Frank Martin (1890-1974
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Songs of Ariel
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Olivier Messiaen (19
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A private mass as tribute
In 1966, Frank Martin (1890-1974) published at Geneva a text intended as his profession of faith, lean, highly concentrated, bearing the quite unambiguous title ‘The Composer’s Responsibility’ 1. At the age of seventy-five, the Swiss artist referred his readers
to a sort of moral spirituality relevant to his entire output:
I am convinced that any work of art worthy of the name bears within it a moral principle.
. . . Whatever the movements of the artist’s soul, his spirit, his sensibility that are to be
found in his work, even if they are fear or despair . . . his work must always bear the sign
of that liberation, that sublimation that evokes in us a finished form. . . . For beauty carries within it a strength that frees our spirit, whatever the expression that is embodied
therein, and even when it expresses something that cannot be conveyed in words. Between 1922 and 1926, Martin worked – as an exercise – on the composition of a
Catholic mass (he was himself the son of a Calvinist minister); the style is austere,
Gregorian, showing just a few slight traces of Ravelian influence. ‘I saw it as a matter
between God and myself.’ This particular ‘matter’ was then set aside for forty years
before receiving its first performance in Hamburg 2, on 2 November 1963, and was
printed only some ten years after that. Only historical factors can explain both the fact
that this piece was held back so long, and the belated recognition it was subsequently
to achieve. While the interwar period had seen the growth of a strong current of nihilism
in Europe, marked by the rise of totalitarian parties with (to put it mildly) a strong aversion
to spirituality, the situation was quite different in the early 1960s, the time of the Second
Vatican Council, whose general leanings were so close to the composer’s natural ecumenism 3.
Hence, after his compositions on religious subjects dating from the final years of the War
(In terra pax, 1944. Golgotha, 1945-48) and the following period (Le Mystère de la Nati­
vité, 1957-59), Frank Martin legitimately took the view that his old Mass for eight voices
of the 1920s had its place within this Christian œuvre, which was to be further bolstered
by Pilate (1964), then by the admirable Requiem (1971-72); the latter work constitutes
one of the peaks of twentieth-century European sacred music.
Ideally liturgical, this Mass for unaccompanied double choir corresponds to the five
­sections of the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass, and consciously takes up the Gregorian
tradition. Simple, diatonic and modal in style, and mostly homophonic, the work reveals
little of the true personality of its creator, who clearly sought to remain in the background
here. But even though it is easy to detect a number of blatantly obvious sources of
inspiration (medieval in the Kyrie, part of the Gloria and the Sanctus, Renaissance in the
‘Benedictus’, not to mention a few typically ‘Baroque’ rhythmic elements here and there),
the work’s pure contours save it from degenerating into patchwork. Listen­ing to what is
now one of Martin’s most frequently performed and recorded scores, one is astonished
by the extraordinary cohesion of an entity that sets out to be both a recollection of five
centuries of Catholic litur­gical tradition and the sincerely ecumen­ical profession of faith
of a fervent Christian of our time. The resultant insertion of the work in a broad and
continuing context gives the Mass a sort of isolated perfection within the limits it has
fixed for itself, in which the composer’s art could blossom in favourable surroundings.
