Et iterum venturus est ("And He shall come again")

Et iterum venturus est ("And He shall come again") is an oratorio in 7 sections for soprano and bass-baritone soloists, large mixed choir and orchestra, written in memory of Olivier Messiaen and commissioned by SOLI DEO GLORIA Inc. The sung text (Latin/Greek) is drawn from the Old and New Testaments, with orchestral interludes inspired by the writings of Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Simone Weil, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Olivier Messiaen - all born in the years 1904-1909). The title is taken from the Nicene Creed - explicitly referenced by Messiaen in his works on several occasions (the movement Par Lui tout a été fait (By Him all things were made) from the piano cycle Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus, Les choses visibles et invisibles from the Messe de la Pentecôte for organ or Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (I look to the resurrection of the dead) for wind orchestra). The words Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, iudicare vivos et mortuos, cuius regni non erit finis (And He shall come again to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom shall have no end) do not appear explicitly in Messiaen's works, but can be said to be paraphrased in the composer's own libretto for his opera St François d'Assise in the 7th tableau of Act III, Les Stigmates :

"Je suis la Vérité d'où part tout ce qui est vrai, la première Parole, le Verbe du Père, celui qui donne l'Esprit, est mort et ressuscité, Grand Prêtre éternellement : l'Homme-Dieu ! Qui vient de l'envers du temps, va du futur au passé, et s'avance pour juger, juger le monde..."

"I am the Truth from whence comes all that is true, the first Word, Word of the Father, He who gives the Spirit, died and rose again, eternal High Priest: the Man-God! Who comes from the reverse side of time, goes from the future to the past, and goes forth to judge, to judge the world..."

Et iterum venturus est is conceived as an Advent work in the sense that the liturgical texts from the end of November (Christ the King Sunday) and the first weeks of Advent focus on the Second Coming of Christ, a theme which has received relatively little musical attention in the modern period. It was premièred at the Church of La Trinité in Paris on December 9, 2008 on the eve of Messiaen's 100th birthday in the closing concert of the centenary cycle of events in the church where he was organist from 1929 until his death in 1992. Performers: Aleksandra Zamojska (soprano), Matthew Brook (bass-baritone), Maîtrise de Paris, Choeur de l'Armée française, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, conducted by Peter Bannister.

Movements: I. Fall and Protoevangelion II. Prophecy III. Incarnation IV. Kenosis V. Resurrection VI. Ascension VII. Parousia

Duration: 60 minutes