Marc-Antoine Charpentier, one of the most significant artists of French Baroque music, was born in the same year Louis XIV ascended to the throne and he lived as a servant of the great sovereign until his death. In other words, his career was determined by the reign of the Sun King. He composed a host of secular works, including in collaboration with Molière, but his sacred music compositions play a decisive role in his vast oeuvre, among which the motet that opens the concert is connected to the Transfiguration of Christ, and the closing dramatic motet is related to the Last Judgment. Coincidentally, the year of birth and of death of Georg Christoph Strattner, who came from Gols (Gálos) in Burgenland, Austria, almost precisely match those of Charpentier, therefore the works performed at this concert are a chance for the audience to differentiate the French and German ‘music dialects’ of the middle Baroque period. He studied in Bratislava and then Stuttgart, and towards the end of his life he worked in Weimar as capellmeister. Purcell Choir, founded by György Vashegyi more than three decades ago, and directed by him ever since, as well as Orfeo Orchestra who operate in symbiosis with the ensemble, play a critical role in authentic early music performance in Hungary. Conductor for this recital, József Gál, who has also been particularly successful as a vocalist, is a member of Purcell Choir and Hungarian Radio Choir; furthermore, he ranks as an outstanding representative of the new musical generation appearing in the past few years.
