Interpretation of the ideas of the era of high Scholasticism and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi in the finale of Messiaen's opera "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan Scenes": choir functions

Azarova Valentina Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1049-2259 Doctor of Art History Professor; Department of Organ, Harpsichord, and Carillon; Saint-Petersburg State University 199034, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Universitetskaya nab., 7-9 azarova_v.v@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

Discussing the origin of the idea of the opera "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan scenes," Messiaen made two notable clarifications. The first relates to the genre of the work, the second concerns the role of the choir in it: "Let's say that this is a musical performance. But I have a choir: like in Boris Godunov, like in the theater, but also like in the ancient Greek theater. The choir, which plays the role of a commentator and which, like a kind of Divine Voice, constantly performs" ^{[22, 67]}.

The verbal and non-verbal parts of the invisible / visible choir are developed in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 8th paintings of the opera (there are no verbal choral parts in paintings 4 "Angel Traveler" and 6 "Sermon to Birds"). In the final picture of the opera, the chorus-commentator metamorphoses into the protagonist.

The role of the choir in opera has been mentioned at various times by domestic and foreign researchers. Ekimovsky (1979, 1987), K. A. Melik-Pashayev (1987), P RF (1990), H. Halbreich (1980, 2008), Ozilou M. (2009, 2018), S. Bruhn (2008), T. V. Constantinople (2002, 2018), A. C. Lesure and Samuel (2008), M. Wyatt (2012), E. D. Krivitskaya (2012), N. A. Kulygina (2012), V. P. Benitez (2019). Some of the listed authors have paid attention to the structure and musical content of the opera "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan scenes", as well as the consideration of genre features and the mode technique of the musical language of this work. In chapter IV of E. D. Krivitskaya's study "The Music of France: the twentieth Century", there is an observation: "The role of the choir is partly interpreted as in Debussy's "Sirens" or Ravel's "Daphnis and Chloe" ^{[10, 201]}. Following V. A. E. D. Krivitskaya attributes Messiaen's opera to the genre of the "musical mystery of the twentieth century", in which the choir performs the function of a "harmonic pedal" (picture 5) ^{[10, 202]}.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Messiaen's birth, a scientific conference was held at the Moscow Conservatory, based on which a collection of articles "The Century of Messiaen" (2011) was published. The articles in this collection touch upon the musical-historical, aesthetic, and musical-theoretical problems of the composer's work. Of particular interest is the article by V. A. Ekimov's Olivier Messiaen in Russia, which contains a valuable historical fact — Messiaen's response to the first Russian study of his music. "I am grateful to you for the book devoted to the study of my music and for the joy you have brought me," Messiaen wrote to the author of the book, composer V. A. Ekimovsky ^{[8, 249]}.

As can be assumed, in the finale of Messiaen's opera, the choir, performing paraphrases of the ideas of the high scholastic era interpreted by the composer and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi, is endowed with various dramatic functions. The non-verbal and verbal parts of the invisible and visible chorus are subject to the strategy of dramatic ambiguity. There is still no separate study on the interpretation of the ideas of the high Scholastic era in the finale of the "Franciscan Scenes" through the interaction of non-verbal and verbal parts of the invisible and visible choir.

Interpretation of the idea of death as the liberation of the soul "from prison". The functions of choral parts in the liturgical episodes of the Franciscan Scenes

Translating the idea of death into the eighth picture of the opera, Messiaen turned to the method of paraphrasing the third, fifth and seventh verses of the 141 Psalm, consisting of seven verses. At the same time, the text of the paraphrase conveys the meaning of Plato's idea, which defined death as the liberation of the soul from the body, the "prison of the soul" (dialogue "Phaedo"). Messiaen expressed the meaning of the prayer of the psalmist king David, "when he was in the cave" ("den"). The image of the shelter symbolizes the situation at the turn of life and death, forcing a desperate and death-fearing person to plead with God for salvation. Messiaen identified a way of performing the parts of the ensemble and the choir, acting "in the first person." According to the thought of S. S. Averintseva, when a person comes into contact with the mystery of death, the relationship of a person with God characterizes "personality" ^{[1, 337]}.

In the eighth film of the opera, entitled "Death and a New Life," the dynamics of the action are minimized. Transferred to the small Porziuncola church, Saint Francis dies lying on the bare ground near the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "The brothers are kneeling in a semicircle next to him," Messiaen noted ^{[26, 94]}. By interpreting the idea of death by paraphrasing psalmic verses about man's despair before God, Messiaen transformed the stage function of the choir. In the second picture and at the beginning of the eighth picture of "Franciscan Scenes" (vocal-symphonic episode of Bien modéré), the choir performs the role of monks of the Franciscan Order. The Bien modé episode in the eighth painting contains a repetition of the musical material from the second painting "Lauda", forming a musical-dramatic rhyme in the work ^{[23, 15-16; 25-27]}. At the same time, the composer paraphrases not the same psalm text, but different verses of the psalms. The Bien modé episodes from the second and eighth paintings, which contain the liturgical form of responsory, can be conventionally designated as liturgical. If in the second painting the responsory is read by Franciscan monks during the morning service, then in the eighth painting the responsory is read at the evening liturgy. The liturgical episodes conveying the atmosphere of Franciscan spirituality introduced elements of temple sacredness into Messiaen's opera, forming a space of spiritual meaning in it.

The responsory is performed by an ensemble (a trio of basses) and a choir. The ensemble parts are personalized: the brothers Sylvester, Rufinus and Bernard, who are near the dying Father Francis, recite recto tono the initial semantic formulas of the psalm verses. The choir of Franciscan Friars (also recto tono) continues reading and pronounces the final part of each verse. At the conclusion of the fourth verse of the responsory, Messiaen included a phrase in the spirit of prayer: "Blessed is Thy holy name." In the liturgical episodes, the choir, structuring the paraphrase, performs a formative function.

The individual elements of the psalm verses in the paraphrase are presented in the form of semantic formulas. The basis of the author's paraphrasing technique is the principle of complementarity, which ensures semantic formation: the choir invariably continues and completes the reading of the verse, joining immediately after the ensemble.

In the liturgical episode Bien modé from the eighth painting (numbers 54-62), as in a similar episode from the second painting (Lauda), an autonomous layer of multi-layered musical drama forms a repeated symphonic fragment, which alternates with the reading of the responsory and frames the vocal-symphonic episodes. A similar principle of alternating choral and instrumental (organ) sections goes back to the composition of the hymnal organ antiphons of the XVI — XVII centuries, in which each verse of the spiritual hymn is first performed by the choir, and then the organist performer conveys the meaning of the verse in the form of a laconic instrumental solo. (The Grove Dictionary of Music contains examples of organ hymns in the works of Redford, Frescobaldi, Titlusa).

The liturgical text of the responsory in the eighth painting of the Franciscan Scenes reveals the idea of death. Messiaen's interpretation presents the interpretation of death as the liberation of the soul "from prison." Interpreting this idea, Messiaen turned to the verses of the psalm. The composer treated the Holy Scriptures like the Catholic thinker, playwright and poet P. Claudel. Messiaen considered the Holy Scriptures to be a source of comprehensive meanings. In the early 1940s, the composer formulated the idea of the importance of the Holy Scriptures for analyzing the "history of musical language in the spirit of humility and impartiality.": "Do I dare to speak about the "Holy Scripture", which contains the only "Truth"?" ^{[11, 8]}.

