kraft- birdsong in the music of messiaen_vol1.pdf

5/22/2018 Kraft- Birdsong in the music of Messiaen_VOL1.pdf

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Birdsong n theMusicof Olivier Messiaen

A thesissubmittedo MiddlesexUniversityin partial ulfilmentof therequirementsor thedegreeofDoctor of Philosophy

DavidKraft

School of Art Design and Performing ArtsNfiddlesex University

December 000


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Abstract7be intentionof this investigations to formulatea chronological urveyof Messiaen sreatment fbirdsong,aking ntoaccounthespeciesnvolvedand hecomposer s volvingmethods f motivicmanipulation,nstrumentation,ncorporation f intrinsiccharacteristics ndstructure.Theapproachaken n this study s to surveyselected orks n turn, developingappropriateabularformswith regardo Messiaen s seof styleoiseau , dentifiedbird vocalisations ndevenhefrequentappearancesf music hat includesamiliar characteristicsf bird style, althoughnot solabelled n thescore.Due o therepetitivenatureof so manymotivicfragmentsn birdsong, t hasbecome ecessaryo develop ew erminologyand ncorporate erivationsrom otherresearchfindings.7be motivicclassification ables, or instance, resentheessentialmotivic features nsome erycomplexbirdsong.Thestudybeginsby establishingheimportanceof theuniquemusicalprocedures evelopedyMessiaen:hesenvolve, or example, uestions f form,melodyand rhythm.7heproblemofauthenticity - that is, thedegreeof accuracywith whichMessiaen hooseso treatbirdsong- isthenexamined. chronological urveyof Messiaen s seof birdsongn selectedmajorworksfollows,demonstratingn evolutionromthege-eral erm oiseau o thepreciseattributionofparticularmaterial o particularbirds.in laterperiods,hecomposer xplores ew,instrumentationndaccompanyingarmoniesorchordalcomplexities)o create,as closelyaspossible,heunique imbresandother diosyncrasiesof birds vocalisations; t thesameime,Messiaen eginso introducea much argervarietyofspeciesntohis music,usingbirdsong rom all over heworld. 7be representationsf birdsongaremuchmore authentic ,or at leastmorecolourful, han n previousworksandperhaps,with theaccompanyingortrayalof landscapen (for example)Catalogue,greaterverisimilitudes created.The nclusionof so manyexotic speciesn thescores f, for instance,SeptHarkarandChronochromies a resultof Messiaen smeticulous rnithologicalnvestigations ndpainstakingnotations.More mportantly, hemonophonic ird style endsncreasinglyo bereplaced y othertexturessuchas wo-voicehomophony, ornorhythin, ybrid formsandpolyphony.Themostpertinentworksof this final periodare evaluated, learlydisplayinghemany eatures feachbirdsongandcall, and heirpart in the structureof thepieces.Conclusions redrawnconcerninghe echnicalmeans ywhichthecomposerealiseshedistinguishingeatures f eachbirdsong.The hesis s sustained y a closestudyof threeelementsoverningMessiaen sreatmentof birdsong;rbythm.,melodyand structure),especially onsideringheclose elationship etweenthem.Therehasnotpreviouslybeena systematic ttempto analyseMessiaen s iecesn thisway.Thisresearch rovidesa coherent tructuraloverviewof Messiaen s mployment f birdsong,displaying ecurringpatternsound n theuseof rhythm,melodyand structure.Further, herecentpublicationof Messiaen s

Trait6 deRythme,deCouleuretd Ornithologie enablesheresearchobegenuinely p-to-date, sing hecomposer s ersonal omments n, and analyses f, birdsongsfound requentlyn hismusic.


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Acknowled2ements

I should ike to thankAlphonseLeduc n generalandHilary Thomsonat UnitedMusicPublishers td in particular or permissiono quoteextractsandmusicalexamplesromcopyrightmaterial. shouldalso ike to thankProfessorMichael Bridger mytutor for thefour years andMichaelFrith my second upervisor.Specialhanksmustgo to my parentsfor their continued upportand inancialhelp: heyhavegenerously aidfor fees booksandscores.Finally mythanks o PerryKeenlyside ndPeterHill for additionaladvice.


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Foreword

In a criticalstudy of thiskindwhereamusicaldevelopments surveyedover a substantialperiod(1928-1987),t is inevitablehatcertainworks aregiven more attention hanothers:as mportant nnovationsare cited, hecorrespondingections given a higher evelof analysis, nd hesennovationsareshownbothin the motivicclassification'ablesandin themusicalexamples. evertheless,n order o follow the thesisn detail, t will beusefWo havescoreso hand.Throughout he thesis haveemployedanumberofsymbolsn bold in orderto give specificdirectionso thereader.For example,p6, s2,b4lsignifiespagesix, systemwo, at bar four, further,IH/7 indicatesa musicalexamplenChapter II, numberseven.


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Contents

Chapter Background 1-14Chapter I Issuesn MessiaenResearch 15-44Chapter II MusicalLanguage f Messiaen 45-59Chapter V TheNotationof Birdsong 60-72ChapterV Characteristicsf Le StyleOiseau n Works 1933-1948 73-127ChapterVI The ExperimentalPeriod1949-1951 128-168ChapterVII R6veildesOiseauxandOiseauxExotiques 169-219ChapterVIII Catalogue Oiseaux 220-263Chapter X Useof Birdsong n SelectedWorks 1960-1987 264-336Conclusion 337-356MusicalExam les 357-457Bibliography 458-463Dissertations 464Discography 465466


