' (; "Litany to the Black Virgin"),
FP 82, is a piece of
sacred music composed by
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...
in 1936 for a three-part choir of women (or children) and organ, setting a French
litany recited at the pilgrimage site
Rocamadour which the composer visited. The subtitle, ''Notre-Dame de Rocamadour'', refers to the venerated black sculpture of
Mary. The composition is Poulenc's first piece of sacred music. In 1947 he wrote a version for voices accompanied by
string orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...
and
timpani.
History
Poulenc returned to the Catholic faith of his youth in 1936 and began to compose sacred music with this piece. He made a pilgrimage to the shrine of the
Black Virgin of
Rocamadour shortly after learning of the death of his friend, the composer
Pierre-Octave Ferroud
Pierre-Octave Calixte Ferroud (6 January 1900 – 17 August 1936)K.S. (2003). was a French composer of classical music.
Life
Ferroud was born in Chasselay, Rhône, near Lyon. He went to Lyon, to Strasbourg (for military service from 1920-2) ...
, in a car accident. His account of the pilgrimage reads:
The piece was published by
Durand & Cie in Paris in 1937.
Text and music
Poulenc heard the French text of the
litany, beginning with the line "Seigneur, ayez pitié de nous" (Lord, have mercy on us), during his pilgrimage. It is a prayer for mercy, addressing the persons of the
Trinity, and for
intercession from Mary of Rocamadour, who is named Virgin, Queen and Our Lady, for example "Vierge à qui Zachée ou Saint Amadour éleva ce sanctuaire, priez pour nous." (Virgin, to whom
Zacchaeus or
Saint Amadour constructed this shrine, pray for us.), "Reine, dont la main délivrait les captifs, priez pour nous." (Queen, whose hand delivered the captives, pray for us.) and "Notre Dame, dont le pélerinage est enrichi de faveurs spéciales ... priez pour nous." (Our Lady, whose pilgrimage is blessed with special favours ... pray for us.).
Poulenc scored the litany for a three-part choir of women's voices or children's voices with organ accompaniment. The work is modal in the style of
chant
A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...
, avoiding conventional cadences. The organ adds several "dramatic dissonances".
In 1947 Poulenc expanded the instrumentation to
string orchestra
A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...
and
timpani.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{italic title
Compositions by Francis Poulenc
1936 compositions
Choral compositions