At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, France saw the rise of a new style of religious music, the heir to a movement that had returned to compositional practices based on Renaissance polyphony and plainchant. The Schola Cantorum in Paris was one of the main centres for this innovative approach to setting sacred texts.
In this Catholic country, devotion to the Virgin inspired many works of a high standard. This CD presents a selection of pieces by three generations of French composers, from César Franck to Jehan Alain, that illustrates the striking aesthetic and spiritual renewal of the repertory for religious feasts, Marian in particular.