Jordi Savall returns to L’Auditori de Barcelona next Monday to perform in a monographic concert dedicated to Christmas-themed works by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, one of the great composers of 17th century France.

This will be the first concert by the Catalan maestro after having successfully recovered from Covid-19, and he will do so accompanied by his ensembles Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and a team of soloists made up of sopranos Jeanne Lefort, Hanna Bayodi-Hirt and Lise Viricel, countertenor Gabriel Díaz, tenor Víctor Sordo, baritone Mauro Borgioni and bass Christian Immler.

For this special occasion, Jordi Savall will be performing two works based on pastoral and Christmas themes by the great French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Charpentier masterfully combined the French and Italian musical styles, with a prolific stage production and an extensive catalogue of sacred music. It is this last mentioned side of the composer that will be revealed next Monday at 7 pm by Jordi Savall.

The wonderful Pastorale sur la naissance de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ H. 482 (Pastorale on the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ) with its songs that range from the sacred to the profane, the naive to the serious, is an archetypal example. The Messe de Minuit pour Noël H.9 (Midnight Mass) is, apart from Te Deum, the best-known work by Charpentier. Composed for choir, soloists, flutes, strings and continuo, there are usually up to ten popular Christmas melodies (in the style of the Renaissance parody masses) that imbue it with a casual and pastoral tone.

The concert can be viewed live on the platform L’Auditori Digital.