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Gloi-tarvKey:-DK- original terms0: ornithological termsNI: Nfessinen'serms

agrandissementasymmitrique (1 1):histcchniquenvolves herepetitionof amelodiccell:notesare ransposed p or down,whileothers emain he same.alternator (DK): Two notes nterchangeoneaftertheother n a patternof equaldurations,often serniquavers.ommonntervalsare he tritoneor augmented ctave.bird call: A short,declarnatorysequence f pitches.birdsong:A section f musicwhichhasbeendentified ythecomposer ithaspecific ird.A birdsongcanbeshortwith repetitiveeatures, utmorecommonlyt ismelodic ndmoreelaboratehana call.block for7n:Thisterm susedby a few musicologists.t refers o an episodiccompositional tylewhich s contrary o a more developmental'orm. Most of thepiecesn CataloguedDiseaur juxtaposemanypassages,sually epresentationsfbird vocalisations nddepictionsof habitats.Thephraseblock form' is extendedoencompasshedevicewhere nstrumentalgroupswithin theftmework of anorchestralwork - typicallystrings,pianoand unedpercussion,woodwindandxylophone-trio play n theirrespective roups.chirp (0): A shortoftenstaccato,high-pitchedsoundwhich is usuallyat leastanoctaveabovesurrounding itches.chromatic rhythm (M): A seriesof durations n whicheachnote progressivelydiminishes r augments y one primaryunit (see Regardde I'Onction Terrible' fromVhiglRegards ur I'Difwit Jesus). -chordal-complexes:An inventedchordwhich s oftenused o simulatehetimbreofbirdsong.circadian time-scale M): Tenn employed yMessiaen escribinghe form of a piecebeingamicrocosmo& and elating o, the24 hour dailycycle.ethologist: Scientistof animalbehaviour,attemptingo elucidatedevelopment,functionandevolutionof animals.harmonic litany (51): A melodic cell of two or more notes repeatedwith severaldifferent harmonisations.


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hors tempo (NI): Thistechniques almostaleatoricn effect, althoughhebirdsongsare notatedprecisely.Certainbirdsongs,playedby specific nstruments, reheraldedby a sign romtheconductorand, herefore,play n their 'own time' independent ftherestof theorchestra.Thiseffect s found n 'The Sermono theBirds' from SainiFranoisd Assise 1975-83)and n thepolyphonicutti sectionsof Un 111railel desOiseaux. 1986).inferior resonance/loweresonance M): Thistechniques frequentlyusedbyMessiaen nd s producedwhena chord s playedoudly in thebassof a pianoandsetagainstotherchordsor notes. n CataloguedDiseaux, the fiandamentalphrases fbirdsongareoften accentuatedy thecoloursproducedby superioror inferiorresonances.eealso"superior esonance'.interruption call (DK): In earlyworks,therearemanyshort exclamatoryigures hatinterruptanotherexture:I referto theseappearancess interruptioncalls', althoughtheyareveryoftennot labelled styleoiseau'.Frequently,hecomplexityof thechordused n an 'interruptioncall' may give t analarmingquz ty. Theseshort interruptioncalls'appearhroughoutbirdsong.interversion system M): A systematisedorm of permutation:by additionorsubtraction,hythmicvalues ncreaseor decreasey onedurationalvalue(e.g. theserniquaver).hissystemsused n retrogradeorder or, in thecaseof Chronochronfie(for example), urationsmaybesubdividednto sets,providingrhythmicpatternsorthestructure.melographmona (0): An apparatushatprovidesanobjective egistrationoffrequencyandpressureevel n musicalsounds.There s a markedmprovement verthesonagram:heanalyser asa fasterresponse, nd a 'variable" ilter is included,isolating hefundamentalmelodic ine n thebirdsong.motivic classirication DK): A tabularmethodologywhich showsunderlyingcharacteristicsn somevery complexbirdsong.Thephrasemotivic classification'smy shorthand or this codification.The motivic classification'developsrom atableused o investigatehechorusof larks nMessede la PentecOte. ach hythrnandpitchcharacteristicsgivena letter:x, y andz... representpitchpredominance, hilea,b andc... areused o demonstrate ther eatures.Metrical formsandplainsongterminologyare alsoused n conjunctionwith thesecodes.These indingsare set out ina tablewhichgivesa comprehensivear-by-baror phrase-by-phraseccountof abirdsong.motivic slands: ndicates passagehat evolves round ertain itches. his ermwasoriginally sedbyPaulGriffiths 1985).onomatopoeic epresentation:Ornithologists aveattemptedo describehe qualityof bird vocalisationswithmnemonics.n thesameway,Messiaenncludesreal orinventedwords hatmostclosely esemblehesonoritiesof a particularbirdvocalisation:n Riveil desOiseaux, or instance,hesong hrush s portrayednmusicalnotationandaccompaniedy theonomatopoeia,6-di-di, i-di-di, tioto, tioto,tioto, tou-hitte'.


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personnages ythrniques (INI):Formedby three hythmiccontinuums.n thefirstgroupthedurations ncrease,n thesecondheydecrease,whilein the third, thedurations emainhe same.As Johnson dvises,hisdevice s arhythmiccounterpartothe 'agrandissementsym6trique' ystemwhere hepitchesshiftprogressively p anddownwhile oneremains onstant.prosody(INI):Metrical formsare usedn musicalanalysisn orderto describe tressorun-stress ndrhythmicpatternsn birdsong.A list of these ermscanbefound n theMusicalExamples, able11/1.plainchant phraseology M): Dueto therepetitivenatureof birdsong, ermsderivedfrom Gregorian hantare appositewhendescribingsimilar melodicshapes. list oftheseermscanbefound n theMusicalExamples, able 11/2.referencepoints/anchor points: In amusicalanguagehat is rarelydiatonic,reference oints provide helisteneror analyrtwith a sense f coherence. heyarepitches hatfeatureregularly n,abirdsongpassage,nd are ofien returnedo at theendof a phrase.renversementsransposis (M): Translated s [chordsofl transposednversions.Aseriesransposing hordal-complexes,suallyn a cadential ontext. n 'Le TraquetStapazin' Catalogued'Oiseaur, 1958) heinventedchord onC# is transposedprogressively p an-dnorhird: C#-E-G- Bb,while in La FauvelledesJardins(1970)sequencesre uninterrupted thebassnotes emain hesameand hevoiceleadingof theotherparts movesstep-by-stepatoneor a semitoneaway).resonancecontractie (AT):Translated s [chordsofl contracted esonance.Justas,accordingo Messiaen, nF# is perceivedn theperfectchord(seeMusicalExample111/1 -d), sotoo areharmonicmplicationsperceivedn a more complexchord ofMessiaen's wn invention. n a 'superior'or inferior resonance ffect,chordsarewidely-spaced;ut here,however,resonances achievedwithin a restrictedarea.Chordsof 'contracted esonance' regenerallywo compactchordal-complexeshatmerge ogethern a quasi-cadence,suallyplayedwith 'overlappinghands.rhythmic/pitch palindrome: This s a group of pitchesor rhythmswhichcanbereadthe sameorwardsasbackwards.Generally non-retrogradablehythm s a rhythmicpalindrome,which often ncludesan addednotevalue(that cannotbe dividedequally)at its centre.For example,a cretic rhythm s palindromic.sonagram(0): An apparatushat indicates,n graphic orm, the relativedifferencesnbsoundpressuren abird vocalisationor, indeed, n any musicalsound.style oiseau:Thisphrases reservedor bird stylephrases r cellswhich are notattributed o aparticular species. hisphrase analsobeused o refer o passageshathavebird-Ekequalities,even f theyhavenot beencreditedas suchby thecomposer.superior resonance/upper esonance M): Formedwhenaloud noteor chord on thepiano s playedaboveothermusicalmaterial.Seealso inferior resonance'.


