Charles-Hubert Gervais (19 February 1671 – 14 January 1744) was a French composer of the
Baroque era. The son of a valet to
King Louis XIV's brother,
Monsieur, Gervais was born at the
Palais Royal in
Paris and probably educated by Monsieur's musical intendants, Jean Granouillet de Sablières and Charles Lalouette. He worked as a musician for the
Duc de Chartres, the future regent of France. In 1701, he married Françoise du Vivier (she died in 1723). In 1721 he was named sous-maître de musique at the
Chapelle royale along with
André Campra,
Nicolas Bernier and
Michel Richard Delalande (who had previously held the post alone). Gervais composed sacred music, 42 grand motets, 7 petits motets, cantatas, and operas, including two tragédies en musique.
Grand motet - Te Deum, Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France, Orchestre Des Jeunesses Musicales De France, conducted by Louis Martini. Vinyl LP 1958
Grand motet - Exaudiat te Dominus, Chorale des Jeunesses Musicales de France, Orchestre de l'association des Concerts Pasdeloup, conducted by Louis Martini. Vinyl LP 1958
Hypermnestre, Katherine Watson, , Hypermnestre, Mathias Vidal, Lyncée, Thomas Dolié, Danaüs, Philippe-Nicolas Martin, Arcas (ombre de Gélanor, le Nil), Chantal Santon-Jeffery, (NaÏade, bergère, Coryphée), Juliette Mars, (Isis, matelote), Manuel Munez Camelino (Grand Prêtre, Coryphée), Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, dir. Giörgy Vashegyi. 2 CD Glossa 2019. 5 Diapasons
Grands motets - Exaudi Deus, O filii et filiae, Judica me Deus, Uquequo Domine, Te Deum, Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra, conducted by György Vashegyi. CD Glossa 2022. 5 Diapasons
Grands motets - Jubilate Deo, Super flumina Babylon, Miserere, Choeur du Concert Spirituel, Les Ombres, conducted by Sylvain Sartre. CD CVS 2022. 5 Diapasons
Sources
Charles-Hubert Gervais, Super flumina Babilonis. Edited by
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier. “Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era” no. 84. Madison, WI: A.R. Editions, Inc., 1998.
Charles-Hubert Gervais, Miserere. Ed.
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier. Stuttgart: Carus-Verlag, 2004
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier,"Charles-Hubert Gervais’s Psiché burlesque and the Birth of the Comic Cantate française," The Journal of Musicology 17 (1999): 520-545.
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier,Charles-Hubert Gervais (1671-1744), un musicien au service du Régent et de Louis XV. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2001.
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, “Les deux versions du cinquième acte d’Hypermnestre de Charles-Hubert Gervais,” Revue de musicologie, 82 (1996), pp. 331-343.
Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, “Claude Boyer librettiste: remarques sur Méduse,” Revue d’histoire du théâtre 191 (1996), pp. 303–320.