''Le Déluge'' (''The Flood''), Op. 45, is a French
oratorio written by
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
in 1875 and scored for orchestra, chorus, and soloists. The
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
, a "poème biblique" by
Louis Gallet, is based on the biblical story of
Noah and the flood. It was premiered at the
Théâtre du Châtelet on 5 March 1876, under the direction of
Edouard Colonne.
Stylistically, the work shows the influence of
Berlioz and
Wagner in its musical illustrations of the narrative and use of recurring
motifs.
[Yves Gérard, tr. Roger Greaves (2000). "Le Déluge". In ''La Lyre et la Harpe – Le Déluge'' (pp. 30–31) ]D booklet
D, or d, is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''.
History
The ...
Paris: BMG France. It also displays Saint-Saëns's strong predilection for
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
; there are three
fugue
In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...
s incorporated into the music.
[Arthur Hervey (1922). ''Saint-Saëns''. New York: Dodd Mead & Company.]
The work is divided into three parts and a prelude:
*Prélude
*I. ''Corruption de l'homme'' — ''Colère de Dieu'' — ''Alliance avec Noé''
*II. ''L'Arche'' — ''Le Déluge''
*III. ''La Colombe'' — ''Sortie de l'Arche'' — ''Bénédiction de Dieu''
The prelude is scored for strings only and contains a passage for solo violin. Part I describes the sinfulness of man and God's decision to destroy the world (''"J'exterminerai cette race"''). Part II is a long crescendo and decrescendo depicting the rain and rising waters of the flood. Part III evokes the flights of the dove and ends with God's promise not to curse the earth (''"Je ne maudirai plus la terre"'') and a choral fugue (''"Croissez donc et multipliez"'').
Although ''Le Déluge'' is sometimes listed among Saint-Saëns' best compositions,
[Sabina Teller Ratner, et al. "Saint-Saëns, Camille." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online.] it is rarely performed today. The prelude is sometimes extracted as a concert piece.
[Donald Brook (1971). ''Five Great French Composers: Berlioz, Franck, Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Ravel''. Ayer Publishing. ]
References
External links
*
Librettoin a supplement to ''L'Art moderne'' from 1884
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deluge, Le
Oratorios
1875 compositions
Compositions by Camille Saint-Saëns
Noah's Ark in popular culture
Oratorios based on the Bible