Luogo e data di registrazione		Karmeliter Kerk, Gent (Olanda) - gennaio 1981
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer / Engineer		Andreas Holschneider - Gerd Ploebsch / Onno Scholtze
	Prima Edizione LP		Archiv - 2533 461 - (1 lp) - durata 48' 50" - (p) 1981 - Analogico
	Edizione "Collectio" CD		Archiv - 437 087-2 - (1 cd) - durata 48' 50" - (c) 1986 - ADD
	Note		-

JEAN GILLES: REQUIEM MASS Gilles, born in Tarascon, spent his early years of musical training under Poitevin at Aix-en-Provence. He succeeded his teacher as maître de musique at the Cathedral of Saint-Sauveur in 1693 but within two years had left the post for a similar one at the Cathedral of Agde in the Languedoc. From there he went to Saint-Étienne at Toulouse, following in Campra’s footsteps; a further appointment followed at Avignon Cathedral in 1701 but, though for a short while the 19-year-old Rameau stood in for him, Gilles never took up the position. As far as we know he remained in Toulouse until his death in 1705. During his short life Gilles composed a considerable quantity of church music, mainly psalm settings in the form of grands motets, currently fashionable in France; some of these, as for instance his Laudate nomen Domini (Psalm 135), display a striking individuality of timbre and melodic invention. Among the surviving compositions, two, however, may be considered to stand out from the rest. The first of them is a setting of the Te Deum, “a grand choeur et symphonie”; it was composed on the occasion of the signing of the treaty of Ryswick, news of which reached Paris on 22 September 1697. Gilles, it appears from the Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de plusieurs illustres de Provence (1752), completed the work in the course of a single night and performed it the following day. However, since the same volume also was responsible for supplying an incorrect date for the composer’s birth, we perhaps ought not to take the anecdote too literally. The second of Gilles’ outstanding compositions is his Messe des morts, whose date of composition is not known. Its history is a curious one; the families of two deceased dignitaries of Toulouse commissioned the work but, on seeing the elaborate nature of the finished product, decided that it would be too expensive. Gilles was angry, of course, and told them that if they did not want it he would save it up for his own funeral - and this is exactly what he did, taking care to add a clause in his will clarifying his wishes. Sadly, the Requiem was sung sooner than he could have expected, and, at his funeral in Toulouse, the performance was directed by Campra, whom Gilles had known in his student days. From then onwards the Requiem became an unusually popular work, widely known and, apparently, frequently performed. Campra was among those who thought highly of it and was responsible for introducing it to Paris and the French court. In 1764, the year in which it was published, it was performed on 27 September at a memorial service for Rameau in the church of the Oratorians in the Rue St. Honoré. On that occasion excerpts from Rameau’s own stage works, notably his tragédie-lyrique Castor et Pollux (1737), were sung as well. Indeed it seems as if the Kyrie actually was sung to Rameau’s music and not to that of Gilles on this occasion. Following Rameau’s death the work became popular at the Parisian Concert spirituel; and the ultimate accolade, perhaps, came in 1774, when the Messe des morts was sung at a memorial service for Louis XV at Versailles. Outwardly, the Messe des morts of Gilles is typical of the grand siècle and bears affinity with the grands motets of Lalande for example; but there is also an individual expression of tendresse, sensibility and simplicity, which makes an immediate appeal. Campra’s own Messe des morts shows certain similarities with that of Gilles and, although we cannot date his work with any certainty, it seems possible that the Requiem of Campra’s Provençal contemporary may have acted as a source of inspiration to the older composer. During the 18th century small permutations occurred in the textual content of the Requiem Mass, and neither of these, for instance, contains a Dies irae or Libera me. Similarities between the two settings may also be discerned in the elegiac string writing, the lucid textures, the sharp focus on tonic and dominant keys and the broad expressive contours which far transcend Lullian formality. It seems that in 18th-century Provence the Messe des morts of Campra and of Gilles were actually performed jointly, with alternating excerpts from each: on these occasions regional pride clearly took precedenceover artistic integrity. Nicholas Anderson The Requiem by Gilles is extant in two versions: a) the primary source, an MS score (Paris, Bibl. Nat. Vm1 1375) b) a later version, i. e. the score printed by Michel Corrette in 1764, almost 60 years after the composer’s death. This edition also includes a “Carillon des morts” composed by Corrette. The printed edition differs from the older MS version in that certain instruments are added: thus at the beginning of the work a drum (Tambour) anticipates the string rhythm. The “Te decet hymnus” section up to the entry of the voice is played by an oboe, here making its only appearance in the entire work. Evidently the extra instruments were added for the performance of the work on the occasion of Rameau’s funeral in 1764, to which the foreword of the printed edition makes specific reference. The present recording is based on the older, MS source, which probably represents the composer’s intentions. In addition Corrette’s “Carillon” is also included.