Messiaen & Stravinsky: notes

Otherworldly sounds

The French composer Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) is best known to the general public for his light-hearted and humorous works. Yet it was the other side of his personality – his deep faith and spirituality – that inspired him to create some of his greatest masterpieces. Even from a modernist such as Stravinsky (1882–1971), whose *Sacre du printemps* caused a scandal at its premiere in 1913, one would not immediately expect a grand-scale religious work. Yet with his Symphony of Psalms, composed in 1930, he created one of his most memorable works.

Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992), on the other hand, made no secret of his faith. As a devout Catholic, he saw music as the ideal means of conveying the values of the Catholic faith. He already shared this conviction in his earliest works, including the symphonic meditation *Les Offrandes oubliées* and the a cappella choral work *O sacrum convivium*. His compatriot Lili Boulanger (1893–1918) was also a devout Catholic. Her *Vieille prière bouddhique* is a poignant indictment of war and violence.