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Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà... (Lightning Over the Beyond... ) is the final completed work of the composer Olivier Messiaen. Scored for a very large orchestra of over a hundred players and unusually lacking a solo piano part, it was written from 1988 to 1991.[1]
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its 150th anniversary in 1992, Éclairs was first performed by that orchestra at Lincoln Center with Zubin Mehta conducting on 5 November of the anniversary year, just over six months after the composer's death.[2]
"Éclairs" are flashes of lightning; "sur" translates in this context as over rather than on (cf. éclairs sur Paris, lightning over Paris); "l'Au-delà", capitalized, refers to the Hereafter, the afterlife, or, literally, the beyond. Messiaen extends the imagery of the heavenly city with pearly gates described in the Book of Revelation. The weather event has the light, representing Jesus, and links to space and astronomy — two of the three threads in the 70-minute composition. Expression of theological ideas from the Catholic faith, and an often ecstatic intention, are characteristic of the composer.
The third thread, birdsong, is transcribed into several of the eleven movements of the score. The specific birdsong used originates in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. Messiaen's sole visit to Australia was during the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, during the period he was writing Éclairs. Messiaen had used Australian birdsong before, for example in Saint François d'Assise.[3] Another of his favorite techniques, modes of limited transposition, are also used. The movements are:
The work is scored for an orchestra of 128, consisting of:
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