Le Grand Mystère Ensemble la Sportelle & Alix Dumon-Debaecker

• Traditional: Leto leta concio:
• 1 Traditional: Leto leta concio 01:06
• O Oriens antienne grégorienne:
• 2 Traditional: O Oriens antienne grégorienne 00:52
• James MacMillan (b. 1959): O Radiant Dawn:
• 3 MacMillan: O Radiant Dawn 03:56
• Richard Allain (b. 1965): Coventry Carol:
• 4 Allain: Coventry Carol 04:04
• Steven Sametz (b. 1954): Gaudete:
• 5 Sametz: Gaudete 02:21
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): A Boy was Born:
• 6 Britten: A Boy was Born 02:22
• Traditional: O Magnum Mysterium répons grégorien:
• 7 Traditional: O Magnum Mysterium répons grégorien 02:50
• Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963): O Magnum Mysterium:
• 8 Poulenc: O Magnum Mysterium 03:17
• Pierre Villette (1926 - 1998): O Magnum Mysterium:
• 9 Villette: O Magnum Mysterium 04:36
• Traditional: Quem Vidistis Pastores Dicite répons grégorien:
• 10 Traditional: Quem Vidistis Pastores Dicite répons grégorien 02:22
• Francis Poulenc: Quem Vidistis Pastores Dicite:
• 11 Poulenc: Quem Vidistis Pastores Dicite 02:23
• Traditional: Videntes Stellam Antienne grégorienne:
• 12 Traditional: Videntes Stellam Antienne grégorienne 00:29
• Francis Poulenc: Videntes Stellam:
• 13 Poulenc: Videntes Stellam 02:52
• Traditional: Hodie Christus natus est Antienne grégorienne:
• 14 Traditional: Hodie Christus natus est Antienne grégorienne 01:15
• Francis Poulenc: Hodie Christus natus est:
• 15 Poulenc: Hodie Christus natus est 02:08
• John Tavener (1944 - 2013): The Lamb:
• 16 Tavener: The Lamb 03:59
• Joséphine Stephenson (b. 1990): The Infant King:
• 17 Stephenson: The Infant King 04:03
• Fredrik Sixten (b. 1962): Mary's Lullaby:
• 18 Sixten: Mary's Lullaby 03:28
• Benjamin Britten: Hymn to the Virgin:
• 19 Britten: Hymn to the Virgin 03:36
• John Tavener: A Christmas Round:
• 20 Tavener: A Christmas Round 01:48
• Total Runtime 53:47

Info for Le Grand Mystère

For 2,000 years, Christmas has filled both young and old with wonder. A time for celebration, a time for reunions, moments of simplicity and sharing. At its heart, Christmas is about a birth—the birth of a newborn in a manger. During the winter solstice, light spreads everywhere, bringing perfect joy.

Even before the birth, joy is already present, as we eagerly await the child’s arrival. Between Gregorian chants and readings from English composers, we oscillate between splendor and awe, culminating in the exhilaration of Steven Sametz’s “Rejoice!”—a joy that becomes radiant with the newborn’s arrival!

Benjamin Britten’s A Boy Was Born introduces the colorful vision of Francis Poulenc. Like a painter, he describes the scene with simplicity, revealing the great mystery in a pure and vivid way. The silence of the night invites the gentleness of soothing English lullabies. Finally, at dawn, let our joy burst forth to announce the great news to the world. Sing now and be joyful!

Ensemble la Sportelle
Alix Dumon-Debaecker, direction

Recorded at the Chapelle Saint-Pierre de Conflans in Charenton-le-Pont in March and April 2024.

Alix Dumon-Debaecker
Born in 1986, Alix Dumon-Debaecker joined the Maîtrise de Radio-France at the age of eleven. During this seven-year course, she studied singing, piano, analysis, composition and choral conducting with Toni Ramon.

From 2005 to 2008, she furthered her training in choral conducting at the CRR in Boulogne-Billancourt with Marianne Guengard, before joining the CEFEDEM, where she obtained her State Diploma in Choral Conducting in 2010.

In 2007 she founded the Chœur de Grenelle and studied singing with Gisèle Fixe, a teacher at the Conservatoire du VIIe arrondissement in Paris, while perfecting her choral conducting skills with conductors such as Didier Louis (Lumen de Lumine), Denis Rouger (Chœur Figure Humaine) and Claire Marchand (Ensemble vocal Intermezzo). In 2010, she became assistant choral conductor at the Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, where she trains the children's choir of the Opéra National de Paris. In 2014, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree and in 2015 founded the Saint Jean-Paul II Children's Choir. In 2016, she founded the Maîtrise de filles du collège Stanislas. In 2017, she co-directed the Maîtrise de Saint-Christophe-de-Javel with Louis Gal. In 2022, she took over the PREFO student choir (IPC/Apprentis d'Auteuil). Since the start of the 2023 academic year, she has been teaching choral conducting at the University of Paris 8. For the past 10 years, she has also provided training in public speaking, assertiveness and business leadership.

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