Les corps glorieux

Unusually among the 20th century’s leading composers, Messiaen was a professional organist. From the age of 22 until his death he held the post of titulaire, or principal organist, at the church of Sainte-Trinité (The Holy Trinity) in Paris. And one of his greatest works for the instrument is Les Corps Glorieux (The Glorious Bodies), completed in 1939. Messiaen designed this work in a symmetrical structure of seven movements with the largest, “Combat de la Mort et de la Vie” (“The Battle between Death and Life”), at the centre. Death is portrayed here in massive dissonances, with the organ at full power. Life then responds with a rapturous melody shaped in two huge spans, each rising and descending in a rainbow-like arc above slowly changing accompanying chords. Before and after this come two groups of three shorter movements, each one portraying an aspect of eternal life in Paradise. For instance, the opening movement, “Subtilité des Corps Glorieux” (“Refinement of the Glorious Bodies”), consists of a single unharmonised melodic line, symbolising spiritual purity; then in the second, “Les Eaux de la Grâce” (“The Waters of Grace”), move along in a gentle harmonic flow. In the concluding “Le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité” (“The Mystery of the Holy Trinity”), the threefold image of Father, Son and Holy Ghost is represented by three quiet and very slow melodic lines played simultaneously, on the pedals and by the organist’s two hands.