Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Médée

"Reporting on the premiere performances of 'Médée' at the Academie de la Musique (the Opéra) in Paris in December 1693, the monthly Mercure Galant enthused. Louis XIV had accepted the dedication to him of the work, though neither its composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier nor its librettist Thomas Corneille were in his service, and His Majesty had been heard to say of Charpentier that 'He was convinced that [Charpentier] was an able man, and He knew that there were very fine things in his opera.' Of ten performances, the Grand Dauphin had attended two, and Monsieur (the king's brother) four. Marthe Le Rochois, the most celebrated soprano of the era, had portrayed Medea 'with warmth, subtlety and intelligence.' In the libretto of Corneille (younger brother of the more celebrated Pierre), 'The emotions are so vivid in it that, even if the role [of Medea] were only to be spoken, it would not fail to make a great impression on the audience.' In sum, 'true connoisseurs found many admirable passages in the opera 'Médée.' 

 

"But not everyone agreed with the gossipy monthly's opinion — especially since the Mercure was exceptionally partial to Charpentier, its editor having collaborated several times with the composer (and with Corneille, too). A more impartial report, if much later, would seem to be that of Sebastien de Brossard, composer and erudite music scholar; writing in 1724, Brossard said: "[The opera 'Médée'] is unquestionably the most expert and exquisite of all that have been published, at least since the death of M. de Lully; and although thanks to cabals of the envious and ignorant it was not received by the public as well as it deserved, or even as well as many others, it is this one, more than all other operas without exception, from which may be learned the essentials of good composition.' 

 

"Note the qualification: '...at least since the death of M. de Lully.' Jean-Baptiste Lully, born in Florence in 1632 but at the French royal court from 1646, and at the time of his death in 1687 effectively composer-laureate of the realm, was still being considered — thirty-seven years later, and by an unprejudiced and learned musician — the unparalleled musical dramatist of France. This suggests who were behind the 'cabals of the envious and ignorant' that doomed Charpentier's 'Médée': Lullistes, faithful to the memory of the late Superintendent of the King's Music, who had virtually invented French opera with a series of annual 'tragédies en musique' beginning with 'Cadmus et Hermione' (1673) and culminating with 'Armide' (1686). For such Lullistes, Charpentier — who had been shaped as a composer in Rome under Giacomo Carissimi — was the enemy: not a composer of 'pure' French music but one who had been seduced by the 'excesses' of Italian Baroque music. And 'Médée' was indeed doomed, at least for almost three hundred years. Charpentier's score was printed in 1694 under royal privilege, and the opera made an abortive appearance in Lille in 1700 (a fire destroyed the decors and the opera's run had to be cancelled). But then it was forgotten and never heard integrally again until 1984 — in a Robert Wilson/Michel Corboz production at the Opera de Lyon and in a different version recorded by Les Arts Florissants under William Christie, which was revised and given a triumphant stage production in 1993-94, giving rise to the present recording. And now that we are able to take the full measure of the work, it is generally agreed that Med& is Charpentier's consummate masterpiece. 

 

"Ironically, 'Médée' is very much a Lullian opera —in its external form (prologue and five acts); its subject matter (classical myth); its literary style (poetic throughout, and versified mostly in couplets and quatrains of alexandrines); its precise declamation and text-dominated vocalism (as opposed to the Italians' music-dominated, aria-filled 'concerts in costume'; its exotic and fantastic divertissements rich in song-and-dance delights (one in every act but the last); its substantial choruses; its double orchestra (a full grand chœur — with strings in five parts, winds, trumpets, and percussion — aerated often with a petit chœur of solo instruments in three parts) and of course an accompanimental basse continue of semi-improvising harpsichords, lutes, and bowed and blown bass instruments. Having said that in 'Médée' Charpentier and Corneille accepted the Lullian mould of the tragédie lyrique, one must immediately insist on the ways they broke the mould. First of all, Charpentier filled the opera with some of his most magnificent music, sustaining the inspiration throughout a very long work. The elements of his personal style shine all through it: a unique synthesis of lyrical, warmly Italianate vocalism and precise French declamation; a rich harmonic palette abounding in poignant chromaticism and evocative dissonances; a unique vocal arioso for the solo recits; a flair for unusual orchestral colors; and a magisterial command of instrumental and choral polyphony. 