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Was: Compositehythinic patterns.Thereare120 degi-tilas in the Indian RhythmicSystemecordedby Sharrigadeva.heircharacteristic metricality eplaceswesternnotionof beat with theshortestnote value.texture classirication:Adapted rom thedissertation f PhilipsandSun,aclassification f textureshasbeencompiled. haveextendedhecodification,originallyintendedor theanalysis f thepiano cycleCataloguedDiseaux, to encompasshelargerrangeof texturesn orchestralworks.Thetexturesare as ollows:(1) monophony2) homophonyn coequalemphasis3) homophonywith one voiceorpartdominant4) homorhythmn coequalemphasis5) homorhythmwith one voiceorpartdominant 6) hybrid extureand(7) polyphony.

vocalisation(0): Birdsong is oftendistinct rom bird calls .Thisterm encompassesboth forms.


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Chapter-1: Back2round

Thepurposentracing hecomposer'sackgroundsto placeMessiaenistorically ndsuggest ossibleeasonsor hisattraction o.birdsong.Theimportantperiodsof his ifearediscussed, ith passingeferenceso influentialworks writtenby othercomposers;naddition, heextent o whichhisown musicproved nfluential sconsidered. hecomposer'shilosophicalutlook,nvolvingan ntegrationf suchdiverse lementssnature, eauty,reedom,oveand heology,salsosurveyed.

Olivier Messiaens generally egarded s one of themost mportantcomposers f thetwentiethcentury.His compositions, hilosophyandpersonality avebeena focus or

manyarticlesandmonographs,et his nfluenceon themusicalworld derivesnot onlyftornhisoeuvre utalsoroma ifetime'sworkasa pedagogue.

Messiaenwasbornon 10December1903at Avignon.His father,Pierre, aughtEnglishand s bestknown for histranslationandanalysis f theworksof Shakespeare:ndeed,hemysteryandmagicof theseplayswere n theforefrontof Messiaen'smaginationat onlyeightyearsof age. fis mother,Cicile Sauvage,was a poetess: hewasof paramountimportanceo theyoungboy's artistic and emotionaldevelopment. heprophetic L'AmeenBourgeon'[The BurgeoningSoul', the lastchapterof herfirst book 'As theWorldTurns'], written by Messiaen'smotherbeforehewasborn,nodoubthada profoundeffectonMessiaen's haracterandphilosophy,while thesecondbook, Te Vallon', describes


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particularlybirdsandnature.Already Messiaenwasbeing ntroduced o aspects f life thatwould aterbecomebsessionssa grownman.ndeed, ismother aid,

'..all theOrient s singingherewithin me-with its bluebirds.,with its butterflies. '

Messiaenivedwith hismotherandgrandmothern GrenobleduringtheFirst World War.Themountainsof Dauphinyareclose o thiscity: they too influencedheyoung man'soutlook.Thesamemountain angeprovidedasourceof inspiration hat ledhimto write'Montagnes' thethird movementof thesongcycleHarawi) and he later La FauvelledesJardins.Messiaen assaid(seeRobert SherlawJohnson, 9) that hismotherbroughthim

up in an atmosphereipe with poetry and airy tales. t washere n GrenoblehatMessiaendiscovered ariousgreatclassicalmasterpieces,mongsthemMozart's 'Don Giovanni',Wagner's WalUre' andBerlioz's 'The Damnationof Faust'.Messiaen lsoreceivedasgifts piano piecesby RavelandDebussy.Betweenheagesof sevenand nine,Messiaentaughthimself o playthepiano.Thesempressionableyearsproducedan nquisitiveandculturedyoung man andhisfirst composition,The Ladyof Shalott'.

Messiaenmoved o NantesaftertheFirst World War. Duringthisbrief stayMessiaen orapidlygained herespectof someof thefinestmusiciansn the town that theyofferedhim

free essons. hemostnotableof thesemusicians,ehande Gibon, aughtMessiaenharmony.Messiaen adalreadybeen ntroducedo impressionisticmusicwith Debussy's'EstampeS 2however,JehandeGibongave hetenyearold a scoreof 'Pell6aset


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M61isande',nd t was hisoperawhich openedup a completelynewsoundworld to theyoungcomposer.

The influenceof Debussy's armony,soundcomplexesn orchestration nd rhyt is tosomeextentprevalentn Messiaen'sPreludesof 1929.Thesubtitlesof thepiecesarequitesimilar o thoseof Debussy- 'Les Sons mpalpables u R6ve',for example.On theotherhand,we rarely ind sonataorm and ernaryphrasesn Debussy, et there s muchreferenceo theseclassical onstructionsn Messiaen's reludes.According o Reverdthere s a strong esemblanceetweenMessiaen'sChantd'extacedansun Paysage riste'(Prehides)andDebussy s relude o 'Pell6asetMdlisande.Messiaen'smodesof limitedtranspositionwerealreadyquite sophisticatedndwereentirelydistinct rom thetonal/modalanguages f Debussy.At thisstage,Messiaen adyet to achieve degreeofrhythmicreedomomparableo Debussy. othDebussyndBartok ook nspirationfrom folksongandEasternmusic,addingelements erived rom them o their owncompositional tyles.Messiaen xtendedDebussy sarmonicandmodal anguage ysearchingor OrientalandGregorianmodes,while also exploring hemany Endu andGreek hythms. t is this rhythmic reedomwhichMessiaenwas,aboveall, to discovernbirdsong: hesesongswould provide nnumerable,nnovativesourcesof motivicmaterialfor compositions.

