Jean Mouton (c. 1459-1522) was a pupil of Josquin de Prés and teacher of Adrian Willaert. He was chief court composer to Louis XII and Fran?ois I, and was a favorite of Pope Leo X, a Medici. (So in sense he was "related by Medici" to Charpentier, who served King Louis XVI, also a Medici). His compositions include masses, motets, psalms, and chansons.

Very few manuscripts survived from the French court chapel in Mouton's time. Fortunately, the manuscripts for Quaeramus cum pastoribus and Noe noe noe psallite (dated c. 1521, along with a third, Puer natus) were copied by papal scribes and were found among Rome, Cappella Sistina, MS 46. Other composers used these motets as models for their own instrumental works and masses.

The liturgical function for these motets has not been established, nor has the text for Quaeramus cum pastoribus been identified. The use of question-and-answer dialogue with symmetric, rhymed verses suggests a derivation from a medieval play. The second half of Noe noe noe psallite is the familiar "Lift up your heads, o ye gates," from Psalm 24:7, although when sung in Latin is not so easily recognizable. Coincidentally, in one 16th c. anthology Noe noe is subtitled In nativitatem Domini, which is the title of another work on tonight's program.)

Marc-Antoine Charpentier (c. 1634-1704) was born in Paris but we know little of his youth, except that as a young man he went to Rome to study under the great Italian composer Carissimi. He returned to a Paris that was already under the musical dictatorship of the gifted but jealous Lully who served as Superintendent of Music for Louis XI and also director of the newly-founded Opera. With opportunity for secular composition thus limited, Charpentier composed chiefly sacred music, especially for the Jesuits. He served as maitre de musique to St. Louis, the principal church of the Jesuits in Paris. In 1698 he was named maitre de musique at Sainte-Chapelle, a highly prestigious post, second only to the directorship of the royal chapel at Versailles.

In Nativitatem Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Canticum, from the mid 1670s, is best defined as an oratorio. ("Canticum" means song, or dramatic scene). The work combines French and Italian traits. It respects the simple prose of the Latin Vulgate Bible, being especially faithful to the text of Luke 2:8-16. At the same time, the emphasis the pastoral elements of the Christmas story, brings to mind charming French no‘ls. Italian elements include the bel canto angel aria (#3), the recitatives, and the stile antico contrapuntal style of the rapturous shepherd's chorus (#4). On the other hand, the prelude/postlude, dance rhythms, and solo-chorus repetitions of the shepherds' air (#7&8) are from French sources, as is the general atmosphere of childlike sweetness, simplicity, and innocence that pervades this whole work, indeed both the selections on tonight's program.

Christmas music of various kinds was popular in Louis XIV's France, and Charpentier's Messe de minuit (c. 1690) is perhaps the most charming of all such works of this period. With remarkable skill, Charpentier used old French carols as the basis for his composition. It's evident that he chose his carol-tunes with great care, not only for their musical value, but also for their allegorical and liturgical significance. Even though the sung text to this piece were the words to the Latin mass, the humblest member of the 17th c. French congregation would also know the words to the familiar no‘ls. The significance of the unsung words and the enchantment of the tunes, especially of the culminating Agnus Dei, would not be lost on the audience.

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) spent 40 years in the prestigious position of organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck and attained such stature that he was visited by the likes of Handel and J.S. Bach. Although he is often classified as a German baroque composer, he, however, seems to have considered himself Danish, his father having moved from northern Germany into the then-Danish province of Scania where Dietrich was born.

While the bulk of his surviving output is organ music, Buxtehude made an impressive contribution to the choral and chamber music repertoire, including 128 vocal compositions, two sets of seven trio sonatas and over 20 works for harpsichord. All but eight of his surviving choral works are based on sacred texts from biblical sources, Latin devotional poetry or German chorales.

In the Magnificat for 5-part choir, strings, and continuo, Buxtehude uses choral soli, duets, trios, and tutti sections to dramatize the text which he divides into short phrases, each with a new musical motif closely tied to the words. The musical sections thus generated are often strongly contrasted but are unified within the framework of string ritornello.

Antonio Caldara (c. 1670-1736) was born in Venice but after his travels and work throughout Europe eventually took a post in the service of the (Spanish) Hapsburgs in the court at Vienna. He enjoyed the favor of Emperor Charles II and remained active and productive until shortly before his death in 1736. Although perhaps not as well-known as other composers of his day, Caldara was as productive, writing 90 operas, 43 oratorios, 300 solo cantatas, masses, motets, madrigals and string sonatas. The Emperor was so fond of him, that he had an oratorio by Caldara performed at court each year up until his (Emperor's) death.

The Lauda anima mea Dominum is a motet setting of Psalm 145, for choir, two violins, and keyboard. Written in 1715, it is the latest work on the program and illustrates the style change of the early 18th c. by the added importance and interplay of the instruments with the voices.