Vingt Regards sur l'enfant-Jésus
Suite for piano by Olivier Messiaen / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus ("Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus") are a suite of 20 pieces for solo piano by the French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992).
Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus | |
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Piano suite by Olivier Messiaen | |
English | Twenty contemplations on the infant Jesus |
Period | Modern |
Composed | 1944 |
Duration | About two hours |
The suite is a meditation on the infancy of Jesus. It was composed from March to September of 1944 following a January commission by Maurice Toesca [fr], wishing for a reading of his twelve poems on the nativity. The abandoned plan was later reworked with a dedication to his protégée Yvonne Loriod. A typical performance lasts about two hours. These '12 regards' appear to be incorporated into the plan of the final work, which may be described as a rondo in which the movements based on the "Theme of God", no.'s 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 19 and 20, frame four three-movement episodes.[1] Although the work was finished shortly after the liberation of Paris in August and excerpts played in public by Messiaen and Loriod, the complete premiere took place 26 March 1945 at the Salle Gaveau with the composer reading aloud his own commentaries.[2]