A musical serial. Episode 86: Francois and the C major chord
The second act of Olivier Messian’s opera Saint Fraincois D’Assise contains a short, but famous passage in which an angel plays the violin so beautifully that Saint Francis swoons. Messiaen took great effort to put this part of the story into music: how does one make music that’s supposed to be superhuman?
Messiaen settled for an Ondes Martenot solo, played over a sustained C major chord. This episode is a celebration of that chord.
Playlist:
00:30 Flotel – Karass / Moby – LA2
18:08 Olivier Messiaen – Saint Francois D’Assise: L’Ange se prepare a jouer de la viole
21:30 Moby – LA5 / Moby – LA2 / Olivier Messiaen – Saint Francois D’Assise: L’Ange se prepare a jouer de la viole / Flotel – Karass
Sensenta is a programme about long attention spans. Every episode slowly changes hue, and every next episode picks up where the last one left off. This creates a musical serial, a chain of episodes, touching on different genres at it goes. You’re welcome to join in and give us your opinion. Where should this chain go next?
harrold@concertzender.nl
