In February 1704, after years of loyal service as music director at the Sainte Chapelle, Marc-Antoine Charpentier died leaving behind a large corpus, recognised over three centuries later as some of France’s finest artistic creations.

Although his career was not on a par with his genius, he was a source of inspiration and a model for many composers during his lifetime. They all knew and admired his compositions, notably André Campra and Nicolas Bernier who followed in the Master’s wake after his death, the former with the Jesuits in Rue Saint Antoine and the latter as Music Master at the Sainte Chapelle.

Joining Charpentier’s Motet pour une longue offrande came Bernier’s Cum Invocarem and Campra’s famous De Profundis. These three great musicians figured among the foremost composers of sacred music at the height of the Grand Siècle.