1
When the airy spirit speaks
Between late 1949 and the early months of 1950, Frank Martin composed for the excellent
Nederlands Kamerkoor (then conducted by Felix de Nobel) the Five Songs of Ariel (a cappella) after Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The subject was one that had long fascinated the
composer, who found in Prospero a natural soul mate. Hence, after this first attempt at
setting the original Elizabethan English text, Martin reused the choruses in the opera he
wrote on the same theme between 1952 and 1955 (Der Sturm), this time in August Wilhelm von Schlegel’s translation into German (a language that came more easily to him than
that of Shakespeare). Curiously enough, this adaptation of the Songs of Ariel required
hardly any modification of the original music, so closely did Schlegel’s metre match Shakespeare’s. In his evocation of Prospero’s evanescent faithful servant Ariel, Martin chose (in
the opera) to dissociate his physical appearance and his distant vocal contributions:
Ariel, the ‘airy spirit’ who appears to Prospero sometimes as a boy, sometimes as a
water-nymph, must seem so light-footed that only a male or female dancer could give a
satisfactory illusion of a weightless being: Du, der Luft nur bist (Thou, which art but air),
says Prospero to him. But Ariel also speaks, like the others. Right from the beginning, I
had decided to give him a collective voice, the voice of nature, and it was an offstage
mixed chorus that sang his text. 4
Nonetheless, it is preferable to return to the work’s original version, with its ideally
magic­al, hazy atmosphere; it is here that the composer displays his extraordinary gift for
vocal writing (the mixed choir is here sometimes split into sixteen real voices!) and his
ability to create astounding harmonies in his own unique musical language. A motet for the Blessed Sacrament
There are very few musical correspondencs between Frank Martin and Olivier Messiaen
(1908-1992), but their religious faith (Calvinist for the former, Catholic for the latter)
unites them over and above their fundamental differences, and makes them two of the
most important Christian composers of the twentieth century. Messiaen left little vocal
music that was purely religious in inspiration: O sacrum convivium, Trois petites liturgies
de la présence divine, and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ; there is also
a Mass of 1933 for eight sopranos and four violins, and two choruses, Te Deum and
Impropères, for a Jeanne d’Arc written during the summer of 1941, shortly after his liber­
ation from Stalag VIII A, all of which he chose to leave unpublished. But this is merely
because all the remainder of his output drew so much of its inspiration and strength from
the sacred – not least his extensive catalogue of organ works. The motet for four-part
unaccompanied mixed choir (sometimes misguidedly performed in a version for solo
soprano and organ) O sacrum convivium, dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, moves
wholly within this universe, being in effect a vocal transcription of what Dorothea Bossert
has called the ‘mystificatory stasis’ of the great organ cycles of the 1930s ­(L’Ascension,
La Nativité du Seigneur, Les Corps glorieux).
Written at the request of the Abbé Brun in 1937, this short work was the only genuinely
liturgical piece published by Messiaen, who here sets the Latin text as a slow, simple
meditation in homophonic style and in the ‘key of mystic Love’ (F sharp major).
A song of love
Much more ambitious and personal, the Cinq Rechants (Five refrains) of 1948, for twelve
mixed voices, constituted Messiaen’s second (and therefore last) a cappella piece; the
composer rightly thought it ‘one of my best works’. The Rechants, which create significant
difficulties in performance (essentially of rhythmic timing), were written for the excellent
vocal ensemble directed by Marcel Couraud, which performed them all over the world after
giving the premiere at the Salle Érard in Paris, in 1949. This work, notable for its incomparable melodic inventiveness, was an avowed homage to the celebrated chanson Le
printemps by Claude le Jeune (1528-1600), which alternates chants (couplets) and
rechants (refrains). However, more important (by his own admission) in providing the composer with melodic guidelines were the Peruvian harawi (or yaravi) and the medieval European alba or dawn song, one of the most singular means of poetic expression employed
by the troubadours, in which a voice from above warned lovers of the coming of day, the
sign of their inevitable cruel separation.
Tristan and Isolde, Orpheus, Bluebeard, Viviane and Merlin; the paintings of Marc ­Chagall
and Hieronymus Bosch; the songs of the troubadours Jaufré Rudel and Folquet de Marseille (also known as Foulques de Toulouse) – elements from all these sources run
through this epic of love, in which Messiaen also invented a new verbal language (sometimes distantly inspired by Sanskrit and Quechua) that remains entirely subservient to a
musical expression rhythmic in its essence (thus displaying the strong influence of Indian
music). To quote the composer: ‘These are syllables chosen for the gentleness or violence of their attack, for their capacity to make the musical rhythms stand out. They
2
facilitate an alliance of the four orders: phonetic (timbres), dynamic (intensity), kinematic
(accents), quantitative (duration).’
