description Les Béatitudes Overview
Les Béatitudes is a grand oratorio by French Romantic composer César Franck, composed between 1869 and 1879. The work sets the biblical Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount to music, divided into a prologue and eight movements. Franck scored the piece for vocal soloists, choir, organ, and orchestra, intending it to be a major statement of his religious and musical ideals. It stands as a significant, large-scale French choral work of the 19th century.
help Les Béatitudes FAQ
What biblical text does César Franck's Les Béatitudes use?
Les Béatitudes sets the Beatitudes from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. Franck expands those short Gospel sayings into a large dramatic work for soloists, choir, and orchestra.
How is Les Béatitudes structured?
The oratorio has a prologue followed by eight movements, corresponding to the work's treatment of the Beatitudes. Its design alternates large choral writing with solo and orchestral passages.
When did Franck compose Les Béatitudes?
César Franck composed Les Béatitudes between 1869 and 1879. The decade-long span reflects the scale and ambition of this major French Romantic choral work.
Is Les Béatitudes similar to Berlioz's Lélio or The Damnation of Faust?
It belongs to the same broad French Romantic tradition of combining theatrical drama with large orchestral forces, but Les Béatitudes is explicitly based on Christian scripture. Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust is a dramatic legend based on Goethe, not an oratorio about the Sermon on the Mount.
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