''Chants de Terre et de Ciel'' (''Songs of Earth and Heaven'') is a
song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
in six movements for soprano and piano by
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...
, on text by the composer himself. It was composed in 1938 and premiered at the
Société Triton's ''Concerts du Triton'', at the
''Ecole Normale de Musique'' in Paris on the 23 January 1939 with Marcelle Bunlet as the soprano and the composer at the piano. The cycle is deeply personal and reflects Messiaen's joy at the birth of his son Pascal in 1937, as well as his deep Catholicism.
Movements
Each movement has a title and a dedication.
*1 - Bail avec Mi (for my wife)
*2 - Antienne du silence (for the day of the Guardian Angels)
*3 - Danse du bébé-pilule (for my little Pascal)
*4 - Arc-en-ciel d'innocence (for my little Pascal)
*5 - Minuit pile et face (for death)
*6 - Résurrection (for Easter Day)
A performance usually lasts around 32 minutes.
Discography
* Maria Orà n, soprano,
Yvonne Loriod
Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.
Biography
Loriod ...
, piano (+ ''
Poèmes pour Mi
''Poèmes pour Mi'' (Poems for Mi) is a song cycle for dramatic soprano and piano or orchestra by Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1936 and 1937 and dedicated to his first wife, Claire Delbos. The text are poems by the composer based on the New Testa ...
''); Ed. Erato, 1988
* Hetna Regitze Bruun, soprano, Kristoffer Hyldig, piano (+ ''
Poèmes pour Mi
''Poèmes pour Mi'' (Poems for Mi) is a song cycle for dramatic soprano and piano or orchestra by Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1936 and 1937 and dedicated to his first wife, Claire Delbos. The text are poems by the composer based on the New Testa ...
'', ''Vocalise-Étude''); Naxos 8.573247, 2015
References
* Presentation booklet of the Orà n-Loriod recording.
{{Authority control
Classical song cycles
Song cycles by Olivier Messiaen
Compositions by Olivier Messiaen