Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine
Encyclopedia
Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (in English
, Three Small Liturgies of the Divine Presence) is a piece by Olivier Messiaen
for women's voices, piano
solo, ondes Martenot
, and orchestra (without winds), in three movements. The libretto for the piece was written by Messiaen himself.
, between November 15, 1943, and March 15, 1944. Messiaen originally conceived the piece as a work for two pianos, as he had achieved success in that format previously with Visions de l'amen. The sung words evoke the presence of God in himself and in all things, as indicated by the title. According to Messiaen, each movement describes a different facet of God's presence:
The work was premiered during the Concerts de la Pléiade at the Ancien Conservatoire on April 21, 1945, by Ginette Martenot
(ondes Martenot), Yvonne Loriod
(piano), the Yvonne Gouverné Chorale, and the Orchestra of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, under the direction of Roger Désormière
.
The premiere was a success. The audience present included such respected persons as Arthur Honegger
, Georges Auric
, Francis Poulenc
, Henri Sauguet
, Roland-Manuel, André Jolivet
, Claude Delvincourt
, Lazare Lévy
, Daniel-Lesur, Irène Joachim
, Maurice Gendron
, Jean Wiener
, Georges Braque
, Paul Eluard
, Pierre Reverdy
, Pierre Boulez
, Serge Nigg
, and Pierre Henry
.
The piece was well-received by the public, but the critics reacted more harshly. The work sparked a controversy which came to be known as "The Messiaen Affair". The two primary points of contention were "the quality and relevance of Messiaen's commentaries" and the use of "unusual sounds" for expressing religious themes." Claude Rostand responded particularly vehemently, describing the work as a "work of tinsel, false magnificence and pseudo-mysticism, this work with dirty nails and clammy hands, with bloated complexion and unhealthy flab, replete with noxious matter, looking about anxiously like an angel wearing lipstick."
The piece lasts approximately thirty-five minutes.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Three Small Liturgies of the Divine Presence) is a piece by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
for women's voices, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
solo, ondes Martenot
Ondes Martenot
The ondes Martenot , also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales, is an early electronic musical instrument invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot. The original design was similar in sound to the theremin...
, and orchestra (without winds), in three movements. The libretto for the piece was written by Messiaen himself.
Composition and premiere
Trois petites liturgies was commissioned by Denise Tual for the Concerts de la Pléiade in Paris and composed during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, between November 15, 1943, and March 15, 1944. Messiaen originally conceived the piece as a work for two pianos, as he had achieved success in that format previously with Visions de l'amen. The sung words evoke the presence of God in himself and in all things, as indicated by the title. According to Messiaen, each movement describes a different facet of God's presence:
The principal idea is that of the divine presence, with each section dedicated to a different kind of presence. The first section, 'Antienne de la conversation intérieure' ('Antiphon of the Interior Conversation') is dedicated to the God who is present within us; the second section, 'Sequence du verbe, cantique divin' ('Sequence of the Word, Divine Song') is dedicated to the God who is present in Himself; and the third section, 'Psalmodie de l’ubiquité par amour' (Psalmody of the Ubiquity of Love) is inscribed to the God who is present in all things. These inexpressible ideas are not expressed but remain of the order of a dazzling display of color.
The work was premiered during the Concerts de la Pléiade at the Ancien Conservatoire on April 21, 1945, by Ginette Martenot
Ginette Martenot
Ginette Martenot was a French pianist and expert and leading performer on the twentieth-century electronic instrument the ondes Martenot, which was invented by her brother Maurice. At the age of sixteen, she entered the Paris Conservatory, where she studied counterpoint and fugue with the composer...
(ondes Martenot), Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Loriod was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.-Life:...
(piano), the Yvonne Gouverné Chorale, and the Orchestra of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, under the direction of Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière was a French conductor.Désormière was born in Vichy in 1898. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his professors included Philippe Gaubert , Xavier Leroux and Charles Koechlin , and Vincent d'Indy...
.
The premiere was a success. The audience present included such respected persons as Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
, Georges Auric
Georges Auric
Georges Auric was a French composer, born in Lodève, Hérault. He was a child prodigy and at age 15 he had his first compositions published. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Caussade, and under the composer Vincent d'Indy at the Schola Cantorum...
