Creation : Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum was premiered in private audition on 7 May 1965 at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The first public audition took place on 20 June 1965 in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres, under the direction of Serge Baudo.
Commissionner : André Malraux, Minister of Culture, for the celebration of the dead of the two World Wars.
Musicians : 2 piccolo flutes, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 1 English horn, 1 small clarinet [in Eb] , 3 clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 1 contrabassoon, 6 horns, 1 piccolo trumpet [in D] , 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 bass trombone, 2 tubas, 6 percussionists
Publisher : Alphonse Leduc, nº AL 23681
Titles of the parties
- I cry to you, O Lord, from the depths of the abyss: O Lord, hear my voice.
- Christ, risen from the dead, dies no more; death has no more dominion over him.
- The hour is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God .
- They will rise again, gloriously, with a new name – in the joyful concert of the stars and the cheers of the sons of heaven.
- And I heard the voice of a great multitude…
Genesis of the work
Commissioned by André Malraux to celebrate the dead of the two World Wars, it was written and orchestrated in 1964. It is intended to be performed in vast spaces, churches, cathedrals, in the open air and in high mountains. Messiaen was inspired by the landscapes that surrounded him when he composed it, the High Alps with their mighty mountains, but also imposing images of churches of Romanesque and Gothic architecture and ancient buildings from Mexico or Ancient Egypt. The texts he studied at the time were The Resurrection and the World of the Resurrected of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Analysis of the five pieces
“From the depths of the abyss I cry to you, Lord, Lord, hear my voice. “(Psalm 130, v.1 and 2): Theme of depth entrusted to the low brass instruments, harmonization by the 6 horns in coloured complexes, cry from the Abyss!
“Christ, risen from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has dominion over him. “(Saint Paul, Epistle to the Romans, chap.6, v.9): Messiaen specifies that the silences in this piece are as important as the music. The trumpet springs from the coloured complexes of the woods. The English horn and clarinet conclude the piece.
“The hour is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God… “(Gospel according to Saint John, chap.5, v.25): This voice evoked in the title of the piece is symbolised three times: the first symbol entrusted to the woods, the mysterious song of the Uirapuru, a bird from the Amazon…
“They will rise again, glorious, with a new name – in the joyful concert of the stars and the cheers of the sons of heaven. “(St. Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, chap.15, v.43 – Revelation of St. John, chap.2, v.17 – Book of Job, chap.38, v.7): Taking up all the themes of the work, the tam-tams symbolise the solemn moment of the resurrection and the distant melody of the stars. Superimposition of four sound complexes that unite to acclaim the resurrected in their glory.
“And I heard the voice of an immense crowd… “(Apocalypse of Saint John, chap.19, v.6): “The tutti of the orchestra and the percussion of the gongs are charged with this choral effect which remains enormous, unanimous and simple. »