Italy has always been a source of  inspiration and fascination for French composers. A voyage to Italy was not just for painters and architects – it was a must for many. In Paris as early as the late 17^th century, Italian music was played at numerous literary and society gatherings. Abbot Matthieu, for one, had a library containing over two hundred French and Italian works and organised weekly recitals of religious music. The same went for many Italian composers based in Paris like Paolo Lorenzani, Superintendent of the Queen’s music, who left a magnificent collection of secular and sacred music.

This programme of petits motet highlights such Italianate French composers as Nicolas Bernier, André Campra, Nicolas Clérambault and of course the Marc-Antoine Charpentier, who paved the way for a dialogue between French and Italian music.