In 1919,MessiaennteredheParisConservatoireherehecontinuedisstudies ntil1930, alcingpiano essonswith GeorgesFalkenberg. ater, Messiaen tudiedharmonywith JeanGallonand received for tenyjears) rivate essons n musicalheory.and


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counterpoint Arith odl Gallon. Heundertookorganclasseswith Marcel Dupr6,historyofmusicwithMauriceEmmanuel,ercussionithJoseph aggers ndcomposition ithPaulDukas.t wasMarcelDupr6who ntroducedMessiaeno plainchant, rganregistrationand mprovisation,as well asgivingspecialattention o Greekmetres.Thediscoveryf the120 ndiandeg-Idlas hythms rovedo be nvaluableor sourcematerial, even n early works (especiallyafter LAscension). Theserhythms are describedby the thirteenthcenturyHindutheorist,Sharngadeva,n histreatise Sarrigita-ratnikara'.Themost mportant eatureof manyof these hythmss their inherentametricality:Messiaen erived heprincipleof 'addednotevalues'from boththe IEndurhythmsandtherhythmsof Stravinsky.Messiaenwould add a sixteenthnote, engthena noteor addasixteenth oteasarest.This became notablecharacteristic f Messiaen'sanguage:hetimelessnessf themusic s achieved y boththeabsence f a pulse which s due o theadded otevalueand hythmic=etricality) and heslow empiof some f thepiecesex]U11.4 Messiaen lreadyhadapredilectionor therhytlunscreatedby theuseof prime-numbers; fter subdividing ertaincells nto sixteenthnotes,durationsof 5,7,11,13,17 reoftenfound.

At theageof twenty-two, n1931,Messiaenwas appointedorganistat thechurchof LaSainteTrinit6 in Paris,a postwhichhe held or therestof his ife. Hewas heyoungesttitular organistn Franceat thetime.For manyyears,Messiaen layed hreemasses swell asvespers verySunday,andweddingsand uneralsduringtheweek, a scheduleaterreducedo two masses n Sunday.t may seemoddthatMessiaenwrote very little musicfor liturgicaluse,but all of theorganworksareon religioussubjects,even f theyare


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essentiallymeditativen nature,andare relevant or specificdates n theChristiancalendar. essiaenadgreataffectionor theCavailk-Collorganof La Tfinit6.Theextensiveange f coloursincludingome lectronic tops)s fullyutilisedn thesevenlarge-scale rgancycleshecomposedn hiscareer.Theorgancyclesof the 1930 swereL 4scension 1934),La NalivitJ (1935) andLesCorps Glorieux(1939). Messiaen shighly-tunedimbralcomplexities, hromaticharmonies nd mprovisations ecamesourceof inspiration or organistsand composers; owever,Catholicsand church-goerswereat firstshockedythemusicalanguage. anywhoobjected,nxiouso give hemusica label, ikened t to dancemusicor e-en azz. ThisangeredMessiaen, shewasvehemently pposednot onlyto jazz but also o Les Six and heirdisciples.

In 1936, Messiaen ecameheleaderof Ta JeuneFrance with composersolivet,Baudrier ndDaniel-Usur.Thebasicbeliefs f thisselect roupnvolved reaction othagainsthecomposers f thetimewho sometimesppearedo write musicsolely or thepurposeof beingdifficult and somewhatmechanical, nd hosewho seemedo trivialisetheform.At this time, themaindirectionof compositionswasfollowinga courseawayfrom romanticand mpressionisticssociations nd seeking efuge n eighteenth enturydancemusic,andazz. Messiaen s roup, on theotherhand,valuedmusic hat not onlyhadahumanelementbutwould touchpeopleon a spiritual evel,while remainingcerebral.Thegroup published manifestowl-dchoutlined heiraims,and a few concertswerearranged hichbroughta arge ollowing.Ta Jeune rance rokeup attheoutbreakof World War Two, afterwhichthecomposersollowedvery differentdirections.However, heseyearswerevery important or Messiaen: emarried he


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violinist,ClareDelbos,n 1936,and heyhada son,Pascal,n 1937.Thetwo songcyclesPoemespourMi(1936),ndCliamsdeTerreeldeCiel(1938)werenspired ythese

majoreventsnMessiaen sersonalife.Asthecomposer shythmic,melodic ndharmonicanguageevolves,bird style,althoughnot alwaysndicated,alsoappearsmorefrequently.The extsof thecyclesareboth religiousand surreal:.hewords arehonestnsentiment nd ypicalof hisown intrinsicmanner,o theextent hatonemight imagineMessiaen imselfadvisinganyonewho wished o understand ismusicbetterto beginbyreading hem.Messiaen soveof thedramaticsoprano oice s shownclearly n thesesongs,whichwere originally ntended or thevocallyflexibleandmusicallysensitiveMarcelleBunlet. Themusicof these wo cyclesncludes ery longextendedphrases, singtheextremes f asoprano s ocalrange.Messiaen howshathe hasawide knowledgeofthevoice:herevealsan understandingf theproblemsof diction,registerandbreathing.FewsingersaveackledPojmes ourMi, for instance,ut herehave ecently eensomeenlightening ersions,notablyby lane Manning,GabrielleDumaine,Felicity PalmerandPhylfisBryn-Julson.

Messiaenoined theannywhenwarbrokeout.He worked n ahospitaluntil 1940beforebeing akenprisonerafterFranceell to theGermans.He spent wo years n StalagVIII at66rlitz in Silesiawhere, n extremely old andunpleasantonditions,Messiaen omposedtheQuatuorpour la Fin A Tempsor clarinet,violin, cello andpiano.Thework wasperformedn thePOWcampon IS January1941.Messiaen imselfplayed hepiano,while fellow prisonersplayedheotherthree nstruments.MessiaenegardsLa NativiNand heQuartet s nitiating ewstagesn rhythmicreedom.n theQuartet,herhythmic


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systems basedon theaddednote value,primenumbers,Hinduand nonretrogradablerhythms,while heharmoniesremoredissonanthan hoseof previousworks. t ishere

thatspecifiedirdsongsare ntroducedor the irsttime.