Reviewing the monograph by French author Brigitte Massin "Olivier Messiaen: the Poetics of the Miraculous" (1989), researcher T. V. Zolotova noted, in particular, "the constancy and evolution in his [Messiaen's] never-ending dialogue with Holy Scripture" ^{[8, 244]}. "Olivier Messiaen's entire work is imbued with religious issues. With the help of music, he tried to get in touch with the mystical mystery of Divine revelation. For him, creativity was a kind of transcendence, the acquisition of truth and the meaning of being," concluded researcher E. S. Barban, author of the book "The Art of the Possible" ^{[3, 183]}.

The music of the symphonic refrain included by Messiaen in the liturgical episodes of the Franciscan Scenes reveals the idea of death as a deep mystery of existence. The musical meaning of this symphonic fragment can be conveyed in the words of an authoritative religious thinker, Master of Catholic Theology Romano Guardini, who noted: "The mysterious interaction of man with God arises when man comes into contact with the most powerful phenomena of existence — the mysteries of life and death" ^{[7, 9]}. Messiaen mentioned more than once that he had read Guardini's research.

The semantic formulas of the paraphrase are distributed between the ensemble and choral parts. These parts and the repeated fragment of the orchestral part alternate in the episode Bien modéré as follows:

1. Fragment of the orchestral part — introduction (number 54)

Verse 1 (number 55) of the Trio: "My despair before You...".

Chorus: "... but You know my way."

2. A fragment of the orchestral part (number 56).

Verse 2 (figure 57) The trio: "You are my refuge and a part of me..."

Chorus: "... in the land of the living."

3. A fragment of the orchestral part (number 58).

Verse 3 (number 59) The Trio: "The righteous will gather around me..."

Chorus: "... when You show me a boon."

4. A fragment of the orchestral part (number 60).

Verse 4 (number 61) Trio: "...release my soul from prison."

Chorus: "Blessed is Thy holy name."

5. Fragment of the orchestral part — conclusion (number 62).

The structural elements of the liturgical episode follow one another, obeying the meaning of verbal axioms; semantic formulas from the verses of the Old Testament mark the boundaries of alternating "sections" of the orchestral part, ensemble and choir. The definition of "sectionality" in relation to the composition of Messiaen's opera was widely used by one of the first researchers of Messiaen's work, G. Halbreisch (1980), who distinguished nine sections in the structure of the final picture of the work ^{[20, 522]}. Researcher T. V. Tsaregradskaya also pointed out the "extreme separation of sections that resemble "individual frames" of a film production ^{[17, 220]}. The symphonic fragment, which repeats itself in the form of a "rhyme," participates in the formation, performing the functions of an introduction and conclusion in the liturgical episodes.

The sound space of the Bien modé episode (numbers 54-62) is formed based on the interaction of elements of the ensemble, choral and orchestral parts. Intoned by three bass voices (mezzo forte), the a cappella psalmody is repeated in the choral parts of the first and second basses. In the solo part of the first Waves of Marteno (forte), the nasal register of the Poitou oboe is represented; the definition of gambé clarifies the "copper" shade of the oboe timbre, sounding in the lower register. A five-string double bass solo (arco, forte) is accompanied by nine five-string double basses (pizzicato, mezzo forte) with an increased range to extract sound "up to" subcontroctaves). The gloomy flavor of the sound allows for a comparison of the musical meaning of the symphonic fragment of the responsory with the meaning of the opening verse of Psalm 129: "De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine."

The musical atmosphere of the Bien modé episode is characterized by the timbre and coloristic features of Martenot's solo first waves (the composer included a tercet of Martenot waves in the score). Solo double bass parts joining the ensemble in turn and the muffled beats of three large tams (pianissimo) mark the presence of an episode of acoustic effects in the sound space - combinations of sound and noise.

The choral reading of the second verse of the paraphrase is followed by a symphonic fragment revealing the subtext of the psalm verse (number 58). Let's note the expressivity of the passage, aimed at the lower register of the maximum depth — the slow glissando of the first tuba with a mute (pianissimo); glissando is achieved by a special way of attacking sound (pistons demi-bouchés). Researcher T. V. Tsaregradskaya defined this kind of "projection" of a visual series onto a musical space as a "musical gesture" — "one of the iconic metaphors of modern musical consciousness" ^{[18, 358]}. In the semantic field of a "musical gesture", the researcher distinguishes "the ability to contain information, individuality, expressivity" ^{[18, 139]}. The descending passage in the form of the slow glissando of the first tuba with mute and the solo of the first waves of Marteno in an ensemble with a five-string double bass reveal properties in the sound space of the episode Bien modé (numbers 54-62) in which "symphonic depth attains an independent expressive value." At the same time, timbre and space "seem to be striving to displace the pitch" ^{[9, 80]}.

The orchestral composition of the symphonic fragment, which begins after the third stanza of the paraphrase (number 60), has been increased; to increase the intensity of the sound, the composer added the part of the second waves of Marteno, imitating the repeated strokes of bells and the part of the fourth tam-tam (pianissimo). The batch of Marteno's second waves contains repeated contrasting "drops" of dynamics (sfz — pp; sfz — pp, etc.). The combination of sounds and noises reveals the properties of timbres as "complex realities" ^{[9, 76]}. The musical gesture — the descending passage of the first tube with a mute (number 62) gliding at a slow tempo — once again creates a "visual" representation of the "symphonic depth" as one of the parameters of the sound space. The parts of the symphony orchestra in the liturgical episodes of the Franciscan Scenes reveal the essence of the composer's interpretation of the idea of death as "the most powerful phenomenon of existence."

Placed "at a distance" (in the second and eighth paintings) of the opera, the liturgical episodes convey the idea of death as "the liberation of the soul from prison." The personalized parts of the ensemble and the choir take part in structuring the text of the responsory and, thus, in shaping. The function of the choir is to affirm the idea of death as a conceptual musical and dramatic idea of the "Franciscan Scenes". Using the expressive means of the ensemble and choir and incorporating elements of temple sacredness into the opera, Messiaen created a new form of theatrical liturgy in the French musical theater of the second half of the 20th century. In the first half of the twentieth century, the playwright Claudel integrated the text of the psalm into the "musical poem" "Jeanne d'The Arch at the Stake" and fragments of the Liturgy of the Nativity with the singing of the antiphon in Latin in the mystery of the "Good News of Mary". Thus, Messiaen developed the tradition of Claudel's Catholicism in opera.

Interpretation of the idea of inner spirituality. The metamorphosis of the choir in the episode "I called..."

In the vocal-symphonic episode Très lent (numbers 74-78) from the final picture of Messiaen's opera, the verbal text of the choral parts is a paraphrase of the first verse of Psalm 141, which says: "With my voice I called to the Lord, with my voice I prayed to the Lord." The episode in question can be roughly named after the opening verse of the psalm: "I cried out...".

Interpreting the idea of a person's inner spirituality, his prayerful appeal to God, Messiaen replaced the dramatic function of the chorus, a participant in the action, with an invisible commentator or "collective character" (researcher V. N. Yarkho's definition) ^{[15, 25]}. Hidden in the depths of the barely lit stage space, the choir-commentator performs "in the first person", revealing the "personality" characteristic of prayer. The composer embodied the idea of inner spirituality through the expressive means of the choir. The gradations of sound intensity are distributed in the range from pianissimo to superfortissimo (ffff). Messiaen included repetitions of semantic formulas in the paraphrase ("I called...", "... and my voice", "... to the Lord"). The paraphrase is structured by pauses between text segments and disturbing choral exclamations: "J'appelle: Ha! Et ma voix: Ha! | J’appelle et ma voix, et ma voix crie, et dit: Ha! vers le Seigneur! | vers le Seigneur que j’implore!» ^{[25, 76-84]}. Messiaen turned to the technique of paraphrasing in order to expand the meaning of the psalmic verse, which speaks of prayerful union / direct interaction of man with God.

