"Nectaire raised his flute to his lips, a simple wooden pipe that he could have made himself. He began to play; strange phrases at first, then rich melodies over which trills shone like diamonds and pearls on velvet. The music was full of grace and audacity, one could hear all at once the sound of nightingales and muses; all of nature and all of mankind."

The Chants de Nectaire were inspired by the wise old flute player Nectaire, who appears in La Révolte des Anges by Anatole France (1914). La Révolte des Anges is often considered the author's most profound novel. It tells the story of the angels who rebelled against God and came down to earth, descending upon Paris disguised as people, to prepare a coup d’état which would re-establish Satan (aka the Angel of Light, the symbol of liberating knowledge…) on the throne of heaven. The tribulations of the angels in the Paris of the Third Republic are a fierce social criticism and mock the Catholic Church. Eventually, Lucifer will give up dethroning God, for had he continued, Lucifer would become God, and lose his influence over liberated thought.

The ninety-six songs, all gems in their own right, are grouped in three books (opp. 198-200) and were composed over four months in 1944. Despite the speed of creation, the quality is incredible, with great attention to detail. Each piece is its own unique sound world, imaginative, sensitive, beautiful and, above all, sincere.

This third set is “Prières, cortèges et danses pour les Dieux familiers″ - Prayers, processions and dances for the familiar Gods.