Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Migrated podcast image for: Composer Of The Week

Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

Composer of the Week - Brand

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

Composer of the Week: Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704): Episode 5: Passion, Jealousy and Revenge

Episode 5

Episode 5: Passion, Jealousy and Revenge

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

Passion, Jealousy and Revenge

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704), Passion, Jealousy and Revenge

Donald Macleod assesses the great breadth of Charpentier's musical activities.

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

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.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Donald Macleod explores the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier. In a 35-year career, he had prestigious jobs, writing in every genre for some of the most influential patrons and establishments in Paris

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Composer of the Week

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

Episode 5: Passion, Jealousy and Revenge

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3