After hisrepatriationn 1942,Messiaenwas appointedProfessorof Harmonyat theParisConservatoire.Over henextforty-fiveyears,Messiaenwas o includeamonghiscompositionpupilsa numberof distinguishedcomposers.n 1943hetaughtcompositionprivatelyat thehouseof a friend,GuyDelapierre.11isirst pupils ncluded he* ianists,YvetteGrimaudandYvonneLoriod, and hecomposer,PierreBoulez. MessiaenaterbecameProfessorof Aesthetics,AnalysisandRhythmat theConservatoire, ut it wasnotuntil 1966 hathewasofficially appointedProfessorof Composition.Stockhausen,Xenakis,Jolas,GoehrandBenjaminare amongsthe long ist of composerswhomMessiaenaught.The mmensepowerandopennesshathe possessedeflectedon hispupils:hewas nterestedn findingan ndividualvoicefor eachcomposer.Messiaenwastheantithesis f dogmatic,andrefusedo imposehismusicalechniques n any onecomposer, referring o makesuggestionsndask or something riginal.

'Throw away hebook I have aughtyou to readand add a new, whollyunexpectedpage

Messiaenwas veryimpressedwith the talentsof thepianistYvonneLoriod, laterto be hiswife. Her sensitivityo Messiaen's ompositions avehimthe incentive o write majorworks for solo pianoand a substantial uet. n fact,themusicof thenext sixyearswasalmostexclusivelywritten for thepiano.Thepiecesor pianowere VingiRegwz&sur


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I Difam Jisu.v(1944)andPsiotu de IAmeti (1943).Messiaen lso wrote pieceshatincludedhepiano practicallysasolo nstrument)n theorchestra,orexample, roisPetilesLittirgiesdelaPriseiiceDit,tie (1943)andheTurangalilaSymplimy(1946-1948)a fewyearsater.Thepianobecame veryprominenteatureof Messiaen smusicat this time:thefull rangeof the instrumentwas exploredwith experimental armoniesandremarkable irtuosityand, although hepianohasbeencriticisedasnot beingasuitablesubstituteor birdsongrepresentation,t isused egularly,and o great effect, othis end.Thepianocontinuedo playan ntegralr6le in the composer smusic hroughouthiscareer.Beforewriting the TurangafflaSymphony, isregard or Wagner specificallytheopera, TristanundIsoldes ),human oveand he oveof Godwereexpressedn thesong-cycleHarawi (1945),where herelationship etweenove anddeath s alsoexplored.

Theseworks established essiaenasa composer f highrepute,although hefirstperformance f TroisPelitesLiturgies de a PrisenceDivine on I April 1945causedsomething f amusicalscandal.Thecritics of the timewere eitheroutragedat themusicfor being asteless, r delightedwith hiscreativityandnew deas.Theavant-gardedetestedhenineteenth enturyharmonieshatwerecomplementedy atwentiethcenturyinstrumentation,onality/modalityandrhythm,whilethe traditionalistsdislikedboththeinstrumentation nd hedissonances,and heCatholicsdid not taketo thesupposedlyvulgartreatmentof sacred oncepts.Anotherproblemarose: he critics could not evenlabel hepiece,as t wasneitheranoratorio nora cantata.Thetext, writtenbyMessiaenhimself, s bothsurrealistic ndChristian.Messiaen sesa varietyof instrumentsn the


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work, including heondesmartenotwhichhe hadusedonthreepreviousoccasions.n asense, essiaenransfersheChurch ndts iturgy o theconcert all: I intendedo

accomplish iturgicalact, hat sto say,o bringakindof office,akindof organisedctof praise,nto theconcerthall. [O.Messiaenwith ClaudeSamuel,1986,p22].Ontheotherhand, heperformancewas a success ith thepublic

Koussevitsky ommissionedMessiaen'sTurangafflaSymphonyandmadet possibleorhimto teachcompositionn EuropeandAmerica.Thismajorsymphonyof tenmovementsather han he traditional our) wasfirst performedn Boston n 1949underthedirectionof LeonardBemstein.The Turmigall1aS)mphonys onepart of Messiaen'sTristanand solde riptych, theotherpiecesbeing heCinq Rechantsand hesongcycle,Harawi. Thesymphonyncludesawide varietyof dynamics, olourationandmelodies, utit differsrom aterorchestral orksbecauseirdsongsnot of paramountmportancenthecompositionalorm, although t doesappear for example)n 'Jardindu Sommeild'amour',where t occursmonophonically nd s labelledsimply oiseau'rather hanattributed o anmnedbird, as n laterworks [ex 1/2].

Messiaen ecidedo explorevery different echniques f musicalanguagen theperiod1949-1952.He had or some ime taught he theoriesof serialismand he dodecaphoniclangua,,, of the SecondVienneseSchool,even houghhisaversiono Schoenberg'sonerowswas well-known:Messiaenecognisedhat Schoenberg id not applyserialtechniqueso theotherelements f composition.Mode de Valeursetd7ntensif (1949)was heresultof Messiaen's xperimentwith organisingnot onlythepitches,but also he


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durations,ntensitiesnd he imbres,whichstimulated short-livedmovementowardsintegralor total serialism.Thepieceshatwere nfluenced yModede aleurseld Intemilis wereGoeyvaert sonataor twopianos1950_51)7,ichelFano sSonatafor two pianos 1951),Stockhausen sKreuzspiel (1951),Boulez s Structures a(1951-52)and,much ater,BarbaraKolb s Apello for piano(1976). n fact, ModedeValeursel dItifewiles (1949) s not a serialcomposition,althoughmusicologists uchasDavidDrew seemo categoriset as durchgeordnetemusik . Onceagain, hepiece sbased n modes; owever,his ime t isbuiltupfrom hirty-sixnotesdividedntothreetwelve-notegroups.Though ntegralserialism wed mueh o thisrevolutionary, f briefwork,Messiaenimself aredittle for it anddidnotcontinuemuchurtherwiththistechnique.

