Marc-Antoine Charpentier - David & Jonathas

"Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Biblical tragedy ('tragédie Biblique'), 'David et Jonatahas' (H. 490), with a libretto by Père Bretonneau, was performed at the Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris on 28 February 1688. It was revived in 1706 and 1715 (Collège d'Harcourt), and later at other Jesuit colleges, at Amiens and La Flèche (1741) among others. 'David et Jonathas' has nothing in common with the 'tragédie lyrique' composed by Lully; for instance, the prologue is an integral, overlapping part of the work (on the model of the Italian opera). It is a piece of sacred music destined for the divine office, of a profoundly inward, meditative character. The main body of the work resembles a statis theatrical piece, the five acts appearing to be vertiable psychological tableaux for each of the principal characters. Recitative (i.e. the action) is virtually entirely absent from the work which abounds in elaborately developed 'airs', often with orchestral accompaniment (such as the 'air' of Jonathan, 'A-t-on jamais souffert' in Act IV), choruses, 'simphonies' and dance numbers. 'David et Jonathas' was intended to serve as an interlude for a five-act Latin tragedy by Père Chamillart, 'Saül', recited by the pupils of the college. The complete work therefore consisted of eleven acts (prologue of 'David', Act I of 'Saül', Act I of 'David', and so on), and the spoken Latin text overlapped the sun French one. All of the action was concentrated in 'Saül'.

"There is no action in 'David et Jonathas' because it had just been narrated in 'Saül': the two works were interwoven with one another. But the matter is rendered even more complex by the fact that 'David', on the one hand, and 'Saül', on the other, are not one and the same drama, but two contrasting aspects of the same drama, each one reacting on the other, thereby investing one another with greater power. The 'Saül' + 'David' structure does not show the drama of one -or- the other, but alternatively both the one -and- the other. The psychology of the characters is increasingly refined, each gesture being presented to the spectator with its various consequences in the two camps: the characters appear all the more human as their actions are contradictory or are received as such in the two camps; they seem more objectively real. 'Saül' is set in the camp of the Israelites, 'David' in that of the Philistines, their enemies. We are not very far from the multiple-scene theatre of today.

"Almost unique in its genre, because there was only one 'precedent' - in 1687 ('Celse', also by Charpentier, but this work is lost), the project presents something of the aspect of a wager; it dates from 1688, and was thus composed immediately after the death of Lully, as if to challenge the operatic monopoly of the Royal Academy. The audience was not mistaken, by the way, when it applauded 'David' and dropped 'Zéphire et Flore' by M. de Lully le Cadet, performed at the same period on the prestigious stage of the Royal Academy of Music: the chronicler of the 'Mercure' (March 1688) devoted an article of five pages to the former while dismissing the latter in a few rigid lines.

"Until 1687 the Lullyist type of the 'tragédie lyrique' seemed to be the only possible operatic principle in France. At the same time the (modernist) concepts regarding the imitation of the ancients were defended by Perrault, Longepierre, Fontenelle and others. It was highly tempting to young authors to create a new type of operatic spectacle, particularly since Lully was no longer there to enforce his monopoly. The Lullyist type of the 'tragédie lyrique' aimed at being an imitation of the great tragedies of ancient Greece. 'David et Jonathas', composed by Charpentier at the age of 44, during a crucial period, cannot be regarded in any other way but as a counter-proposition to the Quinault-Lully model, as were other, by the way, such as Racine's 'Esther' and 'Athalie'.

"'David et Jonathas' is an opera and by no means an oratorio. As if to cut short any possible disput on the subject, Marc-Antonine Charpentier had composed an oratorio on the same subject in 1681-82, 'Mors Saülis et Jonathae' (H. 403)." (Jean Duron. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Gérard Lesne, Monique Zanetti, Jean-François Gardeil

1.1. Prologue: Ouverture

1.2. Prologue, Scène I: 'Où Suis-je? Qu'ai-je Fait?'

1.3. Prologue, Scène II: 'Dois-je Éprouver Le Secours De Vos Charmes?'

1.4. Prologue, Scène III: 'Retirez-vous Affreux Tonnerre'

1.5. Prologue, Scène IV: 'Quelle Importune Voix Vient Troubler Mon Repos?'

1.6. Prologue, Scène V: 'C'est Assez? Ai-je Enfin Épuisé Ta Colère?'

1.7. Acte I: Marche Triomphante

1.8. Acte I, Scène I: 'Du Plus Grand Des Héros Publions Les Exploits'

1.9. Acte I, Scène II: 'Allez, Le Ciel Jaloux Attend Un Légitime Hommage'

1.10. Acte I, Scène III: 'Ciel! Quel Triste Combat En Ces Lieux Me Rappelle?'

1.11. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Le Ciel Enfin Favorable À Mes Vœux'

1.12. Acte I: Menuet

1.13. Acte II: Prélude

1.14. Acte II, Scène I: 'Quel Inutile Soins En Ces Lieux Vous Arrête?'

1.15. Acte II, Scène II: 'Dépit Jaloux, Haine Cruelle'

1.16. Acte II, Scène III: 'A Votre Bras Vainqueur Rien Ne Peut Résister'

1.17. Acte II: Chaconne

2.1. Acte III: Symphonie d'Ouverture

2.2. Acte III, Scène I: 'Ah! Je Dois Assurer Et Ma Vie Et L'Empire'

2.3. Acte III, Scène II: 'Objet D'une Implacable Haine'

2.4. Acte III, Scène III: 'David Peut-il Attendre Un Retour Favorable?'

2.5. Acte III: Gigue

2.6. Acte IV: Prélude

2.7. Acte IV, Scène I: 'Souverain Juge Des Mortels'

2.8. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Vous Me Fuyez'

2.9. Acte IV, Scène III: 'A-t-on Jamais Souffert Une Plus Rude Peine?'

2.10. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'Venez, Seigneur, Venez: Säul Va Vous Attendre'

2.11. Acte IV, Scène V: 'Enfin, Vous M'écoutez, Seigneur?'

2.12. Acte IV: Rigaudon

2.13. Acte IV: Bourrée

2.14. Acte V: Bruits d'Armes

2.15. Acte V, Scène I: 'Courez: Säul Attend Un Secours Nécessaire'

2.16. Acte V, Scène II: 'Que Vois-je? Quoi Je Perds Mon Fils & Mon Empire!'

2.17. Acte V, Scène III: 'Victoire! Victoire!'

2.18. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Qu'on Sauve Jonathas... Allez...'

2.19. Acte V, Scène V: 'Vois, Traître, Et Reconnais Ta Nouvelle Victime'

2.20. Acte V, Scène VI: 'Joignez À Vos Exploits L'Honneur Du Diadème'

2.21. Acte V: Chœur Des Triomphants

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