While preserving the universal meaning of the psalm verse, the composer expressed the idea of the prayerful connection of St. Francis of Assisi with the Lord. In the image of the one to whom the individual "I" appeals, the features of the universe are imprinted. All the elements of the created world represented the glory of the Creator in the image of the saint. For Francis of Assisi, there was no contradiction between the universal and the individual. The composer's interpretation of the psalmic text through the commentary choir conveys the prayerful state of a person, in which the diverse shades of individual selves are focused.

The 36-bar sound space of the Très lent vocal-symphonic episode (numbers 74-78) can be conditionally divided into three sections: the first section contains 12 bars; the second section consists of 14 bars; the third section includes 10 bars. In the presentation of the vocal parts, recitative-recitative choral psalmody recto tono and a multi-voiced vocal-symphonic vertical alternate. Various parameters of the musical fabric interact: rhythm, timbre, accentuation, articulation, and dynamics. The organizing principle of the sound flow movement is the interaction of rhythmic elements. The orchestral part accompanies the psalmodic horizontal, interrupted by interjections (choral exclamations), forming a sequence of vertical harmonic consonances.

Framing the Très lent episode (numbers 74-78), the pauses make up a quarter of the sound fabric, that is, 9 out of 36 bars. The abundance of pauses within and between sections symbolizes the inexhaustible depth of the spiritual meaning of the prayers of Christian saints.

The multitude of pauses in the sound space of this episode goes back, in our opinion, to the tradition of musical and theatrical works related to the metaphorical poetics of French symbolism, in particular, to the dramaturgy of M. Maeterlinck, based on whose plays the operas of K. Debussy "Pelleas and Melisande" and "Ariane and Bluebeard" by P. Duke were composed. "Messiaen adored them, repeatedly recognized [them] as models for his "Francis of Assisi"," researcher M. Wyatt noted ^{[27, 1]}. The opera "Saint Francis of Assisi" contains dynamic strategies used by Debussy in the mystery "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian". We are talking about the famous vocal-symphonic pianissimo and long pauses in the zones of dramatic climaxes, as well as in the intense conversational monologues of St. Sebastian. By resorting to the signs of "eloquent" silence, the creators of musical and theatrical works denoted the deep mystery of metaphysical reality in the space of musical meaning. The following judgment seems relevant in this regard: "Silence within art is a movement towards the absoluteness of being, described by religious mystics; it reflects the cloud of the unknown behind the known and the veil of silence behind speech" ^{[18, 109]}.

Having studied the relationship between continuity and discontinuity as elements of sound characteristics, composer Yu. Dufour characterized the convergence of duration and discontinuity parameters as a "critical state", at the junction of which "the concept of articulation arises" ^{[9, 81]}. In the choral episode "I Called Out", the articulation parameter comes to the fore of the musical drama unfolding. The composition of this episode is characterized by individualized stanzas and ways of reciting the verse; the composition of the choir in the first and third sections of the episode Très lent is identical: mezzo-sopranos, first and second contraltos, first and second tenors and baritones (in the score, the composer noted that each group includes fifteen voices). At the moments of dynamic peaks and at the climax of the Très lent episode, the composition of the choir and orchestra is increased (the composer added the parts of the first and second sopranos, as well as the first and second basses). Saturated with diverse orchestral timbres, a dense, multi-voiced vertical synchronously accompanies a very slow, clearly articulated, "personalized" choral psalmody (recto tono, piano).

Interrupted by interjections (exclamations) and pauses, the verse includes narrative phrases "in the first person": "I called out, 'Ah!' <...> and my voice: <...> "Ah!"". The contrasting dynamic change in the first section of the episode under consideration (bars 4 and 7) marks the function of the pause as a semantic parameter of the musical fabric.

In the second section of the Très lent episode (bars 13-26), the choir repeats the semantic formula of the psalm verse (bars 14-17); the repetition characteristic of prayer (number 77, bars 19-25) asserts the meaning of the saint's inner spirituality, his prayer to God.

The climax of the episode "I called..." is dominated by the values of sound intensity ("intensity") and articulation. Synchronously with the orchestral part, the enlarged choir intones rhythmic formulas with the text in even eighth durations.: "I called out, and my voice screams and says, 'Ah!' to the Lord!" The expression of a prayer appeal to God researcher S. S. Averintsev described it as "psalmodic ecstasy" ^{[1, 408]}.

The elements of rhythmic syntax and loudness dynamics are the means of organizing the sound space. Orchestral instruments with different ways of attacking sound accompany the verses of choral parts with rhythmically organized vertical harmonies. The orchestral and choral parts synchronously follow the dynamic plan of gradually increasing the intensity of the sound (piano-pianissimo, crescendo, crescendo molto — ffff). Coinciding with the dynamic peak, a sudden pause (vol. 26) separates the climax and the beginning of the third section of the musical form of the episode Très lent; the pause also marks the point of convergence of the parameters of continuity and discreteness interacting during the unfolding of the sound fabric.

In the third section of the episode "I called..." (number 78, bars 27-36), the choral part contains a repetition of the semantic formula "... to the Lord" (bars 27-30). This fragment of the paraphrase and its ending: "... whom I pray!" (bars 32-35) are separated by a pause (bar 31). The dynamic outline of the final section indicates a consistent decrease in sound intensity from f and mf to p-pp and ppp and a complete loss of sonority. The episode of a person's prayer to God ends with a long silence of the choir and orchestra (vol. 36); the composer marked this pause with the remark long silence ^{[25, 84]}.

Interpreting the idea of inner spirituality, Messiaen preserved in the paraphrase the expressiveness of the individual prayer appeal of a person to God, characteristic of the psalm verse. The change of the dramatic function of the chorus, a participant in the action, to a "collective character" made it possible to transpose the idea of a person's inner spirituality into the register of universal meaning. Messiaen's interpretation of man's conversion to God took on the meaning of the whole world's plea for salvation. In Claudel's "musical poem", "Jeanne d'Ark at the Stake" and in the prologue of the dramatic oratorio of the same name by A. Honegger (1943), humanity's prayer to God is an expressive choral appeal: "Save us, Eli, Fortis, Eskiros!" ^{[21, 9]}. At the end of the twentieth century, the relevance of such a prayer was identified by Messiaen.

Using the means of the choir, a "collective character", to reveal the idea of inner spirituality in the episode "I Called...", the composer formed a projection of the final super-idea of the Franciscan Scenes — connections between man, the world and God. Messiaen embodied this super-idea in the code of the opera finale with the expressive means of the protagonist chorus. In the opera Franciscan Scenes, the variability of the choir's function is Messiaen's original dramatic strategy.

The transformation of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi under the influence of grace in the interpretation of the Messianic. Episode Bien modéré: Chorus functions

Following the author's remark: "The angel and the leper disappear. The bells are ringing" is the lyric-dramatic climax of the opera, which opens with a dramaturgically two-dimensional vocal-symphonic episode of Bien modé (number 97). The non-verbal parts of the invisible choir, forming an autonomous sound layer, represent one plane of musical drama; the other plane forms the ringing of bells reproduced by orchestral means. The music of the vocal-symphonic episode of Bien modéré accompanies a static scene: the dying Saint Francis of Assisi passes "from a finite being into an infinite being" ^{[12, 125]}. In the episode Bien modé (number 97), Messiaen expressed the idea of transforming the soul of St. Francis of Assisi under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit. In this article, we use the abbreviated phrase "the idea of transformation."

