Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (And I await the resurrection of the dead) is a work for wind orchestra by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1964 and first performed the following year. It is composed in five movements. Genesis. Messiaen was approached in October 1963 by André Malraux, Minister of Cultural Affairs under Charles de Gaulle, with a commission for a sacred work to commemorate the dead of the two World Wars. Originally envisioned as a work for chorus, large orchestra and brass, to be performed in June 1964 at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and at Notre -Dame de Chartres, the concept of the work and projected date of performance changed several times over the following year. Composition began in early July 1964, while Messiaen was vacationing at the Lac de Pétichet in the Hautes-Alpes, and the orchestration was completed early in January 1965 . It was premiered in the Sainte-Chapelle at 11:00 in the morning on 7 May 1965 , and was performed for the second time in the morning of 20 June of the same year following a Solemn Mass at Chartres Cathedral and in the presence of President Charles de Gaulle, who warmly congratulated  the composer after the performance . Both performances were conducted by Serge Baudo, and the general rehearsal in Chartres on 19 June was filmed for television, later broadcast in the series "Les grandes répétitions" . The piece was destined to be performed in large spaces like churches, cathedrals and the open air. Messiaen was inspired by the countryside which surrounded him as he worked on the composition – the Hautes-Alpes with their great mountains – but also the imposing images of Gothic and Romanesque churches, and the ancient monuments of Mexico and Ancient Egypt. In his prefaces to the second and third movements , Messiaen also paraphrases passages from "The Resurrection," from the supplement to the third part of the "Summa Theologica" by Thomas Aquinas . Instrumentation. The piece is scored for woodwind, brass and percussion. Movements. The piece has five movements, lasting approximately 35 minutes in total: Discography (selected). Yvonne Loriod, piano (in "Couleurs de la cité céleste"); Groupe instrumental à percussion de Strasbourg, Orchestre du Domaine Musical, conductor: Pierre Boulez. . Originally issued on LP, 1967.