Fêtes et plaisirs au temps des princes de Condé

Charles Hénin, Fêtes et plaisirs au temps des princes de Condé, joint publication Domaine de Chantilly / Somogy éditions d’Art, November 2015, 296 p., 96 ill., 19 x 26,5 cm, €45 (ISBN: 978-2-7572-0963-9).

Abstract

This work on the princes of Condé is not concerned either with battlefields and military victories or with political quarrels or even with hunting - themes that have been the subject of endless publications. In contrast, this saga of the princes of Condé (1530-1830) invites the reader to follow a life style filled with unexpected twists and turns, encounters in secret groves and off the beaten track, moments described mostly for the first time. We will travel in the company of Henry II whose wife Charlotte de Montmorency would later arouse the passions of King Henry IV in 1609, and in the company of Louis II, Emperor of the Turks in 1662, of Henri-Jules, who created the concept of the “King’s apartments” at Versailles in 1683, of Louis-Henri, Prime Minister in 1723 (ruled by his mistress Agnès de Prie), and of Louis-Joseph who, according to a contemporary, could have been an actor if he had not be born a prince (1772)…

A reference work, indispensable to musicologists, historians and those who seek to discover a remarkable cultural heritage.

An engineer and head of the Research Laboratories of a major steelmaking company, Charles Hénin, was awarded First Prize by the ARERS (Regional Association for Scientific Study and Research) of the University of Reims for his early work into forging steel known as “sauvages”. A musician, organist and choirmaster, he was, by the time of his retirement, responsible for organising the Association’s musical and cultural events at the Domaine de Chantilly presided over by Maurice Schuman.

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