, Francis Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
, Henri Sauguet
Henri Sauguet
Henri Sauguet , was a French composer. Born in Bordeaux as Henri-Pierre Poupard, he adopted his mother's maiden name as his pseudonym. His output includes operas, ballets, four symphonies , concertos, chamber and choral music and numerous songs, as well as film music...
, Roland-Manuel, André Jolivet
André Jolivet
André Jolivet was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet's music draws on his interest in acoustics and atonality as well as both ancient and modern influences in music, particularly on instruments used in ancient times...
, Claude Delvincourt
Claude Delvincourt
Claude Delvincourt was a French pianist and composer of classical music.-Biography:Delvincourt was born in Paris, the son of Pierre Delvincourt and Marguerite Fourès....
, Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy
Lazare Lévy was an influential French pianist, organist, composer and pedgogue. As a virtuoso pianist he toured throughout Europe, in North Africa, Israel, the Soviet Union and Japan...
, Daniel-Lesur, Irène Joachim
Irène Joachim
Irène Joachim, born 13 March 1913 in Paris, died 20 April 2001, also in Paris, was a French soprano, and later a vocal teacher.-Early life:Daughter of Herman Joachim and Suzanne Chaigneau, and grand-daughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim, she learnt violin and piano as a child...
, Maurice Gendron
Maurice Gendron
Maurice Gendron was a French cellist and teacher. He is widely considered one of the greatest French cellists of the twentieth century....
, Jean Wiener
Jean Wiener
Jean Wiener was a French pianist and composer.- Life :Wiener was trained at the Conservatoire in Paris, where he studied alongside Darius Milhaud, and worked with Erik Satie. He then embarked on a career as concert impresario, composer and pianist...
, Georges Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Paul Eluard
Paul Éluard
Paul Éluard, born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel , was a French poet who was one of the founders of the surrealist movement.-Biography:...
, Pierre Reverdy
Pierre Reverdy
Pierre Reverdy was a French poet associated with surrealism and cubism.Pierre Reverdy was born in Narbonne and grew up near the Montagne Noire in his father's house. Reverdy came from a family of sculptors. His father taught him to read and write. He studied at Toulouse and Narbonne.Reverdy...
, Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
, Serge Nigg
Serge Nigg
-Biography:After initial studies with Ginette Martenot, Nigg entered the Paris Conservatory in 1941 and studied harmony with Olivier Messiaen and counterpoint with Simone Plé-Caussade. In 1945, he met René Leibowitz, who introduced him to the twelve-tone technique of composition...
, and Pierre Henry
Pierre Henry
Pierre Henry is a French composer, considered a pioneer of the musique concrète genre of electronic music.-Biography:...
.
The piece was well-received by the public, but the critics reacted more harshly. The work sparked a controversy which came to be known as "The Messiaen Affair". The two primary points of contention were "the quality and relevance of Messiaen's commentaries" and the use of "unusual sounds" for expressing religious themes." Claude Rostand responded particularly vehemently, describing the work as a "work of tinsel, false magnificence and pseudo-mysticism, this work with dirty nails and clammy hands, with bloated complexion and unhealthy flab, replete with noxious matter, looking about anxiously like an angel wearing lipstick."
Movements
- Antienne de la conversation intérieure (Antiphon of the Interior Conversation)
- A-B-A (ternary formTernary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
)
- A-B-A (ternary form
- Séquence du verbe, cantique divin (Sequence of the Word, Divine Song)
- Strophic form with variations, refrains, and couplets alternating continuously
- Psalmodie de l'ubiquité par amour (Psalmody of the Ubiquity of Love)
- A-B-A
The piece lasts approximately thirty-five minutes.
Instrumentation
- Piano solo
- Ondes Martenot solo
- 36 female voices
- Percussion ensemble (vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, celesteCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, suspended cymbalSuspended cymbalright|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. A common abbreviation used is sus. cym., or sus. cymb. .-History:...
, tamtamTamTamThe tamtam is a percussion instrument that is similar to a gong. It is sometimes spelled tam-tam.TamTam, Tam-Tam, tamtam, or tam-tam may also refer to:* Tam-Tams, a weekly drum circle held Sundays in the summer in Montreal...
, and maracasMaracásMaracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
) - Strings (8 first violinsViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, 8 second violins, 6 violasViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, 6 cellosCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and 4 contrabassesDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
)