Petit-poème1 and 2 were composed successively in July, 1917 and dedicated to Etsuko Terasaki. There is no Japanese title “聖福 (Seifuku)” in the French title, which reads simply ‘petit poème’. The reason why Yamada chose the title “聖福” remains unclear. However, it seems to relate with the birth of his first daughter in April of the year of the composition. Before marrying with his wife Kikuo in November 1916, Yamada caused trouble regarding a love-affair and marriage, but without a child. His daughter Misa, born just before the composition of these pieces, is the first child for him. Their Japanese title can possibly reflect his great delight of having a child as a father. Literally “Seifuku” means “holy happiness/celebration”, this meaning of the title indicates that the father regarded his delight of having the first child, the birth itself as ‘holy’.

The piece was first performed by the composer himself in October of the same year. A series of his petit poèmes are pieces written in a Scrjabin-like style and sometimes with the title of private connotation (Yoko Goto, “Yamada Kósçak”, ed. by Kunihiko Shimonaka, Ongaku-Daijiten (Grand Music Dictionary), vol. 5, Tokyo: Heibonsya, 1983, p. 2619). It is true to the style of Seifuku1 as well.