The work was completed on 25 August 1939, a week before the declaration of the Second World War and was premiered by Messiaen himself on 15 April 1945[1] at the Palais de Chaillot.
Les Corps Glorieux, divided into three books, consists of the following seven movements: The 'Subtlety of the Bodies Glorious' is a single unharmonised melody based on a Gregorian antiphon.
The epigraph of this movement reads: "The fragrance of incense rose up to God with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel."
Death initially embodies an aggressive toccata over a powerful low motif, after which life is represented by a quiet, meditative second half.
(from the Sequence and Introitus of the Easter festival) In "Power and rapidity of the bodies glorious", the main motif consists of a brief glissando followed by a staccato quaver chain on a single note, in octaves.
(Matthew 13:43) In contrast to La Nativité du Seigneur, the work calmly and solemnly concludes on a meditation on The Mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Contrasting stop registrations (32' in the pedal against 16' and 2 'in the Récit) dominate this movement, which may be regarded as a precursor (not in style but in subject) to the organ-cycle Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité.