The Grand Motet, 1661-1726: An Approach to Modern Performance

Abstract

The grand motet was the major large musical form of state-sponsored religion in France in the 17th and 18th centuries. It emerged from the double chorus motet of the early 17th century, influenced by the new musical trends from Italy and French secular genres such as the air de cour and dances, and remained essentially unchanged until the French Revolution. The period covered in this study, beginning with the assumption of power of Louis XIV in 1661 and ending with the death of Delalande in 1726, represents the full blooming and highest musical development of the grand motet. Composers in this form whose names and works have come down to us were associated primarily with the Chapelle Royale at Versailles and, in a few cases, with the more important Paris churches. These composers include some whose names may be familiar: Dumont, Robert, Lully, Campra, Charpentier and Delalande; the repertoire of motets which they produced represents possibly the largest untapped body of Baroque church music still left. The number of motets extant in score or parts is unknown, but numbers in the hundreds. Of these, perhaps ten are available in a decently performable modern edition. It may indeed be that a certain portion of this repertoire deserves to languish in obscurity, but the attractiveness of some of the motets now available suggests the existence of others of high musical worth.