| Offrande au Saint Sacrement | |
|---|---|
| by Olivier Messiaen | |
 Olivier Messiaen | |
| Composed | Unknown, probably 1928: Paris |
| Published | 2001: Paris |
| Scoring | Organ |
Offrande au Saint Sacrement [lower-alpha 1] (French : Offering to the Blessed Sacrament) is a meditation in A major for organ in two sections by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is one of his earliest works for the instrument, and was posthumously published in 2001 following its discovery by Yvonne Loriod.
The Offrande was one of the works discovered by Yvonne Messiaen after the composer's death, together with his Prélude . [1] Since the piece was not meant to be published and was discarded, there are very few details available about its origin. Organist Olivier Latry has suggested that the work may be contemporary with Le banquet céleste (1928), since the second theme from the Offrande shows some common elements. A part of this composition was rearranged for the orchestral piece Le banquet eucharistique, which was presumably written in 1928 and is now considered to be lost. [2] The piece was published by Éditions Alphonse Leduc in 2001. [3]
This short piece for solo pipe organ has a total duration of 5 minutes and 34 bars. It is in the key of A major and is marked "Lent" (Slow) in the score. The piece is structured into two sections, the second one being a more developed repetition of the first one. In each section, there is an introductory subsection that is followed by a second one, which displays features of Baroque chorale preludes. [4] [3]
Since this piece was not initially intended for publication, it has been performed rarely and remains one of the lesser-known works by Messiaen. The following is a list of notable recordings of the piece:
| Organ | Record company | Year of recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivier Latry | Deutsche Grammophon | 2002 | CD [5] |
Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th century, he was also an outstanding teacher of composition and musical analysis.
Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod.
Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She performed internationally as a concert organist and was the first female organist to sign a record contract. She went on to record many organ works, including her own compositions.
Olivier Jean-Claude Latry is a French organist, improviser, and composer. He is professor of organ in the Conservatoire de Paris.
Hans-Ola Ericsson is a Swedish organist and composer.
Walther Straram (1876-1933) was an English conductor active in France during the early twentieth century.
Des canyons aux étoiles... is a large twelve-movement orchestral work by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. American Alice Tully commissioned the piece in 1971 to celebrate the bicentenary of the United States Declaration of Independence in 1976.
La Nativité du Seigneur, neuf méditations pour orgue is a work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1935 in Grenoble.
Concert à quatre is the final work of the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is a concerto written for four solo instruments and orchestra.
L'Ascension is a suite of four symphonic meditations for orchestra that, with the exception of its third movement, were later arranged for pipe organ in 1933–1934. The work was written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen from 1932 to 1933 in Paris, Neuchâtel, and Monaco. It was premièred under the direction of Robert Siohan at the Salle Rameau in Paris on 9 February 1935. It is one of his first major works ; and, in both of its iterations, among his most well-known.
Quatre Études de rythme is a set of four piano compositions by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1949 and 1950. A performance of them lasts between 15 and 20 minutes.
Le banquet céleste is a work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1928. Based on the slow movement of an earlier unfinished orchestral work Le Banquet Eucharistique dating from 1926–1927, it is Messiaen's first published work.
Livre du Saint Sacrement is a collection of pieces for organ on the subject of the Eucharist by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was composed mainly in 1984, completed in 1985, and first performed in 1986.
O sacrum convivium! is a short offertory motet for four-part mixed chorus by French composer Olivier Messiaen, setting "O sacrum convivium". It was composed and published in 1937.
The Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace is a short composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was completed in 1960.
Monodie is the shortest stand-alone published composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen.
The Prélude, usually affixed with the subtitle pour orgue, is an organ piece in E major by French composer Olivier Messiaen. The work, which dates from the 1920s, is, along with the Offrande au Saint Sacrement, the earliest surviving organ work of the composer. Scholars differ as to the exact date and purpose as to when and why it was composed.
Diptyque : essai sur la vie terrestre et l'éternité bienheureuse is a piece for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen.
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