Oratorios: Caecilia, virgo et martyr; Filius prodigus; Magnificat

Sacred Passions

If Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Latin oratorios rise up to the summits of French music of the "Grand Siècle", they none the less remain isolated cases. At the time the oratorio was as little appreciated in France as it was extolled in Italy - where, in fact, Charpentier discovered the genre while studying with Carissimi in Rome. In any case, what he did with it went way beyond a mere schoolroom exercise! These two oratorios, composed between 1672 and 1698, are superb examples of Charpentier's individual qualities: an acute sense of the word and an unprecedented dramatic effectiveness.


William Christie was born in the United States in 1944. He took his first music lessons with his mother, then went on to study piano, organ and harpsichord.

In 1966 he gained a diploma in art history at Harvard. From 1966-70 he undertook a period of further study at Yale: harpsichord with Ralph Kirkpatrick, musicology and organ studies. He was subsequently appointed musical director of the Collegium of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

From 1971 onwards he has been based in Europe. In 1972 he made his first record for the ORTF; he also worked closely with Geneviève Thibault de Chambure (Société de Musique d'Autrefois, Paris) and continuing his harpsichord studies with Kenneth Gilbert and David Fuller. He has given harpsichord recitals in all the major European festivals, and has made well over thirty records either in his capacity as a soloist (Rameau, A.L.Couperin, F.Couperin, J.C.F.Fischer, Gaspard Leroux, Pancrace Royer etc.) or as harpsichordist with the Concerto Vocale.

William Christie is the founder of Les Arts Florissants (www.arts-florissants.com), a vocal and instrumental ensemble considered nowadays to be one of the best in existence for baroque music. From 1978 to 1983 he was a teacher at the Innsbruck SommerAkademie fur Alte Musik. 1982 saw his appointment to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris; he was the first American to hold this honour. William Christie's worldwide reputation resides not only in his career as a harpsichordist but also as a specialist of French and Italian baroque music. His contribution to the renaissance of vocal techniques originating in the 17th. and 18th. centuries cannot be overestimated.