The limited composition of the invisible choir singing with its mouth open (the first and second contraltos and the first and second tenors) intones the interlaced clusters synchronously with the parts of the string quintet. Following the principle of metrorhythmic variability, the movement of the fortissimo polyphonic orchestral vertical, marcato creates an atmosphere of rising bells. An expanded group of percussion instruments, including a xylorimba, a marimbophone, a temple block, two groups of bells, gongs and tams, provides timbre and coloristic colorfulness of the sound fabric. The segmented non-verbal parts of the invisible choir in the middle registers (legato), as well as the coherent sound of the string quintet, provide a balance of continuity and discreteness parameters when dissonant layers of instrumental texture interact in a variable metrorhythm. In the sound space, the formative function is performed by indicators of sound intensity ("intensity"). Synchronizing with the stop of the rhythmically organized movement of the dense orchestral vertical, the sound of the invisible choir is suddenly interrupted at the dynamic peak (fortissimo) ^{[25, 114]}.

Contact with the mystery of revelation transformed the soul of St. Francis of Assisi, who became a "complete" Christian mystic. Analyzing the signs of "complete" Christian mysticism, the twentieth-century philosopher Henri Bergson noted the "concentration of the soul" characteristic of Christian ascetics in anticipation of transformation. "The final phase characteristic of great mysticism is being prepared," the researcher wrote. "The soul of a Saint" had already felt the presence of God, she had already seen him in symbolic visions, she had even joined with him in ecstasy; but all this was short—lived, therefore it was only contemplation <...> Now God himself is working through her and in her: unity is complete and, therefore, final" ^{[4, 249-250]}.

The dramatic function of non-verbal choral parts is to interpret the idea of transformation. The new vision of spiritual reality revealed to Saint Francis presented the world in front of him in the interaction of all the elements of existence as an endless space-time stream of interconnected events and participants in these events. Non-verbal choral parts that create a sound image of spiritual reality are endowed with autonomous dramatic functions.

The artistic embodiment of the comprehensive paradigm of being before the Messianic was presented in Claudel's mystery "The Good News of Mary" (1912-1948). In the scene of the miraculous resurrection of a child (the second picture of the third act of the mystery), the playwright synthesized elements of temple sacredness, genre features of the medieval miracle, prayer singing, reading Christian texts; the liturgical singing of the choir of invisible angels in Latin is heard only by the main character, the Holy Virgin Violena. The playwright gave deep meaning to the sound of bells. Considering the voices of the bells as symbolic intermediaries between the "voices of the earth" and the "voices of heaven," the poet believed that the sounds of the bells accompany the soul on the path to God. Claudel found it unacceptable to mix the voices of open spaces (sounding bells) with the voices of symphony orchestra instruments. Claudel's writings influenced Messiaen's work. The composer expressed his gratitude to Claudel in the introductory section of the theoretical treatise "The Technique of my musical language."

In the finale of the Franciscan Scenes, Messiaen reproduced the sound of bells in the death scene of St. Francis of Assisi with the help of a symphony orchestra. The deafening sound of the bells, which, according to legend, rang all night on the occasion of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, reaches the maximum intensity of dynamic development (ffff) in the final climax episode of Bien modé ^{[25, 147]}.

By the method of interaction of two planes of musical drama, the composer created a sound continuum in which the symphonic picture of bell ringing and the sound of non-verbal choral parts interact.

The episode Bien modéré (numbers 113-118) frames the lyrical and dramatic climax of the "Franciscan Scenes".

The orchestral part at the end of the climax of the eighth picture reveals the meaning of the transformation of the soul of the main character of the opera. The crescendo dynamic symbolizes the "evolution of grace" in the saint's soul. In an article on the genesis of opera (Genèse de Saint François d'Assise), Messiaen noted: "I wanted to capture the evolution of grace in the saint's soul in a sequence of eight paintings" ^{[22, 67]}.

The non-verbal parts of the choir reveal the essence of the composer's artistic intention. The spiritual idea of the "Franciscan Scenes" — the idea of the transformation of the saint's soul is presented in the opera "at a distance" (at the beginning and at the end of the lyric-dramatic climax). This compositional strategy reveals the musical and dramatic integrity of the final picture of the opera.

Interpretation of the idea of truth in the lyric-dramatic climax of the opera: the functions of the chorus

The composition of the lyric-dramatic climax of the Franciscan Scenes (numbers 97-118) is based on an alternation of vocal-symphonic episodes, which can be roughly divided into two groups. The first group includes episodes containing the solo part of St. Francis of Assisi. The second group includes episodes featuring parts of the invisible choir. The boundaries between episodes are arbitrary. Having indicated the change of tempo, the composer marked the episodes in the score with ordinal numbers. Of the thirteen episodes that make up the structure of the lyric-dramatic climax, seven episodes (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13) include non-verbal parts of an invisible choir singing with its mouth open (the solo part of St. Francis of Assisi is missing here).

The monologues (prayers) of the main character of the opera reveal the thesis about the divine nature of the musical and poetic gift of Francis of Assisi, about his inescapable thirst for truth. While dying, Saint Francis uttered the word "truth"; conducting the theme of truth in the orchestral part reveals the purpose of the saint's life aspirations. In the solo part of the main character of the opera, the composer conveyed the general poetic structure of his speech. Messiaen put into the saint's confession the idea of the divine nature of the musical and poetic gift of Francis of Assisi. The ability to speak to God in the language of poetry and music made the life and work of an Assisi Poor Man an example of a "special kind of human existence" in which "poetry is a special kind of meaning" (definitions of poet, translator, philologist researcher, Doctor of theology O. A. Sedakova) ^{[14, 263]}.

In the lyrico-dramatic climax of the Franciscan Scenes, Messiaen interpreted the key ideas of the high Scholastic era. The composer conveyed the meaning of the teachings of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas through the prism of modern religious, philosophical and theological thought. Over the years, Messiaen read and reread the Theological Summa by St. Thomas Aquinas. The composer got acquainted with the works of modern researchers who understood the patterns of scientific and theological thought of the era of high Scholasticism, primarily Franciscanism.

The idea of divine truth was one of the main theological ideas of the era of St. Francis of Assisi. In the sixth painting of Messiaen's opera, the symbolic image of the heavenly staircases from St. Bonaventure's treatise "The Soul's Guide to God" was transformed. This idea of the era of high scholasticism is presented as "... a ladder of six steps, having a mystical correspondence to the six days of creation" ^{[5, 25]}. The text of the protagonist's death prayer (the lyrical and dramatic climax of the eighth painting), containing the concept of "illumination", directly points to the teachings of St. Bonaventure.

The source of St. Thomas Aquinas' treatise On Controversial Issues of Truth is an axiom from Holy Scripture: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). "The theme of philosophical 'transposition' originates from Thomas. An entire worldview can be translated from one key to another without any harm to itself," argued Urs von Balthazar, an authoritative researcher of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas ^{[2, 38-39]}.

In the solo part of the main character of the opera, Messiaen embodied the spiritual idea of truth. During prayer, St. Francis of Assisi falls silent, unable to continue his thought. Vocal and symphonic episodes featuring an invisible choir singing with its mouth open reveal the spiritual register of the idea of truth.

