Donald Macleod assesses the astonishing breadth of Charpentier's musical activities with a drinking song, one of his most sumptuous masses and the operatic masterpiece Médée.

It's just a case of bad timing for Marc-Antoine Charpentier that he happened to be born a decade or so after Jean-Baptiste Lully. The manipulative king's favourite held a monopoly at the Sun King's court and in the theatres. Even after his death in 1687, Charpentier had to contend with back-biting from Lully's vociferous supporters. Happily Charpentier also possessed a big reputation and a band of loyal and well-to-do supporters. In a career spanning 35 years, he enjoyed a succession of plum jobs, writing in every kind of genre for some of the most influential patrons and establishments in Paris. Indeed, perhaps Lully's restrictive practices were inadvertently his making, affording Charpentier the kind of artistic freedom to write exactly what he wanted.

Donald Macleod explores Charpentier's final decade and attempts to get under the skin of this enigmatic, deeply talented individual. The series concludes with what is surely one of the highlights of Charpentier's career, the operatic jewel in his crown, Médée, which he produced at the age of 50 in 1693.

Ayant bu du vin clairet, H 446
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director

Kyrie (Messe a 8 voix et 8 violons et flutes, H.3)
Le Concert Spirituel
Hervé Niquet, director

Transfige dulcissime Jesu, H 251
Harmony of Voices, Sweden
Fredrik Malmberg, conductor

Médée, Act 1, sc 2 to 4
Lorraine Hunt (soprano), Medea
Mark Padmore (tenor) Jason
François Arcala (bass), Arcas
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director

Princesse, c'est sur vous que mon espoir se fonde (Médée, Act 2)
Lorraine Hunt (soprano), Medea
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director

Médée, Act 4 (excerpt)
Lorraine Hunt (soprano), Medea
François Piolino (tenor), Jealousy
Jean-Claude Sarragosse (bass), Vengeance
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director. Show less