Noël Breton (from Huit Chants de Bretagne)

Based on a noel from Langlais' birthplace in Brittany, Noël Breton is No. 4 in his 'Huit Chants de Bretagne.' The collection, composed in 1974, marked a deliberate departure from his previous compositions. Langlais himself said "I wanted to cleanse myself from the complex and violent style of the Cinq mèditations sur l'apocalypse. I instinctively returned toward my Celtic origins. The result is an homage to my native country, to my compatriots. Tournemire's Gregorian harmonizations, which are very dissonant but which never destroy the melody, guided me in this work. Throughout I wished to remain simple." (Jean Langlais, The Man and His Music by Ann Labounsky)

The carol on which the piece is based (and which Langlais also used in his Rhapsodie sur deux noëls) is called "Joseph sommeillait encore." The first first verse and rough translation are as follows:

Joseph sommeillait encore,
Quand un ange bien appris
Lui dit : Le Dieu que j'adore
Par moi vous donne avis,
Vous et l'enfant et sa mère,
Levez-vous,
Et fuyez de la colère
D'un jaloux.

Joseph was still asleep,
When a well-learned angel
Said to him: The God that I adore
By me give you notice,
You and the child and his mother,
Get up,
And run away from anger
Of a jealous person.