At the beginning of the prayer, Saint Francis invokes God four times. After a pause, he continues: "Music and poetry brought me to You: an image, a symbol, for lack of truth" ^{[26, 98]}. The saint's breathing stops. At the end of the vocal-symphonic episode with the participation of the parts of the invisible choir, the saint calls out again: "Lord, enlighten me with Your presence! <...> Blind me forever with the abundance of truth!" ^{[26, 98]}.

The composer's interpretation of the idea of truth emphasizes the involvement of St. Francis of Assisi in Christ, the Truth. The symphonic theme of truth was included by Messiaen in the handwritten register of musical examples, consisting of the main orchestral themes of the Franciscan Scenes (these examples were published in the journal Avant-Garde Opéra) ^{[26, 104]}. The theme of truth (No. 12, Thème de la Vérité) was developed through the opera. The idea of truth, which gives integrity to the musical drama and composition of the Franciscan Scenes, forms an arch between the fifth painting and the lyric-dramatic climax of the opera (the eighth painting). In these paintings, an invisible Angel appears near St. Francis of Assisi. He explains to the saint: "The Lord blinds us with an abundance of truth. Music leads us to God for lack of truth" ^[26,74].

The inexhaustible thirst for truth, with which St. Francis of Assisi passed through his life, animated his poetry. In the lyric-dramatic climax of the opera, the idea of truth reaches its peak of development. The angel expressed to the dying saint a comforting thought about the "conformity" of Francis of Assisi's ministry to Christ the Truth. One of the central ideas of the era of high Scholasticism was conceptualized in Messiaen's interpretation. In the lyric-dramatic climax of the Franciscan Scenes, the composer created a musical-dramatic rhyme with a tragic climax (the seventh painting Stigmata), in which the speaking choir chants: "I am the Truth from which all things come" ^{[26, 95]}. In the finale of the opera, the performer of the main role, the symphony orchestra and the non-verbal parts of the invisible choir affirm the idea of truth. By the method of interaction in the sound space of orchestral parts and non-verbal parts of an invisible choir, Messiaen discovered the appearance of an envoy of heavenly powers near St. Francis of Assisi. The logic of the autonomous development of interacting vocal and orchestral parts also operates in the fifth film "The Angel Musician" - in the episode following the words of St. Francis of Assisi: "Perhaps my prayer has been answered" ^{[26, 74]}. By performing the non-verbal parts of an invisible choir, the composer symbolically designated in the opera the spiritual reality to which Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, an outstanding representative of the French philosophical and theological Catholic school, defined the "Divine environment" ^{[16, 84]}.

In the lyric-dramatic climax of the opera, Messiaen, just as in the fifth painting, applied dramatic ambiguity — the method of interaction between orchestral parts and non-verbal parts of an invisible choir; while maintaining the logic of autonomous development, these parts participate in the creation of cross musical-dramatic connections between paintings. These connections provide Messiaen's opera with a conceptual unity.

The non-verbal parts of the invisible choir convey the idea of divine truth illuminating the world with spiritual light. The composer's interpretation, we repeat, consistently asserts in the seventh and eighth paintings of the opera the idea of St. Francis of Assisi's involvement in Christ the Truth. The thinker Teilhard de Chardin defined such a connection between man and God as "ultimate spirituality" ^{[16, 86]}.

At the opera's climax, the long pause "très long" marks the dramatic event of St. Francis of Assisi's direct encounter with death (number 112, measure 11). The sound of the invisible choir's non—verbal parts here conveys the meaning of ultimate spirituality, an inexplicable mental phenomenon: the saint was mesmerized by the continuous sound of the "angelic note." Teilhard de Chardin mentioned this "note" that "dominates all the others, supporting them": "Just as in the depths of the Divine environment all the sounds produced merge, without mixing, into a single Note that dominates all the others, supporting them (this is undoubtedly the angelic note, what fascinated St. Francis), and all the forces of the soul begin to resonate, responding to this call, and their numerous tones, in turn, add up to an incredibly simple harmony, in which all the spiritual shades of love and prudence, fervor and calmness, balance, arise, disappear, and shimmer according to time and circumstances. and delight, passion and indifference, possession and detachment, peace and movement — countless possibilities of unique and inexpressible inner states" ^{[16, 92]}. The dramatic functions of vocal-symphonic episodes featuring the parts of an invisible choir in the concept of Messiaen's opera are no less significant than the corresponding functions of episodes containing the solo part of the main character in interaction with orchestral parts.

Interpretation of the idea of the immortality of the soul in the episode Bien modéré: the function of the choir

The composer marked the beginning of the episode Bien modé (numbers 113-118) with the remark: "He is dying" ^{[25, 137]}. The episode ends with a long pause ^{[25, 147]}. Framing the lyrical and dramatic climax of the "Franciscan Scenes", the sound space of the episode Bien modé (numbers 113-118) reveals the idea of the transformation of the saint's soul. The culmination is represented by the Messianic in the dimensions of time and eternity. The idea of the immortality of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi is being moved into the generalized register of the fundamental Christian idea of the immortality of the soul.

Multiparameter is a defining feature of the composition of the considered vocal-symphonic episode. The increased composition of the invisible choir singing without words, the expansion of the fret range and the gradual increase in sound intensity (p — mf — f — ff; fff — ffff) characterize the sound space of this episode. In combination with the linear movement of the non-verbal vocal parts of the invisible choir, an autonomous acoustic and timbre-coloristic vertical layer of multi-layered texture forms clusters of the choir. The semantic layer, which embodies the idea of soul transformation, on the one hand, and the sound picture, which reproduces the ringing of bells, on the other hand, form a dramaturgically two—dimensional sound space.

In the episode Bien modé (numbers 113-118), the sound of non-verbal parts of an invisible choir singing with its mouth open interacts with dissonant consonances in the parts of stringed instruments (all divisi parts) in a variable rhythm, with the participation of additional durations. Contrasting changes of dynamics accompany the transition to the method of sound production (tremolo) in the parts of three piccolo flutes (number 115), joined by a group of stringed instruments (with the exception of double basses). Pizzicati double basses in an ensemble with Marteno Wave tercet and percussion parts (temple block) support the rhythmic movement of a multi-voiced chord vertical; percussion instruments emphasize the three-part rhythm by attacking the sound (marcato).

The extended vocalizations of the choir singing with its mouth open, including tones with additional durations, contrast the autonomous layer of choral texture with rhythmically organized layers of instrumental texture. The composer endowed the linear movement of the voices of an invisible choir singing with an open mouth with the meaning and expression of extreme spirituality. At the end of the episode, the intensity of the voices of the invisible choir increases to ffff.

The philosophical transposition of the idea of the transformation of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi into the universal semantic register of the fundamental Christian idea of the immortality of the soul reveals the generalizing meaning of this idea.

Interpretation of the idea of Spiritual Light in the opera code: the Metamorphosis of the choir

Before the final coda of the Franciscan Scenes, Messiaen placed a long pause (grand silence) and a detailed remark in the score: "Everything disappears, everything fades. The choir is placed in the foreground. And only intense light illuminates the place where the body of St. Francis was located before. This light should gradually increase towards the end of the action. And when it becomes unbearably dazzling, the curtain falls" ^{[25, 154]}. The sign "prolonged silence" indicates the transition to a new level of implementation of the dramatic strategy of light and color transformations in opera: in the final code of the work, elements of various layers of musical drama interact with the visual series in the form of light emissions. The text of the composer's remark focuses semantic overtones on the idea of spiritual light.