 

"One is perhaps struck most by the sheer theatricality of 'Médée' and its powerful evocation of diverse characters and the complete range of their emotions. As the French scholar Catherine Massip has emphasized, this is 'an opera whose subtlety and complexity are found as much in its dramatic texture as in Charpentier's response to the libretto.' Like virtually every earlier playwright reworking the legend of Jason and Medea, Thomas Corneille had his own slant on it. Unlike the versions of Euripides, Seneca, and even his older brother, Corneille begins his account with the first days in Corinth of Medea and Jason (Medea having fled her own country with Jason after he acquired the Golden Fleece, and having borne his children) and with Jason's infatuation with the Corinthian princess Creusa, daughter of King Creon. Corneille portrays Jason as a weak-willed anti-hero — irresolute, impressionable, and opportunistic — while his Medea is a complex character —aware of her supernatural powers; jealous but proud; wanting acceptance as a desirable woman rather than rejection as a rank outsider, as a loving mother rather than a sorceress; and resistant to believing the worst about the man she loves, though, when she does, resolving, 'Et que le crime nous separe/Comme le crime nous a joints' ('And may murder separate us/Just as murder has united us.') 

 

"At the moment of that resolution (Act III, scene 4), Corneille and Charpentier climactically invoke sorcery and black magic. Understandably: the 1680s had been full of them, at court and in Paris. The scandals of the 'Affaire of the Poisons,' which led to many trials and tortures, convictions and deaths, and in which even the king's longtime mistress, Madame de Montespan, had been implicated, was on everyone's lips. So, of course: sorcery in 'Médée.' But, as Jean-Marie Villegier, director of the production of Les Arts Florissants, has written, one of the opera's main subtexts is that 'Even if woman is a sorceress, this sorceress is a woman.' 

 

"Charpentier brings to Corneille's libretto an extraordinary sensitivity to dramatic nuance, his music powerfully conveying human passions and affects. The Prologue leaves little room for such characterization: it is antiseptically allegorical, all about the peaceable reign (!) of Louis XIV. (Such a prologue, on such a theme, was obligatory under the Sun King.) Pleasant vocal trios are echoed in choruses punctuated by bright orchestral ritournelles. Toward the end, a chain of cheerful dances - loure, canaries, menuet, passepied - confirms a message of peaceful pleasures: 'Le bruit des tambours, des trompettes / Ne viendra point troubler nos jeux.' ('The noise of drums and trumpets/Shall no more disturb our games.') 

 

"In Act I, Charpentier swiftly plunges us deep into Medea's passionate, proud, fierce character. Her big récit 'S 'il me vole son cœur, si la princesse y règne,/De plus grands efforts feront voir/Ce qu'est Médée et son pouvoir' (If his heart has been stolen, if the Princess holds sway there,/Greater efforts will reveal/Who Medea is, and what are her powers') has a unique accompaniment, pulsing with barely contained power; and the récit, which establishes the main theme of the drama, is framed with angry, rushing passagework for the strings. In the divertissement that concludes the act, Charpentier is careful to distinguish the four-part Chorus of Corinthians (initially offstage, a nice coup de theatre and a great novelty) from the three-part Chorus of Argians. In Act II, we meet Medea as mother, and her softer side is deftly suggested, especially in the accompaniment, for soft strings and two gentle flutes, of her récit 'Princesse, c'est sur vous que mon espoir se fonde' ('Princess, 'tis upon you that my hopes are founded.') This act also closes with a divertissement, a fantasy in which the nubile Creusa is addressed by Cupid and 'Captifs d'amour de plusieurs nations' ('Slaves of Love from several nations') (including Italy, of course, as an excuse for a distinctly Italianate air, to an Italian text); the concluding 'Passecaille en rondeau' finds the chorus alternating with a vocal trio, representing 'Three Slaves of Love,' that is enchantingly reminiscent of sixteenth-century chanson style. The dramatic tension deepens and intensifies in Act III. Medea has several powerful monologues, each differentiated sonorously and rhythmically. The first 'Quel prix de mon amour?' ('Such is the price of love') is rounded off with a return to the opening lines of text, but with subtle reshaping of their music. The second 'C'en est fait, on m'y force' ('But it's all over, I'm forced to it') displays the angry Medea, competing once again with rushing strings. Her resolution to turn to malignant sorcery is forcefully projected in both 'Noires filles du Styx' ('Black daughters of the Styx'), with a string accompaniment kept low and dark, and 'Dieu du Cocyte et des royaumes sombres' ('God of Cocytus and of the dark kingdoms,') even more darkly scored. These two récits are integrated into a divertissement that introduces fantastic creatures — snarling Vengeance and Jealousy, and a crowd of Demons. 

