''Spiritus Dei'' is the debut album of French trio
Les Prêtres released in 29 March 2010 (29-3-10) and achieved success in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Background
At the initiative of Mgr
Jean-Michel di Falco, Bishop of
Gap and
Embrun (Hautes-Alpes), two priests and one seminarian in the diocese of
Gap recorded an album under the label of TF1 Musique for the benefit of two projects, the first one is for a pastoral purpose (construction of a church) and another is for a charity goal (construction of a school in
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
). The three singers are Jean-Michel Bardet, pastor of the Cathedral of Gap, Charles Troesch, chaplain of the Basilica of
Our Lady of Laus
Our Lady of Laus (), or Refuge of Sinners, denotes Marian apparitions that took place between 1664 and 1718 in Saint-Étienne-le-Laus, France, to Benoîte Rencurel, a young shepherdess. On 23 May 1855, Pope Pius IX granted a Canonical Coronat ...
, and Nguyen Dinh Nguyen, seminarian in the diocese. This project was inspired by the Irish group
The Priests
The Priests are a Classical music, classical musical group, made up of three Roman Catholic priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor, Diocese of Down and Connor in Northern Ireland. Fr. Eugene and his brother Fr. Martin O'Hag ...
.
The album contains a cover version of
Daniel Lévi
Daniel Lévi (26 August 1961 – 6 August 2022) was a French singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist.
Biography
He spent his childhood in Lyon, where he was preparing for his job as a musician studying piano for a decade at the conservatory ...
's song, "L'Envie d'aimer" and another one of
Francis Cabrel
Francis Christian Cabrel (; born 23 November 1953) is a French singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist. Considered one of the most influential French musical artists of all time, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the real ...
's 1987 hit "
Il faudra leur dire".
Chart performance
The album entered the French Albums Chart at number five on 3 April and reached number one two weeks later, and remained atop for nine consecutive weeks. Its highest weekly sales are over 27,300 units on the chart edition of 30 May 2010. The album reached platinum status after a few weeks and became Diamond after eight months.
It reached number-one again nine months after its release, on 1 January 2011.
The albums reached number five for three weeks on the Belgian (Wallonia)
Albums Chart.
Track listing
# "Spiritus Dei (Sarabande)"
(Di Falco Leandri, George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
) — 4:13
# "I Believe"
(Levi) — 4:12
# "Quand on n'a que l'amour"
(Jacques Brel
Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
) — 3:30
# "Il est né le divin enfant" — 2:59
# "
Ave Maria
The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...
"
(Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
) — 4:14
# "Amazing Grace"
(John Newton
John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery Abolitionism, abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Nav ...
) — 4:45
# "
L'Envie d'aimer"
(Lionel Florence, Patrice Guirao, Pascal Obispo
Pascal Michel Obispo (; born 8 January 1965) is a French pop and rock singer, music producer and songwriter.
Early life
Pascal Obispo, son of Max Obispo (a former Bordeaux Girondins football player of Basque origin) and Nicole Guérin (origin ...
) — 4:38
# "
Ave Verum Corpus
is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attri ...
"
(Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
) — 3:00
# "Je crois en toi"
(Didier Barbelivien
Didier René Henri Barbelivien (; born 10 March 1954 in Paris) is a French author, lyricist, songwriter and singer. Beginning in the 1970s, he wrote a number of successful songs for artists such as: Dalida, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Sardou, Danie ...
) — 3:24
# "Conversation avec Dieu"
(Di Falco Leandri, Roger Loubet) — 4:19
# "Alléluia (Hallelujah)"
(Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
) — 4:45
# "
Il faudra leur dire"
(Francis Cabrel
Francis Christian Cabrel (; born 23 November 1953) is a French singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist. Considered one of the most influential French musical artists of all time, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the real ...
) — 3:42
# "Minuit Chrétien"
(Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and ''Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas ''Le post ...
) — 4:03
# "L'histoire de Spiritus Dei"
(Florent Bidoyen, Jean-Michel Di Falco Leandri, Roger Loubet) — 2:44
Charts and sales
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
References
{{Authority control
2010 classical albums
Les Prêtres albums