4 - Catholic church music in France

Summary

From the time of Francis I and the Concordat of Bologna (1516) onwards, the Church of France continuously defended its independence from the Holy See, notably by reducing papal interferences in temporal matters. Thanks to his Declaration of the Clergy of France (1682), in which the privileges of the Gallican Church were officially codified, Jacques Benigne Bossuet (1627–1704) succeeded in widening the prerogatives of the French king, and even managed to protect him against excommunication. But the Gallican Church intended by Louis XIV did not survive the revolutionary storm, being completely destroyed by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in July 1790. Two years later (21 September 1792) the Musique of the Chapelle Royale, reorganized in 1683, was suppressed alongside the abolishment of the Absolute Monarchy. Between 1682–3 and 1790–2 French religious music underwent profound changes, while remaining firmly anchored in established traditions.

In matters of fashion and taste, the Court of Versailles, and then Paris, set the requisite tone and attracted the best musicians. Numerous provincial maîtres de musique, whose duties included composing and conducting motets as well as training pueri chori (boy choristers), were vicariants (itinerant musicians) who criss-crossed the country to secure a position at a major maîtrise (choir school). From there, some even tried to reach the capital in order to make a name for themselves at the Concert Spirituel (where motets were regularly performed), and in the case of the most gifted to enter the Chapelle Royale.