Le Banquet Céleste
Le banquet céleste (The Heavenly Banquet or The Celestial Banquet) is a work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1928. Based on the slow movement of an earlier unfinished orchestral work Le Banquet Eucharistique dating from 1926–1927, it is Messiaen's first published work.[1]
It was revised in 1960.
Analysis
The work's epigraph, "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him" (John 6:56), indicates that the work is intended for Communion.[1] The work is written in an octatonic scale[specify], one of Messiaen's modes of limited transposition. To avoid tonal monotony, Messiaen transposes the mode every few measures.[2]
Despite being only 25 bars long, it takes about 7–8 minutes to perform, due to the extremely slow tempo ("very slow, ecstatic"). The work has two themes: the first, marked "far away, mysterious", is slow and sustained. The second, played by the pedal, but at 4' pitch (drawing a stop one octave above notated pitch) and above, is marked "brief staccato, as a water drop", and represents Christ's blood.[1] The final chord is accompanied by a 32' bass note, marked "very deep". (A stop at 32’ pitch is two octaves below the notated pitch.)
References
- ^ a b c Jon Gillock. "Program notes".
- ^ Pinkevicius, Vidas; Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene, Ausra (December 23, 2011). "About "Le Banquet Celeste" by Olivier Messiaen". Secrets of Organ Playing - Helping Reach Your Dreams. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- v
- t
- e
- Saint François d'Assise (1975–83)
- L'Ascension (1932–33)
- Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (1943–44)
- Turangalîla-Symphonie (1946–48)
- Oiseaux exotiques (1955–56)
- Chronochromie (1959–60)
- Sept haïkaï (1962)
- Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1964)
- La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (1965–69)
- Des Canyons aux étoiles... (1971–74)
- Éclairs sur l'au-delà... (1988–92)
- Concert à quatre (1990–91)
- Thème et variations (1932)
- Fête des belles eaux (1937)
- Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940–41)
- Le Merle noir (1952)
- Feuillets inédits (2001)
- Le Banquet Céleste (1928)
- Offrande au Saint Sacrement (ca. 1928)
- Prélude (ca. 1929)
- Diptyque (1930)
- Apparition de l'église éternelle (1932)
- La Nativité du Seigneur (1935)
- Les Corps glorieux (1939)
- Messe de la Pentecôte (1949–50)
- Livre d'orgue (1951–52)
- Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace (1960)
- Monodie (1963)
- Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité (1969)
- Le Livre du Saint-Sacrement (1984)
- Préludes (1928–29)
- Visions de l'Amen (1943)
- Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus (1944)
- Cantéyodjayâ (1949)
- Quatre Études de rythme (1949–50)
- Réveil des Oiseaux (1953)
- Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956–58)
- La Fauvette des jardins (1970)
- Petites esquisses d'oiseaux (1985)
- O sacrum convivium! (1937)
- Poèmes pour Mi (1936–37)
- Chants de Terre et de Ciel (1938)
- Harawi (1944)
- Claire Delbos (first wife)
- Yvonne Loriod (second wife)