1 Dec 2025
“Listening to this, it’s easy to wish that Christmas lasted the entire year.”
★★★★★ The Times
"Charpentier's convergence of Italianate and French styles in the instrumental interlude ‘Nuit’ is played gorgeously.”
Gramophone
"performed with infinite grace ... Sublimely beautiful music in incomparable performances"
Classical Explorer
We are delighted to announce that this album was chosen by La tribune des critiques de disques on France Musique (December 2025) as the benchmark recording of Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit
Charpentier: Baroque Christmas, released on SDG, marks the debut of celebrated French conductor Christophe Rousset with the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists.
The album features music by Charpentier, including the Messe de Minuit with its beguiling blend of sacred music and French folk carols. The Choir is also joined by outstanding soloists: Hilary Cronin, Keri Fuge, Samuel Boden, Ruairi Bowen, Edward Ross and Florian Störtz. The album was recorded in December 2024 during a European tour that saw the Choir perform at London’s St-Martin-in-the-Fields, Milan’s La Scala opera house, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper and Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie.
Christophe Rousset conducts the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists at St Martin-in-the-Fields, 2025 © Paul Marc Mitchell
Renowned for his Gallic elegance and refinement, Rousset brings fresh vitality to Charpentier’s festive works — the motet In Nativitatem and the Messe de Minuit pour Noël, enriched by the instrumental noëls (Christmas carols) that form the backbone of this distinctive mass.
The album is available to purchase on CD and digital download, and listen to on all streaming platforms.
