La Semaine Mystique: Devotional songs from the reign of Louis XIII

'Baroque man' was faced with the same choices that face us today: choices between innovation and tradition, science and religion, the group and the individual, and so on; the examples are endless.

Singing, as a source of elevation as much as of sensual pleasure, can make the soul of the sinner, like a fragile funambulist, topple this way or that, towards salvation on the one side or damnation on the other.The Jesuits, who were spiritual directors to many staunch believers among the aristocracy, had no qualms in using the sensual pleasures of the arts as instruments of salvation.

To structure this recording Alpha used the method recommended by the Jesuit Philippe d'Angoumois in his Occupation continuelle en laquelle l'ame devote s'unit toujours avecque Dieu, a treatise written in 1618 for the use of ladies of the aristocracy. In this work he advises them to meditate each day of the week on a religious subject, in order to include the mysteries of spirituality in their daily routine. After a short catechism intended for children and a severe condemnation of the lewd song, the programme follows that path, with prayers on different themes for each day, thus creating an imaginary spiritual progression, as the soul seeks its salvation. In this 'mystical week', the soul moves from meditation on its sins (Monday) to contemplation of the glories of paradise (Sunday), from the fractures of the heart to inner healing, from primal Chaos to the Harmony of the spheres.