Pierre Menault was maître de chapelle in Burgundy and Champagne in the second half of the 17th century. Published in 1687, the mass Ave senior Stephane corresponds to his second period of employment at the cathedral of Châlons-en-Champagne; it is written for a 5-voice choir (dessus, hautes-contre, tailles, basses-tailles and basses) with optional basso continuo, certain numbers being reserved for small groups of solo singers. Representative of the mass repertoire of this period, this work, sometimes surprising in style, illustrates the genre’s typical resistance to the new tonal harmony and its attachment to old-fashioned counterpoint, as well as the composer’s taste for word-painting.