Charpentier: Les Arts Florissants

When Charpentier composed Les Arts Florissants, he was in the service of the Duchesse de Guise, where he enjoyed the presence of a small but exquisite ensemble of musicians. Les Arts Florissants, which Charpentier described as both an Idylle en musique and an Opera, was written in 1685, and thus was subjected to the Royal Patent for opera held by Lully. Simply put, this Patent limited the number of musicians and singers in dramatic musical works for everyone else, thus insuring Lully's monopoly in the field of opera. Eventually, Charpentier outlived Lully and this prohibition, and composed his full-blown opera Médée, but the cleverness with which he overcame the legal limitations restricting Les Arts Florissants is perhaps an even greater proof of his genius. Lead by James Richman, who was made a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 1995 in recognition of his contributions to the field of music, The Dallas Bach Society has historically been the Southwest's primary resource for Baroque music on original instruments.