Contemporains

The art of choral composition had become an estab­lished tradition in Switzerland by the 19th Century at the latest. It is no wonder, therefore, that the genre accompanied Frank Martin throughout his creative life, from the motet Pourquoi voient-ils le jour? written in 1909 when he was just 19 years old, until his final cantata, Et la vie l’emporta, composed in 1974, a few months before his death. It inspired some of his most notable masterpieces (the Mass for Double Choir, Le vin herbé, In Terra Pax, Golgotha, among others), but he also produced a wealth of exquisite small-scale choral works.

The art of choral composition had become an estab-lished tradition in Switzerland by the 19th Century at the latest. It is no wonder, therefore, that the genre accompanied Frank Martin throughout his creative life, from the motetPourquoi voient-ils le jour?written in 1909 when he was just 19 years old, until his final cantata,Et la vie l'emporta, composed in 1974, a few months before his death. It inspired some of his most notable masterpieces (the Mass for Double Choir,Le vin herbe,In Terra Pax,Golgotha, among others), but he also produced a wealth of exquisite small-scale choral works.