Music at Versailles meant Lully, Les 24 violins du roy and lavish secular festivities! But behind the glamour was one of the French king’s oldest and most prestigious musical institutions, the Royal Chapel. More than a musical venue, it was the most important department of the King’s Music. This episode focuses on the workings of the French monarchy’s oldest musical institution.

The second episode delves into everyday life at the Palace of Versailles. Music accompanied the King’s day, starting with the royal levee. What was the King’s Mass like? What music was played and what was the work of the musicians?

A competition was held to recruit the Kingdom’s finest musicians for Versailles. Two rounds were held at the Court before a prestigious jury, which culminated in the King’s personal choice of 26 year-old Michel-Richard de Lalande, who went on to reign supreme over the music at Versailles. Episode 3 offers an insight into this momentous musical event.

Grands motets were musical showpieces under the last Bourbons and the mainstay of the Royal Chapel repertoire. How was this typically French genre born? How were grands motets constructed? Who performed them? This episode looks at the grand motet formula as a musical vehicle of royal piety.

Episode 5 follows Lalande (le Lully latin) from his student days at Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois to his ascension at the royal court. It explores his personality, the modernity of his music and his brilliant career at Versailles.

How did Royal Chapel music spread beyond the frontiers of the Kingdom? What happened to the Chapel and its occupants in 1789? This crowning episode takes a look at the musical life in the Royal Chapel today. Although a national heritage, it is also a living musical environment which welcomes numerous musicians, and its repertoire continues to influence today’s composers.