Carnal to the point of eroticism, the work upset the press, which in general judged it
harshly (whereas the audience at the premiere acclaimed both the piece and its composer). But repeated hearings of this masterpiece have enabled us to view it today in all
its poetic and musical cohesion, in its blend of the broadest cultural heritage with the bold
vision of a musician who truly gave here the very finest of his heart and mind.
Philippe Simon
Translation: Charles Johnston
1. Frank Martin, Responsabilité du compositeur (Geneva: Société des Arts, 1966).
2. Frank Martin’s Mass for unaccompanied double choir was premiered by the Bugenhagen Kantorei, conducted by
Franz W. Brunnert.
3. On 7 June 1969, Frank Martin had the opportunity of hearing a performance of his oratorio In terra pax (1944) in
the Vatican; the work was specifically chosen by Pope Paul VI for the universal character of its message of peace.
4. Frank Martin, A propos de… Commentaire de Frank Martin sur ses œuvres (Neuchâtel: La Baconnière, 1984).
3
FRANK MARTIN
Messe pour double chœur a cappella
1 | Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
2 | Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, ­
glorificamus te.
Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater ­omnipotens.
Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Domine Deus,
Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi,
suscipe deprecationem nostram.
Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus.
Tu solus Altissimus Jesu Christe.
Cum Sancto Spiritu
in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we adore Thee,
we glorify Thee.
We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory.
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty.
O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son! O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son
of the Father,
Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Who takest
away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Who sittest at the right hand
of the Father, have mercy upon us.
For Thou only art holy. Thou only art Lord. Thou only,
O Jesus Christ, art most high, together with the Holy Ghost in the glory of
God the Father. Amen.
3 | Credo in unum Deum.
Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, Filium Dei
unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia secula. Deum de Deo, lumen
de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum,
consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui, propter nos
homines, et propter ­nostram salutem, descendit de coelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilatio passus et sepultus est.
Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas.
Et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni
non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum et vivificantem,
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et
conglorificatur; qui ­locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam
catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem ­peccatorum.
Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum.
Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible
and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the
Father before all ages, God of God, light of light, true God of true God;
begotten not made; consubstantial with the Father; by Whom all things
were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from
heaven;
and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary; and was made
man.
He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was
buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the ­Scriptures; and ascended
into heaven. He sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come
again with glory to judge the living and the dead; and His ­Kingdom shall
have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life,
Who proceedeth from the Father and the Son,
Who together with the Father and the Son is adored
and glorified; Who spoke by the Prophets. And in one holy catholic and
apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
And I await the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
4 | Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria ejus.
Osanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Osanna in excelsis.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
5 | Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,
miserere nobis.
Dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.
Five Ariel Songs
(Texts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest)
I
6 | Come unto these yellow sands,
And then take hands:
Curtsied when you have, and kiss’d,
The wild waves whist,
Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burden bear.
Hark, hark!
(Burden: Bow, wow)
The watch dogs bark:
(Burden: Bow, wow)
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry: Cock-a-diddle-dow.
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II
7 | Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made:
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
(Burden: ding, dong)
Hark! Now I hear them, — ding, dong, bell.
III
8 | Before you can say ‘Come’ and ‘Go’
And breathe twice; and cry ‘So, so’,
Each one tripping on his toe
Will be here with mop and mow.
Do you love me, master? No?
IV
9 | You are three men of sin, whom Destiny
That hath to instrument this lower world
And what is in’t, the never-surfeited sea
Hath caused to belch up you; and on this island
Where man doth not inhabit; you ’mongst men
Being most unfit to live. I have made you mad;
And even with suchlike valour men hang and
drown their proper selves. You fools! I and my fellows
Are ministers of fate: the elements
Of whom your swords are temper’d may as well
Wound the loud winds, or with bemock’d-at stabs
Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish
One dowle that’s in my plume; my fellow ministers
Are like invulnerable. If you could hurt,
Your swords are now too massy for your strengths
And will not be uplifted. But, remember, —
For that’s my business to you, — that you three
From Milan did supplant good Prospero;
Expos’d unto the sea, which hath requit it,
Him and his innocent child: for which foul deed
The powers, delaying, not forgetting have
Incens’d the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures,
Against your peace. Thee of thy son, Alonso,
They have bereft; and do pronounce, by me,
Lingering perdition, — worse than any death
Can be at once, — shall step by step attend
You and your ways; whose wraths to guard you from ?
