This is a surprising work. By tracing the chronology of requiems in the French repertoire, we can trace a line from Jean Gilles (1697) to Gossec (1760), then Berlioz (1837). These works have in common an imposing solemnity. THE Requiem de Campra (1660-1744), composed in 1723, conveys another atmosphere. There we find both an idea of “gentle death” (not “Last Judgment”), which could lead to Fauré and Duruflé, and a sort of flowery lyricism which would be in the 18the century what the sacred music of Gounod will be in the 19the. The work has already been recorded by Herreweghe, Gardiner and Niquet. Emmanuelle Haïm is also inspired by certain daring bets of the latter (tempo of Sanctus), but with more softness and subtlety in the line and more refinement in the execution. She outranks Gardiner and Herreweghe by the naturalness of her breathing. The coupling with, on the second CD, the motets In convertendo Dominus by Rameau (1715) and In exitu Israel de Mondonville (1755) frames Campra’s music within his Versailles aesthetic.
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