In autumn of 1929, Messiaen acquainted himself with Charles Quef, then-titular-organist at the Église de la Sainte Trinité in the ninth arrondissement of Paris.

The Diptyque was dedicated to two of the most influential composers and teachers of Messiaen: Marcel Dupré and Paul Dukas.

[citation needed] Marked Modéré (andante, ♩ = 50; time signature 24) in the key of C minor, its first section, "La vie terrestre, avec ses agitations inutiles" (The Earthly life, with its arid encumbrances) is a rapid-paced toccata with a repeating seven-note motif.

[4] According to Messiaen, it is "an adagio in C major, based on a single serene ascending phrase", which "expresses the peace and charity of Christian paradise".

[1][5] Le paradis was rearranged (from memory) for violin and piano for the eighth and last movement ("Louange à l'immortalité de Jésus"; "Praise to the immortality of Jesus") of his 1940-1941 Quatuor pour la fin du temps.