Afterthisperiod,Messiaen s ainsource f harmonicndmelodicmaterialwasbirdsong.Messiaenwasa skilled ornithologistandbecameable o name he songsof birdsasheheard hem.Messiaen egano transcribehesongsof birds byhand:heslowed hemdownandreducedheirpitch,making t possibleor western nstrumentso playthem.Hewouldgo to thewoodsat daybreakor in theeveningo gainknowledgeof thedifferentiationof soundqualitybetweenheseperiods n time.La Messede a Pentec6te(1950), or organ, ndicateshereturn of Messiaen s elovedbirds. Thiswork not onlyshowsheeffectof yearsof improvisationontheorgan,but it also ncludes11indu ndGreek hythmsand hetechnique f interversionswhichhadpreviouslybeen ntroducedin oneof theQuatrebudes de Rythme 1949-1956).Thefourthmovement,Communion , ncludesa widevarietyof birdsong.A year ater n Livre d Orgue (1951),


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Messiaen ombineshe Sharngadeva'hythms, kith uasi-serialechniques n pitch.Thefourthmovement,Chantd'Oiseaux,and he astmovement,Soixante-Quatreurdes',bothmakeextensive seof birdsong.NMI desOiseaux 1953) andOiseauxExotiques(1956)deriveexclusivelyrombirdsongandcalls.By the timeof writing Chronochronfie(1960),Messiaen adalreadycollectedbirdsong rom all overEurope,Japan,ndia,China,Malaysia,heMiddle East,partsof Afficas,North AmericaandMexico. InChronochromie strict interversionsystems applied seeJohnson 159);however,heuseof thissophisticated tructureseemso givethepiecean effectof freedomrather hanof deliberate onstruction.Theseandother -worksof thesecondhalfof Messiaen's areeraresurveyedn greaterdetail ater n thethesis.

The sixthmovement,p8de', is reminiscent f thetotal useof birdsongappliedn NMIdesOiseauxand consistsof a counterpointof eighteen trings,mimicking he songsofeighteen irds.Messiaen id not wishto create heexactsoundof thebirdsongbut, like apainter,he ntendedo createavery similar imbreand nflection o thatwhichhehadheardn thefield.

In 1962,Messiaen ndYvonneLoriod weremarried.Messiaen egan o write works thatwereon a granderscale.Amongst heseworks are:Couleursde la Citj Celeste pianoCand orchestra),Et EkspectoRemirrectionem ortuorum (orchestra), a TrwisfiguraliondenotreSeigneur &us-Chrisf (choir,soloistsandorchestra),DesCmiyonsmxboiles(orchestraandpercussion) nd heoperaSaint FrangoisdAssise.


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Messiaent anearlyagehadaconsiderableassionor the heatre ndgraduallyhisdevelopednto aloveof opera. n manyof hisanalysis lasses t theConservatoire,gooddealof timewasdevoted o opera.His own operaSaintFranqoisdAuise (1975-85) is a grandwork thatcelebrateshe Saintandhis oveof nature especiallyhatofbirds),people,heavenand angels.Thesixth sceneLe PricheauxOiseaux The Sennonto theBirds ) ssaturated ithbirdsong sSt. Francisstransformedytheangelsmusicandconsequently nderstandshelanguageof thebirdsand speakso them.Messiaendescribeshissixth scene s organisedchaos .Not only does heconductorhave hecomplex askof beatingbarsof unequalength,but he s also reeto bring in certaininstrumentsn hisowntime( hors tempo): in thewords of St.Francis: Everythingofbeautymust ead o freedom,he freedomof glory.

Thenexttwo yearsMessiaen pentwriting theLivre du SaintSacrement1984), heeighteenmovements f whichmake t his argestwork for organ.Smallerworks followed,notablyUn Vitrail etdes Oiseaux 1986)for pianoand ensemble.Written in 1992,Messiaen sinalwork, Eclairs mir Vau-dela.. (for orchestra)haselevenmovements.Therearevariousopinionsas o thesuccess f thelastwork s compositional tyle. t hasbeen rguedhatMessiaen sechniquesadreached stand-still nd hathehad o returnto thearchaic ocabularyf theearlierworks,whereasthers tatehathehad ost heemotionalmpactof thosecompositions, lthoughsomesectionsare very moving.


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Messiaen smusichashadan mmenseeffecton twentiethcenturymusicians.Historianshaveendeavouredo categoriseim: his sanextremely roblematicaskas hemanyconstituentsf whichhismusicsaconglomerationeemo create unique anguage.Theconsideration f Messiaen selationshipo hiscontemporaries asperhaps eendiscussed nough.PeterFlill points out:

Strangeas t mayseem,we need or themomento abandonhe longview, tostepcloser o theshimmering oloursof thestainedglass, o explore ts detailsafresh,and eelagainhow extraordinaryheyare [PeterHill, MessiaenCompanion,1995,plO].


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Noteso ChapterTakenfromClaude amuel, livierMessiaert usicandColor:ConversationsiththeComposer Portland,Oregon,Amadeus, 986), 15.2Althoughmanymusicologistsouldquestionhe erm impressionistn relationoDebussy,orMessiaeneembodiedertaineaturesof the impressionisttyle.3MicheleReverdy, OeuvrepourPiano OlivierMessiaen.Paris,Alphonseeduc,1978).4Forexamples,eeTechniqueemonLangageMusical.Paris, educ, 944)pl, ex. I-10.5TheworksHarawi, heTuratigalilaSymphojiyandChiqRechantsormatriptychinspired ythemythof Tristanand solde.Formorenformationnthesubject f Modedevaleurs td intensites nd heinfluencenBoulez,Stockhausenet al, seeToop,Richard:Messiaen/Goeyvaerts,Fano/Stockhausen,oulez,inPerspectivesfNewMusict13,No. (1974)pp141-169.7Butatthe imeof writing hisSonata,Goeyvaertsad eftMessiaen slasses yearbeforeandhadnotheardModedeValeurs td7nivisitesdirectly.AlthoughAfficanbirdsongmostlyappearsn aterworks,especiallyn LaTransfigurationeNotreSeig7zezirimis-ChristandDesCwzyonsuxboiles.


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Chanter 11:Issues in Nlessiaen Research

In order o builduponpastanalyticaliscoveries,hemostnotableesearchindingsshould ecited,establishingontributionso thesubject f birdsong n atheoreticalatherthanempiricalbasis.

