Composer

:

Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Genre

:

Choral

Style

:

Choral

Average_duration

:

16:05

Marc-Antoine Charpentier's 'Troisième leçon de ténèbres du jeudi saint, H. 136' is a sacred vocal work composed in the 17th century. It was written for the liturgical service of Holy Thursday, which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with his disciples. The work is part of a larger collection of music known as the 'Leçons de ténèbres', which were traditionally performed during the Tenebrae service on the three days leading up to Easter. The 'Troisième leçon de ténèbres' is scored for two solo voices (soprano and alto) and continuo. It is divided into three movements, each corresponding to one of the three readings from the Book of Lamentations that are traditionally read during the Tenebrae service. The first movement is a setting of the first verse of the third chapter of Lamentations, "Manus tuae fecerunt me et plasmaverunt me" (Your hands have made me and fashioned me). The second movement sets the second verse of the same chapter, "Circumdederunt me dolores mortis" (The pains of death surrounded me). The third and final movement sets the third verse, "Lamentationes eius factae sunt in nocte" (Her lamentations are made in the night). The music of the 'Troisième leçon de ténèbres' is characterized by its intense emotional expressiveness and its use of chromaticism and dissonance to convey the text's themes of sorrow and mourning. The vocal lines are highly ornamented and require a great deal of technical skill and emotional depth from the performers. The continuo part is also highly expressive, with frequent use of suspensions and other harmonic devices to heighten the emotional impact of the music. The 'Troisième leçon de ténèbres' was likely composed in the 1680s or 1690s, during Charpentier's tenure as maître de musique at the Jesuit church of Saint-Louis in Paris. It was first performed during the Tenebrae service on Holy Thursday, and quickly became one of Charpentier's most popular and frequently performed works. Today, it is considered a masterpiece of Baroque sacred music, and is still regularly performed and recorded by ensembles specializing in early music.

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