te Deum (H146) which inaugurated Charpentier's rehabilitation nearly 40 years ago when it was recorded for Erato by Louis Martini. Since then it has established itself as the core of the composer's sacred repertory, its colourful instrumental ''Prelude'' having acquired wider currency through its adoption as the signature tune of Eurovision productions. The Magnificat (H74) which Martini recorded in 1954, only a short while after the Te Deum, is the most elaborate and extended of several settings which Charpentier made of the canticle. Like the Te Deum it is scored for eight part vocal texture with instruments and solo vocalists. Both works are spaciously laid out and, though Charpentier never held a court appointment, reflect the courtly spirit of the sacred grand motet cultivated at Versailles.
The Magnificat is the earlier of the two pieces and dates from the early 1680s; the Te Deum was probably written some ten years later. Sir Neville Marriner brings the music to life admirably, allowing reflective sections such as the ''Misericordia'' of the Magnificat to unfold at a comfortable pace while injecting the more extrovert and jubilant choruses and symphonies with radiance and vigour. The solo line-up is impressive but not always complementary either in style or sound. Dawn Upshaw brings an innocent-sounding freshness to the music though not without a hint of strain in the uppermost reaches of her tessitura. Ann Murray, who sings both soprano and contralto registers, is warm-sounding but with too wide a vibrato for my ears. Indeed, the various approaches and techniques of the soloists do not always happily blend together as you will hear in the ''Sicut locutus est'' of the Magnificat or the ''In te Domini speravi'' of the Te Deum. The spirit of the performances is, as I say, lively and responsive but it is William Christie and Les Arts Florissants on Harmonia Mundi, albeit with a less Rolls-Royce team, who more evocatively capture the sense of occasion contained in Charpentier's effectively structured scores. Nevertheless, the new issue deserves to win friends since the interpretations are polished and sympathetic and the choruses very well sung. The recording is spacious yet allowing for clarity of detail. Charpentier was born in 1643; the booklet's ?1645/50 is no longer appropriate. Full texts are provided.'