w7021
| Title | Seven Sacraments Of Poussin, The, Op 32 |
| Contributors |
John McLeod (composer) |
| Composition date | 1992 |
| Duration (mins) | 0 |
| Category | keyboard |
| Instrumentation | Org |
| Commissioned by | Philip Sawyer with financial assistance from the SAC |
| Key signature | |
| First line | |
| First performed | 02 03 1992 Philip Sawyer Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh |
| Notes | |
| Programme Note | It is, of course, impossible for a piece of music to convey the exact pictorial image of a painting and certainly in 'The Seven Sacraments of Poussin' - painted by the artist between 1644 and 1648 - I do not attempt such a thing. What I have tried to do is simply to create a musical representation of these remarkable paintings through their colour, content, shapes and atmosphere. I also do not intend to write a lengthy description or musical analysis of each piece. Suffice to say that each Sacrament has a particular chord and, as this device is cumulative, all seven chords are not heard together until the 'Sacrament of Extreme Unction' which owes much to the 'Book of Revelation' in its extra-musical material. In three of the Sacraments I acknowledge quotations from two other composers - but in a paraphrased form rather than a literal one. Some material from Messiaen's organ work 'Le Banquet Celeste' finds its way into the 'Sacrament of Holy Eucharist' whilst Messiaen's song 'L'Espouse' inspired the second part of the 'Sacrament of Marriage.' The violin solo, which descends like a dove from on high, in the Benedictus from Beethoven's 'Missa Solemnis ' is used a starting point in the 'Sacrament of Ordination.' |
This work is associated with the following collection items:
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