Grands Motets for Louis XIV

Grands Motets pour Louis XIV
by Le Chœur de Chambre de Namur and Les Agrémens under Guy Van Waas.

The concert will take place at the Chapelle Royale de Versailles on Sunday November 28 2010 - 5:30pm (French time) and will be broadcast live on Arte Live Web

Cherubini's Requiem for Louis XVI

Cherubini's Requiem for Louis XVI will be given on January 21st, 2011, at the Chapelle Royale de Versailles. Louis XVI was executed on January 21st, 1793.

I think it's the first time that such a commemoration is held in Versailles. Maybe it's a test. Two centuries later, Louis XVI is still part of the big taboos in France. In 1993, some people wanted to celebrate the bicentennial of his death by putting candles on the Place de la Concorde where he was guillotined, but the city of Paris didn't allow it. The Archbishop of Paris refused Notre-Dame for a requiem. Celebrations were allowed but only in discreet places so they could pass unnoticed.

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Luigi Cherubini : Requiem à la mémoire de Louis XVI (Requiem n°1 en ut mineur, pour chœur mixte et orchestre, 1816).
Chœur Accentus - Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie
Direction Hervé Niquet

Château de Versailles

The Princess of Montpensier

The Princess of Montpensier, a period film by Bertrand Tavernier based on the eponymous novel by Madame de La Fayette (Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, 1634-1693), was released today in France. The story takes place during the Wars of Religion.

All you need to know about the movie : Wikipedia.
An english translation of the book : Gutenberg.