Messe Grégorienne de Nicolas Lebègue

The Messe Grégorienne by Nicolas Lebègue, recorded here by the Choeurs de l'école St Michel de Surins-Niherne under the direction of Jeanne Marguillard, represents a focused effort to capture the liturgical essence of the French Baroque. Released by the French independent label REM in 1983, this recording emerged during a period of renewed academic and religious interest in authentic performance practices for early French organ and choral music, seeking to ground Lebègue’s compositions in the resonant, ecclesiastical acoustics that originally informed their creation.

The recording serves as a testament to the dedication of regional ensembles to preserving specific liturgical traditions outside of the major metropolitan conservatories. By highlighting the work of Jeanne Marguillard and her choir, the release provided a platform for specialized interpretations of the Grégorien repertoire, emphasizing vocal purity and stylistic historical accuracy. It remains a representative artifact of the REM label's commitment to documenting niche sacred music during the early 1980s.