Icons of the Incarnation
Messiaen's 'La Nativité du Seigneur'
2007 was dominated by a major commission for Winchester Cathedral. This was a collaboration with Sarah Baldock, organist at the Cathedral and was premiered on the Feast of the Epiphany 2008, alongside a specially-commissioned film by KMB Productions showing the development of the work. The organ music was performed by Andrew Lumsden and Sarah Baldock. Meditations were composed and read by Canon Roland Riem.
"Messiaen and Art at Epiphany in Winchester Cathedral was a truly wonderful experience, moving and uplifting. The artworks are rich and expressive, and the film, dwelling lovingly on their details, illuminated the music with great effect - the predominance of slow melody in La Nativité can make it a hard listen all in one go, and the additional focus of the film aided concentration. The performances, of course, were exemplary. The music filled the great darkened space with colour and shape and rhythm. The meditations from the pulpit were an inspired addition: to the point, brief, yet deep, and almost poetry in the beauty of their prose. An Epiphany indeed."
David Owen Norris, MA (Oxon) FRAM FRCO
Professor of Musical Performance, University of Southampton
Visiting Professor, Royal College of Music
Honorary Fellow, Keble College, Oxford
2007 was dominated by a major commission for Winchester Cathedral. This was a collaboration with Sarah Baldock, organist at the Cathedral and was premiered on the Feast of the Epiphany 2008, alongside a specially-commissioned film by KMB Productions showing the development of the work. The organ music was performed by Andrew Lumsden and Sarah Baldock. Meditations were composed and read by Canon Roland Riem.
"Messiaen and Art at Epiphany in Winchester Cathedral was a truly wonderful experience, moving and uplifting. The artworks are rich and expressive, and the film, dwelling lovingly on their details, illuminated the music with great effect - the predominance of slow melody in La Nativité can make it a hard listen all in one go, and the additional focus of the film aided concentration. The performances, of course, were exemplary. The music filled the great darkened space with colour and shape and rhythm. The meditations from the pulpit were an inspired addition: to the point, brief, yet deep, and almost poetry in the beauty of their prose. An Epiphany indeed."
David Owen Norris, MA (Oxon) FRAM FRCO
Professor of Musical Performance, University of Southampton
Visiting Professor, Royal College of Music
Honorary Fellow, Keble College, Oxford
The nine ‘musical meditations’ of this organ suite explore the underlying themes of the birth of Christ. Just as the music provides a great range of textures, rhythms and colours, so the artwork uses a broad palette of materials and forms. This includes pigment, precious metals, fabric, leather and oak. In each piece, the artist’s aim has been to choose strong shapes and appropriate surface textures to explore the imagery in the music.
La vierge et l’enfant
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Conceived by a Virgin a Child is born to us, a Son has been given to us. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Lo, your king comes to you, just and lowly. (Isaiah, Zechariah) Held within a circle made of lead (a material used in a number of the other works) are two simple wooden forms. These symbolise the mother and child at the heart of the Nativity. There are three main musical sections in this movement. The first and the third seem restful and thoughtful, bringing to mind the Bible verse, ‘Mary pondered these things in her heart’. There is a gentle sense of a mother rocking her child in her arms. A sparkling middle section is more joyful and energetic, which is picked up in the image with iridescent threads weaving a dance between the forms of the virgin and infant. |
Les bergers (The shepherds)
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Having seen the Child lying in the manger, the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God. (St Luke) Five forms march across a dusty sky with the first glint of dawn. They are made from deeply textured, natural materials, such as tree bark, fibres, leather and hand-made paper. These textures echo the musical forms with their slightly clunky phrases. The shepherds’ feet lead them firmly back to the world, whilst their hearts and minds yearn to remain in the stable, held in the circle of love they found there. |
Desseins éternels
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God, in his love, has predestined us to be his adopted children, through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace. (Ephesians) This pulsating, timeless music melts and merges from one phrase to the next. Across the surface of the image reaches a beam of wood like outstretched arms. Three downward sweeps of Perspex introduce a pattern of rich colour, like light through stained glass. |
Le verbe (The word)
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The Lord has said to me, “You are my Son.” From his breast, before creation’s dawn, he has begotten me. I am the Image of the Goodness of God. I am the Word of Life, from the beginning. (Psalms, Wisdom, St John) Just as with the music of this movement, the image is divided into two clear sections. The first, resonating with passionate top notes and a stamping pedal part, is strong and powerful, using slabs of slate and deep colouring. After a pause we are led into a slow, chanting melody. Shapes similar to mediaeval neumes (an early form of musical notation) are textured like rock, steady in their progression across the surface. |
Les enfants de Dieu
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To all those who have received him, the Word has given the power to become children of God. And God has sent into their heart the Spirit of his Son, crying: Abba! Father! (St John, Galatians) Just as the music rises in a great, swelling crescendo, so the crisscrossing forms at the heart of this image rise towards the copper panel, symbolizing the cry of ‘Father’ from the hearts of the children of God. The quiet passage in the lower section of the picture mirrors the gentle musical phrases towards the end of the piece, where all is calm and secure |
Les anges (The angels)
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The multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the Highest. (St Luke) Soft textures evoke the surface of feathers. Shards of mirror reflect light over the image, as the main shape sweeps up like a swarm of starlings. Metallic leaf and iridescence bring even more glimmer. All this articulates the chattering, high notes of the music. |
Jésus accepte la souffrance
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Christ said to his Father on entering the world: You have no pleasure in either burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin, but you have prepared a body for me. Here I am! (Hebrews) Powerful, strong chords are repeated in the simple shapes of the image. The surface opens up to receive the rough beam of the cross, emblematic of Jesus’ willingness to open himself to suffering. Metallic gleams in the pigment give a sense of glory, which is heard in the slow build towards the end of the movement using ever louder, long chords. Lead lines (also seen in La vierge et l’enfant, Les anges, Desseins eternels) are used to evoke the tools of the Passion. |
Les mages (The magi)
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The Magi departed and the star went before them. (St Matthew) Three richly coloured and embroidered forms move across a wide, night desert setting. The music is formed of a procession of three travelling chords which become almost hypnotic in their repetition. It gives a mystical quality, a sense of thoughts floating free. This is echoed in the silver thread linking the three forms, which glints like starlight across the top edge of the image. |
Dieu parmi nous (God among us)
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Words of the communicant, of the Virgin, of the whole Church: He who created me has rested in my tabernacle, the Word was made flesh and dwelt in me. My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. (Ecclesiasticus, St John, St Luke) This final, grand movement carries echoes of several of the earlier works, and so acts as a gathering point for the whole suite. One can hear the musical presence of Le Verbe, and the yearning of the Children of God. The artwork picks out visual references to both of these. The simple, wooden background of the first image of the La Vierge et l’enfant is also present at the heart of this final piece, bringing the Incarnation full circle. Here, the cross and the Christ are represented by the same element, the central oak piece, heralded by whorling angels linking heaven and earth. |