 

"Act IV begins with a delicately chromatic prelude for two flutes, two violins, and continuo: our first view of Creusa clad in the deceptively beautiful poisoned robe given her by Medea 'Jamais on ne la vit si belle' ('Never has she looked so beautiful.') Charpentier composes a stunning love scene for Creusa and Jason beginning with lyrical solos for each, out of the 'air de cour' tradition; the dialogue ends with a brief, wistful duet. Later in the act Creon and Medea have their final confrontation. Creon calls on his guards to seize her. Medea magically causes the guards to reject their king, then calls up a horde of phantoms to immobilize them — which they do in an utterly eerie divertissement. (Charpentier suggests the insubstantial phantoms with a mysterious, bassless chorus.) Creon finishes the act with a desperate récit 'Noires divinites, que voulez-vous de moi?' ('Black Divinities, what do you want of me?'). For Creon's drift into madness, Charpentier takes a cue from the line 'Tout s'abime, la terre s'ouvre!' ('There is an abyss, the earth opens up') and omits the treble instruments, divides the basses into two parts, and creates a dense, dark, literally abysmal accompaniment. An intermède leading to Act V is based appropriately on Medea's ferocious 'anger music,' which has by now become a leitmotif.

 

"Act V is highlighted by the Corinthians' choral lament on the death of Creon (evoking the memory of Lully's celebrated choral lament, 'Alceste est morte!') ('Alceste is dead!'); by the almost unbearably poignant scene of Creusa in torment in the poisoned robe; and by her death, postponed just long enough to permit an extraordinarily moving, bittersweet love-death duet for her and Jason 'Hélas! prets d'être unis par les plus douces chaines' ('Alas! Ready as we are to be united in the sweetest bonds'); and finally by Medea's ferocious adieu to Jason — introduced and followed, as by now we almost expect, by orchestral ritournelles in Medea's 'angry' style. That is the last sound we hear." (H. Wiley Hitchcock. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Lorraine Hunt, Mark Padmore, Bernard Deletré, Monique Zanetti, Jean-Marc Salzmann

1.1. Prologue: Ouverture

1.2. Prologue: 'Louis Est Triomphant'

1.3. Prologue: 'Paroissez, Charmante Victoire'

1.4. Prologue: 'Le Ciel Dans Nos Vœux S'intéresse'

1.5. Prologue: Loure

1.6. Prologue: 'Dans Le Bel Âge, Si L'on N'est Volage'

1.7. Prologue: Passepied

1.8. Prologue: Ouverture (Reprise)

1.9. Acte I, Scène I: 'Pour Flatter Mes Ennemis'

1.10. Acte I, Scène I: 'Qu'il Le Cherche, Mais Qu'il Me Craigne'

1.11. Acte I, Scène II: 'D'où Vous Vient Cet Air Sombre?'

1.12. Acte I, Scène III: 'Que Je Serois Heureux, Si J'étais Moins Aimé'

1.13. Acte I, Scène III: 'Que Me Peut Demander La Gloire'

1.14. Acte I, Scène IV: 'L'Allégresse En Ces Lieux'

1.15. Acte I, Scène V: 'Seigneur, La Thessalie Attaquant Vos Estats'

1.16. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Courez Aux Champs De Mars'

