L'ascension
L'Ascension (literally: "The Ascension"; official translation: "Ascension Day") is a suite of four symphonic meditations for orchestra which, 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 (the first such for orchestra); and, in both of its iterations, among his most well-known.
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The work is in four movements and uses modes of limited transposition and complex rhythms, which are characteristic of Messiaen's compositional style. Nevertheless, the work is rooted in tonality and uses key signatures. It is as follows:
- Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père ("The Majesty of Christ Demanding His Glory of the Father")
- Alléluias sereins d’une âme qui désire le ciel ("Serene Alleluias of a Soul that Longs for the Heavens")
- Alléluia sur la trompette, alléluia sur la cymbale ("Alleluia on the Trumpet, Alleluia on the Cymbal")
- Prière du Christ montant vers son Père ("Prayer of Christ Ascending Towards His Father")
For the organ version, in response to the fast scherzic textures of the orchestral third movement which were apparently unsuitable for the instrument, the composer gave up arranging it, replacing it with an entirely new toccata in F-sharp major titled Transports de joie d'une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne ("Outbursts of Joy From a Soul Before the Self-Fulfiling Glory of Christ"). A complete performance takes around thirty minutes.
The second movement's main theme was originally the theme of a piece for violin and piano called Fantaisie, which was posthumously published.
Both editions were published by Éditions Alphonse Leduc.