At the same time, this remark reveals a new role for the choir: the protagonist choir, placed in the foreground, acts "in the first person", presenting the composer's interpretation of the idea of spiritual light. "Light, in which not only the visible, but also the intelligible domain expresses itself, is not the light of the sun, but the light of the spirit, "nous,"" this is how the twentieth-century Western European philosopher H.-G. Gadamer presented the understanding of the nature of light in antiquity (Plato, Aristotle). Moving from the commentary of antiquity to the interpretation of the medieval paradigm of light, Gadamer paid attention to the judgments of St. Augustine, who noted that light was created before differently luminous celestial bodies appeared. "It is only at the creation of light that God begins to speak for the first time," Gadamer continued his analysis of St. Augustine's study of the Book of Genesis ^{[6, 558]}. "This utterance of God, which calls for and creates light, he [St. Augustine] interprets as the spiritual emergence of light (Lichtwerlung), thanks to which it becomes possible to distinguish between shaped things," Gadamer summarized ^{[6, 558]}.

Following the Neoplatonic-Christian tradition, Messiaen developed and implemented a visual dramatic strategy of light and color transformations in opera. Using Gadamer's definition, the essence of this strategy can be described as "a way of being light" ^{[6, 557]}. The scenic embodiment of the idea of light metamorphoses consists in a gradual increase in the intensity of light and color radiation: in acts I and II, the choir, located in the depths of a darkened or barely illuminated stage, is "invisible". In Act III (the seventh painting), the light and color scheme of the stage space is changeable: light rays of various shades, in accordance with the instructions of the composer, change the intensity of illumination of the stage space. The author's remarks are written both in the libretto and in the scores of the seventh and eighth paintings of the opera.

Light and color projections gradually make the contours of choral groups performing verbal and non-verbal parts distinguishable. Messiaen applied a subtle strategic decision about the need to match the color shades of the stage lighting, the color of the scenery and the stage costumes of the performers of the choral parts. The gradual movement of the choir to the foreground at the beginning of the coda of the "Franciscan Scenes" is accompanied by an increasing intensity of lighting; in the sound space of the coda, the dynamics of sound waves are proportionally distributed, which is a crescendo.

Special stage lighting, in which projections of light and color rays move in the space of a dark or partially illuminated stage, represents a symbolic level of visual elements in opera. The "Way of Being Light" interacts with diverse parameters of the vocal-symphonic fabric, revealing a synthesis of light-color and sound elements in the opera code.

The idea of spiritual light is conveyed by the non-verbal parts of the choir singing with its mouth open. Messiaen's immediate predecessor in the implementation of the idea of spiritual light in the French musical theater, as is known, was the composer Paul Duca, the author of the opera Ariane and Bluebeard (1908), based on the play by M. Maeterlinck Ariane and Bluebeard, or Useless Liberation (1905). Messiaen has mentioned more than once that he studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire with Duke. At the request of his professor, a year before the latter's death, Messiaen wrote an analytical article, "Ariana and Bluebeard by Paul Duke," in which he revealed the artistic intent and features of the dramaturgy of the opera. Messiaen outlined in the article the main idea of Duke's opera, created in line with the Christian tradition. The opera is dominated by the idea of spiritual light-truth. Messiaen's article is framed by a quote from the Gospel of John, which the researcher, following the author of the opera, called the source of the artistic idea of the work: "La lumiere luit dans les ténèbres et les ténèbres ne l'ont pas compress" ("And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not embrace it") (John, 1,5) ^{[24, 79]}. The vocal-symphonic climax of Duke's opera, dubbed "Dancing on Clouds," conveys the idea of spiritual joy.

In the Franciscan Scenes, Messiaen, like Duke in the opera Ariana and Bluebeard, embodied the ideas of light, truth, and spiritual joy in line with the Christian tradition. Following Duke's advice, which conditionally conveyed the singing of a bird at the climax of "Ariana...", Messiaen turned to creating an extensive musical ornithology in his own work. In the opera "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan scenes" the composer presented samples of the instrumental embodiment of bird song. For the sixth painting, "A Sermon to Birds," the composer composed two bird concerts. If the "big bird concert" serves as an overture to the sixth painting, then the "small bird concert" is an interlude in the composition of this painting. Messiaen noted in the libretto: "Petit concert d'oiseaux" ^{[26, 84]}.

As you know, the idea of spiritual light was consistently translated into the musical concept of the mystery "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" by Debussy, created on the poetic text of the mystery of the same name by G. d'Annunzio (1915). Taking into account the well—known fact of Messiaen's deep reverence for Debussy's art, it can be argued that Messiaen continued to develop the idea of spiritual light following his great predecessors, the masters of French musical and theatrical art of the first half of the 20th century. At the same time, the interpretation of the idea of spiritual light in Messiaen's opera is distinguished not by the composer's commitment to a certain (impressionistic) system of expressive means, but by the ability to create new modes, metro-rhythmic systems, "timbre-rhythmic characters", as well as new forms of musical ornithology and musical and theatrical liturgy.

The interpretation of the idea of spiritual light in Messiaen's opera is distinguished by its deep connection with the basic spiritual ideas and the super-idea of the Franciscan Scenes. The coda of the opera finale reveals a polyphony of spiritual meanings. Thus, the meaning of the text of the composer's remark ("Everything disappears, everything fades...") is reflected in the text of the paraphrase from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (Chapters 15, 40-43). The meaning of the spiritual axiom about the resurrection of the dead from the author's paraphrase in the first part of the code intersects with the meaning of the text of the choral part from the second part of the code: "He rises in power, glory and joy!!!" (numbers 151-153).

In the code of the opera finale, Messiaen expressed the idea of St. Francis of Assisi's involvement in the primary source of spiritual light. The philosopher Teilhard de Chardin characterized the source of spiritual light as a phenomenon of "some kind of inner tension or deep radiance" ^{[16, 104]}. Here we are talking about the state of mind of the main character of the Franciscan Scenes reflected in Messiaen's music, but not at all about an attempt at a theological interpretation of the idea of "inner light." Teilhard de Chardin distinguished the psychological nature of the "inner light" of the soul of Christian saints. Revealing the universal meaning of the spiritual source of "inner light", the researcher noted: "... the world appears to the Christian mystic bathed in inner light, revealing its relief, structure and depth. This light is inaccessible to simple perception <...> It is a steady and strong radiance generated by the union of all the elements of the world in Christ" ^{[16, 104]}.

In the code of the opera finale, in the text of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians interpreted by Messiaen, the axiom about the difference in the light of heavenly bodies is directly compared with the idea of the immortality of the soul. While preserving the meaning of the text from the New Testament, the composer conveyed in music a special property of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi — inner light. The composer's interpretation of the idea of spiritual light in the code of the Franciscan Scenes reveals the involvement of St. Francis of Assisi in the mystery of revelation, in Christ the Truth. Reflecting on the mystical meaning of the "manifestations of God in the universe", Teilhard de Chardin distinguished the "glow of the inner levels of being" ^{[16, 105]}.

The idea of God's intentions in the universe reveals a deep kinship with the idea of a connection between man, the world and God. We previously noted the similarity in the interpretation of the final ideas of Catholicism in Claudel's mystery "The Good News of Mary" and in Messiaen's opera "Saint Francis of Assisi" in the article "Theological Aspects of the libretto"Saint Francis of Assisi. Franciscan scenes from Olivier Messiaen (2023).

The means of embodying the ideas of the era of high scholasticism and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi in the code of Messiaen's opera are verbal and non-verbal choral parts, forming an atmosphere of Franciscan spirituality in the work.