1.17. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que D'épais Bataillons, Sur Nos Rêves Descendent'

1.18. Acte I, Scène VI: Rondeau Des Corinthiens

1.19. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Quel Bonheur Suit La Tendresse'

1.20. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que D'épais' (Reprise)

1.21. Acte I, Scène VI: Entr'acte

 

2.1. Acte II, Scène I: 'Il Est Temps De Parler'

2.2. Acte II, Scène I: 'Vos Reproches, Seigneur, Ne Sont Pas Légitimes'

2.3. Acte II, Scène II: 'Princesse, C'est Sur Vous Que Mon Espoir Est Permis'

2.4. Acte II, Scène III: 'Enfin À Ton Amour Tout Espoir Est Permis'

2.5. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Prince, Venez Apprendre Une Heureuse Nouvelle'

2.6. Acte II, Scène V: 'Qu'ay-je À Résoudre Encor?'

2.7. Acte II, Scène V: 'Quand Son Amour Seroit Extrême'

2.8. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Puisqu'un Fier Ennemy'

2.9. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Quelle Est Charmante'

2.10. Acte II, Scène VII: Chaconne

2.11. Acte II, Scène VII: Passacaille

2.12. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Vous Voyez À Quoi J'aspire'

2.13. Acte III, Scène I: 'L'orage Est Violent'

2.14. Acte III, Scène I: 'Souffrirez Vous Qu'on Vous Enlève'

2.15. Acte III, Scène II: 'Vous Savez L'exil Qu'on M'ordonne'

2.16. Acte III, Scène III: 'Quel Prix De Mon Amour'

2.17. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Croiras-tu Mon Malheur?'

2.18. Acte III, Scène V: 'Noires Filles Du Stix'

2.19. Acte III, Scène VI: 'L'Enfer Obéit À Ta Voix'

2.20. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Je Vois Le Don Fatal'

2.21. Acte III, Scène VII: Premier Air Pour Les Démons

2.22. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Dieu Du Cocyte & Des Royaumes Sombres'

2.23. Acte III, Scène VII: Seconde Entrée Des Démons

 

3.1. Acte IV, Scène I: 'Jamais On Ne La Vit Si Belle'

3.2. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Ah! Que D'attraits'

3.3. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Si-tost Que Je Parois'

3.4. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'Vos Soupçons Estoient Vrais'

3.5. Acte IV, Scène V: 'D'où Me Vient Cette Horreur?'

3.6. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Objets Agréables'

3.7. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Vos Adieux Sont-ils Faits?'

3.8. Acte IV, Scène VII: Premier Air Des Phantômes

3.9. Acte IV, Scène VII: Phantômes Et Gardes

3.10. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Tout Resent Le Pouvoir'

3.11. Acte IV, Scène VIII: 'Mon Pouvoir S'est Connu'

3.12. Acte IV, Scène IX: 'Noires Divinités'

3.13. Acte V, Scène I: 'On Ne Peut Sans Effroy'

3.14. Acte V, Scène I: 'Ne Les Épargnons Pas'

3.15. Acte V, Scène II: 'Si La Pitié Vous Peut Trouver Sensible'

3.16. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Parlez'

3.17. Acte V, Scène III: Air Funeste (Reprise)

3.18. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Eh Bien, Barbare'

3.19. Acte V, Scène V: 'Quel Feu Dans Me Veines S'allume'

3.20. Acte V, Scène VI: 'Ah, Roy Trop Malheureux'

3.21. Acte V, Scène VII: 'Elle Est Morte, Et Je Vis!'

3.22. Acte V, Scène VIII: 'C'est Peu, Pour Contenter La Douleur'

 

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