Among the works that marked the musical life of Burgundy in the 18th century, those by Joseph Michel hold a very special place. Born in Bay-sur-Aube, the composer entered the collegiate church of Saint-Etienne in Dijon as a choirboy. Here, he was trained by Pierre Menault, another well-known local composer, in one of Dijon’s best choir schools, where the organist was Jean Rameau, father of Jean-Philippe. In 1709, Joseph Michel became director of Burgundy’s top choir school, the Sainte-Chapelle du Roi in Dijon. His reputation spread far beyond the city and the provinces: his grand motet Dominus regnavit entered the repertoire of the Chapelle royale in Versailles. He remained there until 1792.

Joseph Michel’s grand motets are characteristic of the second Louis XIV period, when he moved to Versailles: large orchestra (flutes, bassoons, violins 1 & 2, hautes-contre, tailles, quintes and basses de violons, basso continuo), double choir (2 dessus, haute-contre, taille and basse-taille soloists with a choir of dessus, hautes-contre, tailles, basses-taille and basses), dramatic illustration of the text, here taken from Psalm 20, leading to a setting consisting of short, contrasting musical moments. The galant style dominates.