2018 Concert Series Gallipoli to the Somme | Page 5

Paraphrase du Psalm 136
Léonce de Saint-Martin (1886-1954)
This remarkable composition for organ was written during the time when
Léonce de Saint-Martin was assistant to Louis Vierne, the cathedral
organist at Notre Dame in Paris. Saint-Martin was not a highly prolific
composer, but he did achieve shooting-star fame at the end of World War
II, with his extravagantly patriotic Toccata of the Liberation.
The Paraphrase is on a different wavelength entirely and might be described
as a four-movement symphonic poem for organ. It is based on the famous
lament of the Children of Israel following the sacking of the Jerusalem
temple and the consequent Jewish exile in Babylon. (“By the waters of
Babylon we sat down and wept”). The music is played continuously, but
falls into four clear sections, each of about four minutes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sadness of the captive Jews in Babylon
Lament for the lost home of Jerusalem
Babylon the Mighty
The Jews curse their Conquerors
Out of the opening ashes of
despair, a gloomy melody
rises with ever-increasing
intensity, but never seems to
break free. A long, low note
heralds a voice of lamentation
(section 2) but this is
suddenly swept aside by the
loud trumpets of Babylonian
power (section 3).
The fourth and final section
features low and evil ‘curse’
music that leads to enormous
crescendoes and climaxes,
but the soft ending recalls the
opening theme and speaks of
reconciliation, re-dedication,
and even the promise of an
eventual homecoming.
© Programme notes by Heath Lees
The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, where Léonce
de Saint-Martin was organist.
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