Francois Giroust was a French contemporary of Haydn who enjoyed considerable success as a composer of sacred music. In 1756, at the age of 18, he became maitre de musique at Orleans Cathedral where he stayed for 13 years. Then he returned to his native Paris, eventually becoming a sous-maitre at the royal chapel at Versailles in 1775 and surintendant de la musique de chambre in 1780. Giroust was chiefly admired for his grand motets, many of which were performed at the Concert Spirituel in Paris. In 1768 his grand motet, the Super flumina Babylonis won first prize in a competition run by the Concert Spirituel. The remaining works on the disc are a Coronation Mass for Louis XVI and a Prose des morts.
The earliest piece is the Prose des morts, a setting of the Dies irae which Giroust composed at Orleans in 1765. There are several interesting points of style which hark back to Rameau on the one hand and look forward to the classical idiom on the other. Some passages recall scenes in Rameau's operas while others are closer akin to later eighteenth-century vocal music. This Janus-like stance makes for interesting if not ultimately satisfying listening, and lovers of French baroque music especially will find something here to fascinate them.
The Mass and the motet Super flumina Babylonis show a greater certainty of direction but are, perhaps, in the end hardly more interesting than the Prose des morts for doing so. The Mass employs a much larger orchestra and is plentifully endowed with bold dashes of colour. It is compact, tautly constructed and impressive, as was doubtless intended for such an illustrious occasion, but the stamp of personality on the music is not particularly strong. The motet is a beautiful work whose opening measures vividly recall those of the ''Sancta mater'' duet of Pergolesi's Stabat mater. In this piece, as in the others here, Giroust writes for a five-part vocal texture in the choruses; solo movements are for soprano, tenor and bass with a single duet for soprano and bass. The solo group of singers is an effective one but the Namur Chamber Choir is variable.
Attractive music, well recorded, sympathetically performed and helpfully presented makes the issue worth exploring.'