The metamorphosis of the role of the choir served as a tool for establishing a spiritual super-idea in the work's code. Non—verbal choral parts reveal the involvement of the light of the saint's soul in the primordial light - Christ-Truth. One of the most famous sayings of Jesus Christ is the phrase: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

Interpreting the meaning of the opening verses of the Book of Genesis, which tell about the spiritual source of light, Messiaen used the technique of the crescendo sounding of verbal and non-verbal choral parts in combination with a gradual increase in the brightness of the light in the foreground. The synthesis of artistic elements dominates the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth paintings and the code of the Franciscan Scenes. Messiaen added plastic elements of dance and gestures to the interaction of artistic elements of theatrical art, music and painting in the fourth and fifth paintings. The synthesis of artistic elements of various arts and elements of temple sacredness led Messiaen to create a new form of theatrical liturgy in the French musical theater of the second half of the 20th century.

Interpretation of the ideas of praise to God in creation, resurrection of the dead and spiritual joy in the first part of the code of the Franciscan Scenes: functions of the choir

The word of Holy Scripture forms the spiritual space of Messiaen's opera. Having interpreted a number of sacred texts in Acts I and II of the Franciscan Scenes, the composer also conveyed the meaning of spiritual axioms from the Old and New Testaments in Act III.

The composition of the final coda of the Franciscan Scenes can be divided into two parts. The first part (pages 155-194) includes verbal choral parts; the second part contains non-verbal and verbal choral parts. The first movement consists of three sections in the tempo Modéré un peu lent, alternating with three sections in the moving tempo: Vif, Plus vif, Un peu vif. In each of the three sections of Un peu vif, Messiaen noted the singing of two larks in the field: "Alouette champêtre" ^{[30, 160, 175, 183]}. The expanded symphonic episode Un peu vif (numbers 145-147), which includes 59 bars, asserts the idea of praising God in creation ^{[25, 183-194]}. The episode Un peu vif conveys the thought of St. Francis of Assisi about birds as perfect creatures of God. At the culmination of the sixth painting, "Preaching to the Birds," St. Francis blessed the birds and commanded them to always and everywhere glorify the Lord. The idea of praising the Creator and creations connects the symphonic episodes of the opera "from a distance", in which various intonation and rhythmic complexes convey the diversity of birdsong.

In the first, sixth paintings and in the first part of the final coda of the opera, the enthusiastic singing of two field larks reflects St. Francis of Assisi's idea of heavenly/spiritual joy. The orchestral episodes in moving tempos form a dramatic arch with the sixth picture of the opera, in which Messiaen captured personalized images of birds — "brother wren", "Sister Capinera", the gyrfalcon "Brother Geppio", orioles, blackbirds, robins and many other birds. Like Saint Francis of Assisi, Messiaen considered birds to be God's perfect creations. "Didn't Messiaen call birds little servants of immaterial joy?" asked the author of the first monograph on Messiaen's work, G. Halbreisch ^{[27, 500]}. The researcher noted: "Joy refers not only to the miraculous healing of a leper, but also to the growth of grace in the soul of a saint" ^{[27, 501]}. The rhythmic-intonation complexes of the theme of joy have a continuous symphonic development in the third, fifth, sixth, and eighth paintings and in the code of the Franciscan Scenes.

In the first part, the party codes of the protagonist choir placed in the foreground contain a paraphrase from the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to the Corinthians (Chapters 15, 40-43): 1. "Another light of the moon, another light of the sun, / Hallelujah!" (numbers 128-129). 2. "There are earthly bodies, there are heavenly bodies, Hallelujah!" (numbers 133-134). 3. "Even the light of one star is different from the light of another star! So it is at the resurrection of the dead, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!" (numbers 140-142). Interpreting the text from the New Testament, the composer rearranged stanzas 40 and 41 and added the exclamations "hallelujah!" ("praise the Lord!") to the choral parts. While preserving the meaning of the text of Holy Scripture, Messiaen also conveyed in the text of the paraphrase the meaning of the spiritual hymn of St. Francis of Assisi, "The Song of Praise to God in Creation."

A special feature of the interpretation of spiritual ideas in the opera finale is the integration into the musical fabric of the first part of the final coda of the work of diverse voices and rhythmic intonation formulas of bird singing. Birdsong confirms in opera the idea of praising the Creator and creatures. The cross-conceptual connections of spiritual ideas and thematic elements "at a distance" characterize the theological concept and musical drama of the "Franciscan Scenes". The space of the spiritual meaning of the first part of the code represents a polyphonic interaction of ideas. These are the ideas of God's creation of earthly and heavenly bodies, praise to God, the resurrection of the dead, as well as the idea of birdsong as a manifestation of spiritual joy in the world.

The super-idea of the opera in the second part of the final coda: chorus functions

The second part of the code (pages 195-203) includes a sequence of three concise episodes: Lent (number 148), Vif (number 153, bars 1-8), Très lent (number 153, bars 9-12). At the beginning of the vocal-symphonic episode of Lent, non-verbal parts of the choir singing with their mouths open (number 148) enter, revealing in the code the existence of spiritual reality, the triumph of spiritual light, and the depth of "God's manifestation in the Universe" ^{[16, 105]}. A performance by an open-mouthed choir, accompanied by orchestral parts, frames the second part of the coda. By participating in the formation of the opera's super-idea, non-verbal choral parts reveal their measure of the metaphysical idea of the interaction between man, the world and God.

The parameters of dynamics and timbre determine the nature of the development of the vocal-symphonic fabric. The intensity of the sound (from fortissimo to superfortissimo) increases from the beginning to the end of the code in accordance with the logic of the unfolding dynamic drama of light and musical meaning, in the form of three dynamic waves. The first wave of crescendoing sonority (from ff to ffff) and a synchronous increase in the brightness of the luminous flux characterizes the movement of the vocal-symphonic fabric with the participation of non-verbal choral parts (numbers 148-149).

The beginning of the second light-sound wave coincides with the beginning of the verbal choral parts (Lent, number 149, measure 5); the intensity of the vocal-symphonic fabric increases from forte to forte fortissimo. The sound of non-verbal choral parts (numbers 148-149) in the vocal-symphonic episode of Lent interacts with the sound layer in which the protagonist choir sings about the resurrection of St. Francis of Assisi, completing the paraphrase of the text of the "Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians." The original source says: "It is sown in humiliation, it is raised up in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised up in power" (Chap. 15; 43). The solemn vocal-symphonic presentation (with the participation of non-verbal choral parts) of the main theme of St. Francis (numbers 148-149) in magnification, in choral texture indicates the consistent embodiment of the principle of cross-rhythmic-intonation connections in the musical drama of the opera.

The choral parts perform the function of expanding the spiritual space of the opera. The composition of the choir, divided into groups, performing verbal parts, is impressive: the first and second sopranos, a group of mezzo-sopranos, the first and second contralto, the first and second tenors, baritones and the first group of basses (each group includes fifteen voices). The solo choral group of the first basses contains the beginning of the author's paraphrase: "Out of suffering, weakness and humiliation..." (figure 149, measure 5). The groups of the first and second contralto voices, as well as the first and second basses, joining in turn, continue the remaining unfinished phrase: "he is resurrected ...". The mezzo-soprano and first soprano groups repeat the thesis of his resurrection (number 152) and affirm the idea of spiritual joy. The continuation of the unfinished phrase "In power, glory and ..." is performed by crescendo. The phrase, unfinished by the choral group, intrudes into the sound space of the Vif episode introduced by the composer using the contrasting juxtaposition method. The choir (tutti, fff) exclaims: "... joy!!!" (number 153, measure 1) ^{[25, 200]}.