Which here in this most desolate isle, else falls
Upon your heads, — is nothing but heart-sorrow
And a clear life ensuing.
V
10 | Where the bee sucks, there suck I
In a cowslip’s bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily:
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
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OLIVIER MESSIAEN
Cinq Rechants
IV
14 | Niokhamâ palalan(e) soukî
mon bouquet tout défait rayonne
Niokhamâ palalan(e) soukî
les volets roses Oha
amour amour du clair au sombre Oha
I
11 | Hayo kapri tama la li la li lassaré no
Les amoureux s’envolent
Brangien dans l’espace tu souffles
Les amoureux s’envolent
vers les étoiles de la mort
Roma tama tama tama
roma tama tama tama
ssouka rava kâli vâli
ssouka nahame(e) kassou
rava kâli vâli roma tama...
tktktktk
ha ha ha ha ha soif
L’explorateur Orphée
trouve son cœur dans la mort
Niokamâ palalan(e)…
V
15 | Mayoma kalimolimo
Tes yeux voyagent dans le passé
Mélodi(e) solaire de corbeille courbe
tktktktk
Dans le passé
Miroir d’étoile château d’étoile
Yseult d’amour séparé
Bulle de cristal d’étoile mon retour
Miroir d’étoile château d’étoile
Yseult d’amour…
Hayoma kapritama hayoma kapritama
Losangé ma sœur toujours
philtre Yseult rameur d’amour
flako flako
Fé’e) Viviane à mon chant d’amour
cercle du jour hayo hayo
Foule rose hayo bras tendu
Pieuvre aux tentacules d’or
Persé(e) Méduse
l’abeille l’alphabet majeur
Les amoureux s’envolent...
L’explorateur Orphée
trouve son cœur dans la mort
Barbe Bleu(e)
Château de la septième porte
II
12 | Ma première fois terre terre
l’éventail déployé
Ma dernière fois terre terre
l’éventail refermé
Lumineux mon rire d’ombre
Ma jeune étoile sur les fleuves
Ha…
Fleur du bourdon tourne
tourne à mort
Quatre lézards la grotte
pieuvre et la mort
doka do do do doka doka…
Corolle qui mord deuxième
garde à manger d’abord… Hal
Solo de flûte berce
les quatre lézar(ds) en t’éloignant
Fleur du bourdon…
Mayoma kapritama ssarimâ…
Losangé ma fleur toujours
flako flako
philtre Yseult…
Quatre lézards grotte
pieuvre à mort la mort
Quatre lézar(ds) et la pieuvre
et la mort tourne à mort
Ma première fois…
mano mano mano nadja
lâma krîta mata krîma
lâdja na noma noma
Lumineux mon rire…
Corolle qui mord…
Losangé ma fleur…
III
13 | Ma robe d’amour mon amour
Ma prison d’amour faite d’air léger
lîla lîla ma mémoire
ma caresse
mayoma ssari ssari man(e) thikâri
oumi annôla oumi sarî
sarîsa floufî yoma
Mayoma kalimolimo
tktktktk
Dans l’avenir
trianguillo trianguillo…
Robe tendre toute la beauté
paysage neuf
troubadour Viviane Yseult
tous les cercles tous les yeux
pieuvre de lumière blesse
foule rose ma caresse
oumi annôla oumi oumi
annôla oumi sarî sarîs a flôuti yoma
(cheu cheu mayo
kapritama kalitmolino
cheu cheu…)
Robe tendre…
Sarî sarî… sarî ma
Tous les philtres sont bus ce soir encore
6
O sacrum convivium
O sacred feast
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace
16 | O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis ejus:
mens impletur gratia.
O sacred feast
in which Christ is received,
the mind is filled with grace
and a pledge of future glory
is given us. Alleluia.
O sacred feast!
O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae
nobis pignus datur, alleluia.
O sacrum convivium!
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