Maggio Aperto continues with a concert dedicated to the great tradition of French sacred music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Samuele Lastrucci conducts the Orchestra and Choir of I Musici del Gran Principe in a journey through the musical splendours of French sacred Baroque music.

The programme features works by Michel-Richard de Lalande, Sébastien de Brossard, Jean Gilles, and a previously unperformed composition by Federico Maria Sardelli.

Florence, 9 June 2026 – On Thursday 11 June at 8 p.m., in the Sala Mehta of the Teatro del Maggio, as part of the Maggio Aperto concert series, Le Grand Théâtre de Dieu will be presented. Conceived in collaboration with the Istituto Lulli to mark the tercentenary of the death of Michel-Richard de Lalande, one of the most significant figures in the musical life of the court of Louis XIV, the concert offers an exploration of the expressive richness of French sacred Baroque music, bringing to audiences works that are rarely performed in Italy yet are essential to understanding the musical culture of the period. Choirs, intricate vocal textures, and sumptuous instrumental sonorities evoke the “Great Theatre of God” that gives the evening its title, a world in which liturgy is transformed into music.

On the podium, Samuele Lastrucci leads the Orchestra and Choir of I Musici del Gran Principe, an ensemble specialising in historically informed performance and long committed to promoting the French musical heritage of the Grand Siècle.

Joining Lastrucci is an outstanding vocal cast: Lili Aymonino, Helena Bregar, and Marie Zaccarini (soloists), with Elena Mascii, Maria Clara Maiztegui, and Isaure Brunner as Dessus; Sebastian Monti and Alessandro Vianelli (soloists), joined by Lorenzo Renosi as Haute-contre; Marco Angioloni (soloist), with Enrico Busia and Neri Landi as Taille; and Samy Timin and Alessandro Abis (soloists), together with Chun-Hao Chiang and Andrea Berni as Basse.

The programme offers a captivating journey through selected masterpieces of the French Baroque, combining rarely performed works of exceptional beauty and historical significance. The evening opens with Cantique quatrième, Sur le bonheur des justes et sur le malheur des réprouvés, S.127 by Michel-Richard de Lalande, a composer whose contribution was pivotal in shaping the musical language of the French monarchy and the Royal Chapel of Versailles.

This is followed by Jesu dulcis memoria, Latin hymn on a text by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a true highlight of the evening. The work, previously unperformed, was specially composed by Federico Maria Sardelli and dedicated to his pupil Samuele Lastrucci. Written in 2019 on a text by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, it is presented on this occasion in a new and unpublished arrangement for an expanded ensemble, significantly enlarging the forces of the original version.

The concert continues with the Stabat Mater, SdB.8 by Sébastien de Brossard and Velum templi scissum, répons pour le Jeudi saint aux Ténèbres by Jean Gilles. The evening concludes with another work by Michel-Richard de Lalande, Miserere mei Deus, S.87.