Messia.nhasbeena popular opic for musicologists vertheyears: here smuchliteratureexamininghemain echniques f hisstyle.Most scholars iscusshe early,middleand ateryears,Hindurhythms,hemodesof limitedtransposition,Christian/Catholicymbolism, olour and he experimental eriod (includingpieces uchasModede Valeursel d7ntensWsand le deFeuII). Yet only a fewbooksgivesystematic ttention o birdsong- amongsthem The MessiaenCompanion l,aninterviewwith ClaudeSamuel2,.nd heviewsexpressedyRobertSherlaw ohnson ndPaulGriffiths.Thefirst task n thisresearch rojectwasto extract he importantviewsofMessiaen imselfon thesubjectof birdsong.Thenext informationneededwasthemusicologistsanalytical esponseso thesubject.Therehasbeen ittle researchnto thedevelopmentof birdsong n hismusic,but theliterature oundgivesabasison whichtowork. The ssues propose o dealwith maybecategorised s bHows:

1The Composer sPersonal nsights2 Trevor Hold and Authenticity3 PreviousResearch.Eachcategorys, n addition, ubdivided.


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I The Comnoser sPersonalTnsiehts

a) TechniquedeMon LangageMusical (1944)by 0. Messing

Messiaenn thisbook outlines hetechniqueshathehaddeveloped nd nvented. n thechapteronbirdsong,hisviews onthe subjectseemo beat an early,undevelopedtage.He hasalready ealizedat thispoint thatbirdsmakeextremelynteresting hythmicpedals.He alsosayshat theirmelodiccontours,especiallyhatof theblackbird, surpasshehumanmaginationn fantasy .Messiaen eemst ridiculous to copythesounds f natureexactly,as hebirdsuseuntemperedntervalssmallerhan hesemitone. hecomposer asbegun o speakof individualspecies theblackbird, ark andsparrows.Thecompositional evicesused o notatebirdsongarelabelledas transcription , transformationand interpretation . Hecites our omamenWvariationsof a theme hathesaysaresuggestedy theimprovisations f theblackbird.Thefreenatureof birdsongappealedo Messiaen shealso ncorporatednto hispiecesherhythmic reedomandchanges f pulse n the11indu ndGreekrhythmsand heuseof addednotevalues,e.g. thesen-quaver.s useof birdsongup tothetimeof writing thisbook had been imitedto LAscension,La NativitJ du Seigneur,Quatuorpour la Fin du Temps,VisionsdeIAmen andanywork doneonthe VfngtRegardssur I Enfant-Jisussofar,but it mustberememberedhat even heother worksup to thisperiodcontainedelements f styleoiseau .For example,n thefirst movement


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of Trois PelilesLiturgies dela PresenceDivine there s muchheterophonic ounterpointin theaccompanimenthatsuggestshe nteractionof birdsong.

b), JmutR6BIer-- nterviewswith the Composers

Almut RoBlerhascollecteda greatdealof interestingmaterial n herbook: like theconversationsAthClaudeSamuel,hesediscussionsprovidean nvaluablesourceofknowledgeabout hecompositional rocessesnd hegeneralphilosophyof theworkingmusician.Two examples f thesediscussionLre as ollows:

i) PublicDiscussionwith OlivierMessiaen uring hefirst DiisseldorfMessiaenFestival in Honour of his 60'hBirthday (L)ecember7.196D

Messiaen dmittedhaving o go back home o listen o the tape-recordinghathiswifehadmade n order o transcribeherestof thebirdsong hathehad beenworking onthatday. Thereare, accordingo Messiaen,manydifficulties o overcomewhen ranscribingbirdsongn silu:

'To beginwith: onehaso knowwhat t isoneshearing,ndonecanonlyknow hatwhenhe irstexpeditionf thiskind sundertakenccompaniedbya professionalmithologist6.


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He liststhe two initial difficulties hat onewouldcomeacross:

I the ecognitionf the ndividual inger nd hespecieso whicht belongs2 musical ictation nd hespeed f thebird svoice

Other nformationgivenhere ncludesMessiaen suseof theWagnerianleitmotif inRgveildes Oiseaux,and he reductionof longsilenceso a few secondswhendepictingawholedayof birdsong).He clearlyshowsacomparison etweenherecognitionof thecharacteristicsf differentpeoplewith ornithology.That is to say, everyone asaparticularcharacteristichat is individual- thecolourof one shair,eyes,a particularwayof spealdng r walling.Onewould recognise personby anynumberof thesentrinsicqualities.Messiaen ayshat it is thissameperceptionwhichenables ne o deterrninehespecies f bird from itsvocalisation.

For an omithologist t s much hesame.It s like it is with leitmotives:herecogniseseachbird by its style, ts themes,ts melodicturnsof phrase,ts specific hythms7.Messiaen tateshat therealwork beginswhen he songsare o be ncorporatednto thepiece.For example, song hrush ssongwRIbewritten from a conglomeration fdiffercntmanuscripts ccumulatedyMessiacn,overtheyears.Thesemanuscripts reputtogetherandsomephrases re choseno formthesongof the songthrushhat typifies tsmaincharacteristics.

Thereproductionof timbre s a furtherdifficulty.No musicalnstrumentcanhope oreproduceheextraordinary umberof tone-coloursn birdsong:


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Oneneedsombinationsf instruments,andstillmorecombinationsrcomplexesf pitches... achnoteof themelodys furnishedwitha chordwhichisintendedo reproducehe imbreof thatnoteg.

Messiaen xplainshathealsousesheleitmotifprinciple o makesure hat the listenerrecognises achbird song or call.For example, etypicallyuseshesamenstrumentsoportraya certainbird sound,and hecompositional evicesmay alsobethe sameon eachoccasion.Thegoldenoriolemay alwaysbewritten in octaves,or surrounded y certainsoundcomplexes; r the samemusicalphrasemaysimplyberepeated.

