La Semaine MystiqueDevotional songs from the reign of Louis XIII
Ensemble Faenza, Marco Horvat '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. |
