Today’s choice was composed in 1937, and dedicated to the memory of the composer’s father.
There were two events in 1936 that affected Francis Poulenc – the first was the death of fellow composer Pierre-Octave Ferroud in a car crash, and the second was a visit to the Shrine of the Virgin Mary at Rocamadour in the south west of France.
He then wrote the Litanies à la Vierge noire for upper voices and organ, and in 1937 set the words of the mass for unaccompanied choir.
This marked a turn in Poulenc’s faith and composition, leading to settings of the Gloria and Stabat Mater, as well as motets for Lent and Christmas.
I’ve given you the Sanctus from the Mass – the words for the Sanctus (which itself means ‘holy’) come from the book of the Prophet Isaiah:
I saw the Lord, high and exalted,
seated on a throne;
and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him were seraphim (angels), each with six wings:
With two wings they covered their faces,
with two they covered their feet,
and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Different composers have had different ways of setting these words – often with triumphant joy, sometimes in triple time (as ‘Sanctus’ is said three times), but here Poulenc takes the idea of the angels flying and dancing around the throne of God – can you feel the dance rhythms?
Weekend Wildcard: Poulenc’s Mass in G – Sanctus (1937)
If you want to compare other contemporary settings of this text, try:
Langlais – Messe Solennelle (1951)
Britten – War Requiem (1962)
Listening Project 