In addition to their solo careers, Julie Roset, Camille Allérat and Ana Vieira Leite are also the founders of the La Néréide ensemble, which turns its attention to little-known repertoires. After an initial project - which was recorded - based on rare madrigals composed by Luzzasco Luzzaschi of Ferrara for three mysterious ladies from his city, they are now turning their attention to late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth century scores composed for use in young ladies' institutions, including the most famous of all, Saint-Cyr's Maison Royale de Saint-Louis. Founded in 1686 by Madame de Maintenon - Louis XIV's last mistress and secret wife - its aim was to provide a complete education - according to the criteria of the time - for penniless young noblewomen. Music and singing, of course, were an essential part of this higher education. Numerous composers were therefore called upon to write for the Demoiselles de Saint-Cyr, not least Louis Nicolas Clérambault, who composed this Three-part Miserere for them in 1745.
But behind its Pascalian-inspired title - "The heart has its reasons that reason does not know" - this original programme also looks at what set the hearts of these young ladies beating outside church. With a judicious selection of airs galants and airs de Cour, La Néréide invites us to explore the secret stirrings of passionate young souls.
