François Couperin was only 20 years old when he composed his two organ Masses in 1690. These early works were astonishingly inventive. His Messe pour les paroisses and Messe pour les couvents are the sole legacies Couperin le Grand composed for the organ.

Issuing from a current CMBV workshop focusing on historically informed practices, with artistic input from Dominique Vellard, this Messe pour les couvents will be performed with alternating plainsong in accordance with contemporary practices.

In this historic venue and on this extraordinary king of instruments (one of the oldest organs in Paris, built notably by François-Henri Cliquot) played by the Couperins, audiences will be treated to a captivating dialogue between vocals and organ. It offers a rare glimpse of Grand Siècle musical traditions, and goes to confirm what the composer himself said “I prefer what moves me to what surprises me”.