Interpreting the universal Christian axiom of the resurrection of the dead, the Messianic choir conveyed the event of the resurrection of St. Francis of Assisi to a new life "in power, glory and joy." By paraphrasing, the composer compared the ideas of the resurrection of the dead and spiritual joy. Saint Francis of Assisi outlined the idea of spiritual joy in the didactic text "Instruction on True and Perfect Joy", which concludes with the spiritual aphorism: "If I keep patience and do not get angry, this is true joy, true virtue and salvation of the soul" ^{[13, 35]}.

The monuments of Franciscan spirituality, the "Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi" and the "Mirror of Perfection", contain examples of the Christian behavior of St. Francis of Assisi, who was always friendly, cheerful and "rejoicing in the Lord" ^{[19, 255]}. Thus, chapter XXVII of the Mirror of Perfection collection of instructive texts tells about "how St. Francis loved spiritual joy in himself and in others." At the beginning of this chapter, it says: "Blessed Francis constantly strove to preserve spiritual joy in himself all the time, with the exception of hours of prayer and divine service" ^{[19, 332]}.

In the musical fabric of the opera, the theme of joy receives a continuous symphonic development, the first appearance of which in the third painting ("The Kiss of the Leper") is preceded by the theme of perfect joy. In the handwritten list of musical examples from the opera, the composer noted two themes: "Thème de la joie" No. 3 ("Theme of Joy") and "Thème de la joie parfaite" ("Theme of perfect Joy") №5 ^{[26, 102]}. The theme of perfect joy first appears in the orchestral introduction to the first painting ("The Cross"); here Messiaen captured the peculiarities of the singing of two field larks. Symphonic episodes containing samples of the singing of these birds in the first painting frame the dialogue scene between St. Francis of Assisi and his companion, Brother Leon. The desire of St. Francis of Assisi to taste spiritual joy was fulfilled by Messiaen in the finale of the fifth painting "The Angel Musician".

In the third painting ("The Kiss of the Leper"), the singing of two larks in the field represents the instrumental realization of the idea of spiritual joy. In the sixth painting, "A Sermon to the Birds," the singing of two field larks conveys an ecstatic experience of unearthly joy.

In the second part of the final coda of the opera, the composer expressed the idea of spiritual joy in the text of the choral parts, in the form of a paraphrase: "From suffering, infirmity and humiliation, he rises in power, glory and joy!" ^{[25, 196-200]}. The idea of spiritual joy is the Franciscan spiritual idea of the work. The meaning of the first and eighth paintings of the Franciscan Scenes is united by the composer's interpretation of the apology of St. Francis of Assisi "Instruction on True and Perfect Joy." In the first painting, "The Cross," St. Francis, explaining to Brother Leon the meaning of "Instruction...", spoke of the joy of voluntarily overcoming any troubles, sufferings, and insults out of love for Christ: "We cannot magnify and glorify ourselves with all the other gifts of God, since they come not from us, but from Him. <...> But we can be magnified by bearing the cross, by sorrows and sufferings, because they are inherent in us. Therefore the apostle says: "I will be glorified only on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" ^{[26, 50]}.

The second part of the coda of the opera finale asserts the idea of the resurrection of the main character of the opera "in power, glory and joy" ^{[25, 196-200]}. At the beginning of the vocal-symphonic episode of Vif (number 153), the second wave of the drama of light reaches its peak; the theme of spiritual joy is confirmed in the parts of the choir and the symphony orchestra.

The final episode (Très lent, number 153, bars 9-12) features non-verbal choral parts singing forte right up to the final chord. Non-verbal choral parts frame the sound space of the final coda of the Franciscan Scenes.

The idea of a connection between Saint Francis of Assisi and Christ is a cross-cutting idea of the "Franciscan Scenes". Her development in the opera's code forms a semantic and compositional arch with the vocal-symphonic episode from the eighth painting "I Called..." (Très lent, numbers 74-78). In the code, the Très lent episode performs a formative function. The Très lent episodes from the eighth picture and from the final coda of the opera "serve as a manifestation of how the created approaches and comes into contact with another sphere, gaining a connection with God" ^{[7, 4]}. Thinker Romano Guardini, revealing the idea of man's connection with God through faith, noted: "God did not abandon his creation" ^{[7, 4]}. Interpreting the spiritual idea of the connection between man and God, Messiaen uses the method of philosophical transposition to move this idea into the register of philosophical generalization. Non-verbal choral parts convey the universal meaning of the idea of connection between man, the world and God. In Claudel's mystery "The Good News of Mary", this idea is presented as a religious and philosophical outcome of the work. Revealing a direct connection with the tradition of Claudel's Catholicism, Messiaen expressed the idea of a connection between man, the world and God at the level of the super-idea of the "Franciscan scenes"; it is included in the complex of ideas of Franciscan spirituality.

The non-verbal parts of the protagonist choir in the foreground withstand the maximum sound intensity (fff) until the final chord of the opera (number 153). The development of the drama of light reaches its apogee: the light on the stage gradually becomes unbearably bright. The synthesis of the elements of sound and light gives the code of the opera finale the meaning of a sacred action.

The long pause after the final chord in the opera's coda is marked with a fermata sign. The long silence symbolizes the depth of mystery, characterizing the interaction of man with God.

The opera's super-idea outlined the "most powerful phenomena of existence": time, space, eternity, frailty, death, and the immortality of the soul. The super-idea of the "Franciscan Scenes" conveys, at the same time, the universal meaning of moral values such as nobility, sincerity, love, meekness, humility and a joyful attitude of the soul. The meaning of the lofty concepts in question contained such a given as the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Turning to the conclusions, we note:

Interpreting the verses of Holy Scripture, the ideas of high Scholasticism, and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi in the finale of the Franciscan Scenes, Messiaen chose the choir as an instrument necessary for interpreting these ideas and performing certain dramatic functions.

The complex of spiritual ideas in Messiaen's opera contains a super-idea: the connection between man, the world and God.

In the opera, the choir performs paraphrases of the ideas of high scholasticism interpreted by the composer and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi.

The vocal and symphonic episodes, repeated in the form of responses, in which Messiaen interpreted verses of Psalm 141, introduce elements of temple sacredness into the operatic drama and create an atmosphere of Franciscan spirituality in the work.

The new forms of Messianic musical and theatrical liturgy continue the tradition of P. Claudel's Catholic mystery drama The Good News of Mary.

The non-verbal parts of the invisible choir in the vocal and symphonic episodes, interpreting the idea of the transformation of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi under the influence of grace, participate in the creation of the spiritual space of the opera.

The non-verbal parts of the invisible choir create cross musical and dramatic connections between the paintings, giving the opera a conceptual unity.

Along with the monologues of St. Francis of Assisi, the choral parts that reveal the ideas of spiritual joy and praise of God in the creations in the opera form the space of Franciscan spirituality in the work.

Revealing the composer's interpretation of the verses of Holy Scripture, the spiritual ideas of the era of high Scholasticism and the texts of St. Francis of Assisi, the choir acts as a commentator, participant in the action, a "collective character" and, finally, a protagonist. The stage functions of the choir are variable.

In the finale of the opera "St. Francis of Assisi. Franciscan scenes" Messiaen interpreted the following spiritual ideas: death as the liberation of the soul "from prison", inner spirituality, the transformation of the soul of St. Francis of Assisi under the influence of grace, truth, immortality of the soul, spiritual light, praise of God in creation and spiritual joy.