peter jerrim

Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus (Twenty Ways of Looking at the Infant Jesus) is one of the great works for piano from the twentieth century. I have loosely based the 20 stanzas of Kim’s game on Messiaen’s 20 ’regards’.

I had the pleasure of meeting Messiaen in 1988. For a short time we talked about the relationship between literary works and his music.

The movements/stanzas of the works are entitled:

• Regard du Père – Regard of the Father
• Regard de L’Étoile – Regard of the star
• L’Échange – The exchange
• Regard de la Vierge – Regard of the Virgin
• Regard du Fils sur le Fils – Regard of the Son towards the Son
• Par Lui tout a été fait – By Him everything was made
• Regard de la Croix – Regard of the Cross
• Regard des Hauteurs – Regard of the heights
• Regard du Temps – Regard of time
• Regard de l’esprit de Joie – Regard of the Spirit of Joy
• Première communion de la Vierge – First communion of the Virgin
• La Parole toute-puissante – The all-powerful word
• Noël – Noel
• Regard des Anges – Regard of the Angels
• Le Baiser de L’Enfant-Jésus – The kiss of the Child Jesus
• Regard des Prophètes, des Bergers et des Mages – Regard of the prophets, the shepherds and the Wise Men
• Regard du Silence – Regard of silence
• Regard de l’Onction terrible – Regard of the terrible Unction
• Je dors, mais mon coeur veille – I sleep, but my heart is awake
• Regard de l’Église d’Amour – Regard of the Church of Love