Tenebrae
Tenebrae (—Latin for "darkness") is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total ...
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 1961. He wrote the work in seven
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, choir, and orchestra. Written on a commission from the New York Philharmonic, it was first performed in New York's Lincoln Center in April 1963 after the composer's death.
History
Poulenc returned to sacred music first in 1936 when he composed his ''
Litanies à la Vierge Noire
' (; "Litany to the Black Virgin"), FP (Poulenc), FP 82, is a piece of sacred music composed by Francis Poulenc in 1936 for a three-part choir of women (or children) and organ, setting a French litany recited at the pilgrimage site Rocamadour which ...
'', FP 82, followed in 1937 by his missa brevis ''Messe en sol majeur'' ( Mass in G), and several other religious works. His 1956 opera '' Dialogues of the Carmelites'' deals with the fate of nuns in the French Revolution.
' was written in 1961 on a commission by
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
and the New York Philharmonic for the opening of the new concert hall in Lincoln Center, then called Philharmonic Hall, later known as the Avery Fisher Hall.
Poulenc composed first a version for voices and piano in 1961 and orchestrated the work in 1962. The first performance was on 11 April 1963, after the composer's death, by choir and orchestra of the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Thomas Schippers.
The first performance in France was at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...
in Paris on 10 December 1963, with the Orchestre National de France, Les Petits chanteurs de la Sainte-Croix and the choirs of
RTF
RTF may refer to:
Organisations
* African Union Regional Task Force, the military operation of the RCI-LRA, 2011–2018.
* Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française, a broadcaster in France, 1949–1964
* Russian Tennis Federation, the national gover ...
The work is based on Latin texts from the Responsories for the Holy Week.
The seven movements of ''Sept répons des ténèbres'' are:
# Una hora non potuistis vigilare mecum
# Judas, mercator pessimus
# Jesum tradidit
# Caligaverunt oculi mei
# Tenebrae factae sunt
# Sepulto Domino
# Ecce quomodo moritur justus
The first movement reflects Jesus in
Gethsemane
Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...
Una hora
Tenebrae responsories are the responsories sung following the lessons of Tenebrae, the Matins services of the last three days of Holy Week: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Polyphonic settings to replace plainchant have been publishe ...
Ecce quomodo moritur justus
The righteous perishes are the words with which the 57th chapter of the Book of Isaiah starts. In Christianity, Isaiah 57:1–2 is associated with the death of Christ, leading to liturgical use of the text at Tenebrae: the 24th responsory for H ...
" (Behold how the righteous man dies).
Poulenc scored the music for boys' choir with a treble soloist and symphony orchestra. Later performances added female singers for the solo part and in the choir.
Recording
For a long time, the recording by Prêtre was the only one, until the work was recorded again in 2012 by
Carolyn Sampson
Carolyn Sampson (born 18 May 1974) is an English soprano in opera and concert. Specialising in historically informed performance, she has sung in Masaaki Suzuki's recording project of Bach cantatas and has appeared at the English National Opera. ...
, the Cappella Amsterdam and the
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princip ...
and the
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra ( et, Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester ''(ERSO)'') is the leading orchestra in Estonia and is based in the capital Tallinn. The orchestra traces it roots to 18 December 1926, the first concert broadcast by Tal ...