In reference to the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019, this work takes Guillaume de Machaut’s famous ‘Messe Notre-Dame’ and offers a new reading of it, with songs based on poems by Louise Labé, like a lament on the lack of love and solitude, further reinforced by the heart-rending calls of the electric guitar.
Difficulty rating: difficult
Texts from the Catholic tradition and from Louise Labé
French, Latin, Greek
Mezzo-soprano, male voice quartet (tenors 1 and 2, baritones 1 and 2), theorbo/electric guitar.
Duration: 60 mins
Rewriting of Guillaume de Machaut’s mass (14th century),
including 5 chansons on secular texts by Louise Labé : Je vis je meurs, Je fuis la ville, Les extrêmes, Ô longs désirs, Tant que mes yeux
List of differents parts : Ouverture, Kyrie/chanson 1, interlude 1, Gloria/chanson 2, interlude 2, Credo, chanson 3, interlude 3, Sanctus/chanson 4, interlude 4, Agnus Dei, chanson 5, Ite Missa est, Ave Maria