Mors et Vita

After his stay at the Villa Medici, Gounod became the organist and choirmaster at the Missions Etrangères church. During his time in this post, his faith grew so strong that, in 1847,  he asked the Archbishop of Paris for permission to wear ecclesiastical dress (which he was granted). Although the theatre proved too much of a draw and Gounod finally turned away from a career as a priest, he devoted his life to writing religious music: masses, motets and oratorios. Following the German invasion of 1870, the composer stayed for several years in England where he wrote and gave performances of a good many of his works. On 26 August 1885, when Gounod was again living in France, Mors et Vita was performed at the Birmingham Festival by four soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra. The oratorio was then given at the Albert Hall in London on 26 February 1886, then in Paris, at the Palais du Trocadéro, on 22 May the same year. In both France and England, the work was received enthusiastically by audiences. The critics particularly praised the Judex of the second part, which bears similarities to the introduction of Faust. Comprising a Requiem in twelve numbers then a musical setting of several verses from the Gospel of St. Matthew and the Book of Revelation, Mors et Vita is intended to illustrate the manner in which death opens the way to eternal life, evoked by the composer’s colourful and predominantly descriptive sound painting. In line with a typically Wagnerian technique, the discourse is based on the transformation of four “musical forms”, or recurrent motifs, that represent religious feelings or events.