Éclairs sur l'au-delà...

Éclairs sur l’Au-Delà … (Lightning Over the Beyond … ) is an epic orchestral work by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1988–91, his last completed composition. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its 150th anniversary in 1992, Éclairs was first performed by that orchestra at Lincoln Center with Zubin Mehta conducting on 5 November of the anniversary year, just over six months after the composer's death.

“Éclairs” are flashes of lightning; “sur” translates in this context as over rather than on (cf. éclairs sur Paris, lightning over London); “l’Au-Delà,” capitalized, refers to the Hereafter, the Afterlife, or, literally, the Beyond. Messiaen is extending the imagery of the heavenly “city” with pearly “gates” described in the Book of Revelation. The weather event has the “light,” representing Jesus, and links to space and astronomy — two of the three threads in the 70-minute composition. Expression of theological ideas from the Roman Catholic faith, and an often ecstatic intention, are characteristic of the composer.

The third thread, birdsong, is transcribed into several of the eleven movements of the score. The specific birdsong used originates in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Singapore. Messiaen's sole visit to Australia was during that country's bicentennial celebrations in 1988, during the period he was writing Éclairs. Although earlier works (for example, Saint Francis of Assisi) had included Australian birdsong, Éclairs sur l’Au-Delà … is Messiaen's only work to use the sounds of Australian birds he notated in the wild. Messiaen's modes of limited transposition, another of his favorite techniques, are also used. The movements are:

The work is scored for an orchestra of 128, consisting of :

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