A particularly interesting moment is the one corresponding to section D, where new melodic material appears; the contrast with the original antiphon, the rise of the melody to its highest point, as well as a rather unusual crescendo coming from “inside the sound” (obtained by the addition of the foundation stops of 8’ and 4’, which make the sound broader but not higher in pitch as it would happen in a traditional crescendo at the organ) create the apex of tension in this movement, corresponding to the last invocation of the text “O clemens: O pia: O dulcis Virgo Maria”.

The score starts with the statement “Our body is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. And it is like the angels of God in heaven.” (I Corinthians XV, 44; Matthew, XXII, 3). Despite this cycle being focused on the characteristics of the glorified (=resurrected) bodies, it was not uncommon for Messiaen to start such a journey with the first cause that made this theological event possible, in this case Jesus’ incarnation in Mary’s womb. This is confirmed by the use of the Marian antiphon of the “Salve Regina” as the compositional base for this movement which, following Messiaen’s belief of Melody as the “noblest element of music” (O. Messiaen, 1944, p. 31), is entirely developed as a monody, representing the purity of the Virgin Mary, set in in his Second Mode of limited transposition.

            The structure of this movement is made very clear by the fact that each phrase, to be played on the Grand Orgue as indicated by the letter “G” on the score, is followed by the repetition of its last few notes on the Positif  (“Pos”), in the form of an echo. This sort of musical punctuation contributes to create a prayerful, mantra-like atmosphere, created by the contour of the expansion of both melody and rhythm, which reflects the mysticism hidden within the text. The formal structure 

of the “Salve Regina”, is followed quite closely by Messiaen, as can be seen by the comparison in Figure 3; however, he adds the use of the “A” phrase as a sort of refrain throughout the piece.

            It is interesting to notice how Messiaen gradually increases the gap between the Marian and his new melody, as well as using the polarity between the tonal centres of d and a as an additional way of creating tension. Lastly, the choice of registration also suggests an intention to give extra intensity to this monody: Messiaen prescribes the use of the cornet on each manual, which despite being a single stops, it involves 5 different pipes for every note being played[1].