Pierre Villette: Motets (2006)

Even though he was an admirer of Olivier Messiaen and a one-time colleague of Pierre Boulez, French composer Pierre Villette observed older traditions in his music, and wrote in a quasi-impressionistic language that incorporated both tonal harmonies and modal chants in a style reminiscent of Poulenc's or Duruflé's ecclesiastical works. Perhaps Villette's sacred music was not better known in his lifetime because of its regularity, consistency, and comprehensibility, qualities that were not provocative, controversial, or ... Read More

Even though he was an admirer of Olivier Messiaen and a one-time colleague of Pierre Boulez, French composer Pierre Villette observed older traditions in his music, and wrote in a quasi-impressionistic language that incorporated both tonal harmonies and modal chants in a style reminiscent of Poulenc's or Duruflé's ecclesiastical works. Perhaps Villette's sacred music was not better known in his lifetime because of its regularity, consistency, and comprehensibility, qualities that were not provocative, controversial, or critically noteworthy; his appealing anthems were precisely the kind of music the avant-garde of the mid-twentieth century would have rejected as reactionary and irrelevant. At the turn of the twenty first century, however, his conservative traits are no longer a stumbling block, and Villette's music has found its audience at last. Thanks to the popularity of religious works in a similar vein by John Tavener and Arvo Pärt, there are many listeners who have developed an appreciation for... Read Less