‘Le Concert Spirituel & Hervé Niquet’

Jean Paul Egide Martini wrote his requiem on the occasion of the reburial of Louis XVI, beheaded in 1793, and Marie-Antoinette who succumbed to the same fate in 1816. Every year, a new requiem would pay homage to the restored monarchy. In spite of a few Mozart touches, this is clearly the work of a French Romantic, who, like Hector Berlioz in his Messe Solennelle, employed all the orchestral techniques of his time. Like musical archaeologists, Hervé Niquet and Concert Spirituel go in search of the right sound image, whereby forgotten instruments such as the ophicleide and serpent create a unique touch.