Messiaen lsoaddresses usical orm with regard o theuse of birdsong.Thereare wobasicsystems, ccordingo thecomposer:

I Deceitful2 Truthful

Thefirst useshebird soundsasraw material thebirdsong s alteredso much hat theoriginal sunidentifiable.Messiaenelatesls to musiqueconcrete .He classesOiseaurExotiquesasapiece hat fulfils thiscriterion,ashehas akenbirds rom India,China,North AmericaandMalaysiaandput them ogether,although heycouldnot possiblyhavesungwith eachother n therealworld. Thesecondmethod,accordingo Messiaen,sbetter,more originalandperhapsmore indicativeof thefuture . He calls t the truthfulmethod anddescribest as one hatconformso reality.As we havenotedearlier, he deaof freedoms an ntegralpart of Messiaen sphilosophy:perhaps sayingof St.John s nhis Gospelsumsup thisbelief- the truth will makeyou free - and perhaps,oo, this


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freedom s apparentn this truthful method .Thisapproachmaybefound n Riveil de.5Oiseazix.

To accompanyhebirdsong,Messiaenntegrateshe soundsof thenaturalenvironment.IEs synaestheticpproachenables imto suggesthe landscapes,ragrances, olours andthepassagef time.

To doany pieceof work is alwaysa manifestationof one sself,but to experiencehetruth is to growaboveandbeyondoneselfand o rediscoverone srealselfwhich s above heordinaryself.

ii)AddressDeliveredat theConferringof thePraemiumErasnanumnAmsterdamJune25-1971).

Messiaen ayshat apart romthecriesand caUs f thebirds, hereare hree ypesof song:

I Thesong ndicatingpossessionterritorial)2 Theenticingsong matingsong)3 Thebreakof daysong dawnchorus)


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Messiaeniteshreebasicypesof caflsalso:

I Thematingcall2 Thefeedingcall3 Thecry of alarm

Similarly, n theConferenceof Notre Dame 1977),Messiaen ayshat eachof hissacredpiecesbelongso one of three ypes:

I Liturgicalmusic2 Religiousmusic3 Sound-colour andDazzlement

Almut R6BIeralsogivesuseful nformationabouthow to performMessiaen. ike manywho have alkedabout histopic, sheadvises playerwhenconfrontedwith the complexrhythms o subdividehedurationsuntil theyare earnt;once heyare earnt heyshouldbe

fluentand perhapsessstrict andmathematical:

.. hebirds- which n Messiaen swordspopulatethemathematicallyigid rhythmicstructureswhichprogressn a crab-likeway- demandheir rightsforthefeelingof their creator.Oftenenoughn typicalbird-calls- suchas he tappingof thewoodpecker hedemands broadening f thecountingunit for thebenefitof thebird s characterisationlo.


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c) Conversations ith Claud Samuel,

ClaudeSamuel's onversations ith thecomposer iveus nvaluableprimarysourcesrevealinghecomposer's omments nhiscompositionalechniques.Messiaen ointsoutthat eachnoteof thebirdsong in laterworks) is accompaniedy an nventedchord:

' Eachnote s providedwith a chord,not atraditionalchordbut a complexof soundsdestinedo give the timbreof thatnote12.I

Messiaenalksabouthisproblemswhen ranscribing irdsong nto hiscompositions.Whenhewanted o re-createhe intrinsicqualityof a certainbird sound,heneededheexactchordal-complexeso accompanyt.

Thecomposer ivessomensightfulremarksnto hisexperiencesf eachbird and ts song,from a musician's oint of view. For instance,when istening o thewillow warblerhenotices hat it,

4...singsan accelerandoEke hefinch]on aroUednote,but insteadof having hefinch'svictoriouscodetta, t hasone hatdiesaway,slow andsad...t doesn't earn ust onecodetta,but ceaselesslynventsnewcodettas..31


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Thisdescriptionof thewillow warbler s far more revealingo amusicianhan hedescriptionsf each ird'svoicegivennanybirddictionary.Messiaenven oes o arasto claim hat,

'Only a composer could manage o understandit and capture it on paper; in fact, mostornithologi -.s refrain from describingit andmerely say'Txtraordinary song, impossible14 vto describe

Messiaenatertalksabout hebirds n somedetail.He mentionshetrips thathe hasmadein orderto collect certain ypesof birdsongandhe alksabout he intrinsiccharacteristics

of certain amousbirds.Whenhementionshefinch t is almost ike a musicalguide o thesongsof birdsas opposedo an ornithologist'sview. In this same ectionhementionsheblackbird, hesongthrush nd henightingalen asmuchdetail.

Manypeoplehaveoften wonderedwhyMessiaen id not usegramophoneecordingsohelp him capturebirdsong.He points out thatsuch ecordingsare ncomplete ince heygive only a portionof thesong,

Just as aphotograph onveyshe snapshot f a singlendividual's.0


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However, s not apieceof music hat iswritten downwith its exactpitchesandnotationslikea photograph?essiaen sranscriptionsre ntendedasan nterpretationof what hebird sings,ust asa paintingcapturesheessenceather han hesurfaceof its subject: t ismore hana merelymechanicaleproduction.t is possiblehat Messiaen snherentdislikeof machinery nd uturism iesbehind hestatement uoted above.

Messiaen lsogives hereaderanaestheticationaleof theCataloguedDiseaux byexplaininghathetried to depictaparticularbird, its habitat,and heotherbirdsthataremost ikely to besingingbefore,with or after t. Themodificationsneededo form thiswork are oucheduponhere n the Conversations .Thesemodificationsareessentialocreateheexact imbralquality of eachbirdsong: his is doneby accompanyingachnoteof thebird s songwith a differentsoundcomplex,husenhancingts individual imbre.Othermodificationsncludeheslowing own sometimesyfourorfive imes)of thesongsand heuseof gracenotesonthepiano o createa portamentoeffect.

Thissourcehelpsusto understandhecompositional rocessesnvolved n producing hekind of exactitudehatMessiaenequired.

ghme. de Couleuret d Ornithologie (1999)by 0. Messiaen16) Trait6 deR

Thissecondreatise,a vastproject, ook Messiaenrom 1949 o theendof his ife towrite: theseven olumesare n thecourseof publication.According o YvonneLoriod,


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Messiaen'saithfulassistant nd nterpreter,eachone s overthreehundredpagesnlengthandsome reverysubstantialndeed .Volume5,part1, sof paramountimportanceo theresearch s t is devoted o thecomposer'suseof Europeanbirdsong.However, heother volumesarealso significant,especiallyfor example)heanalysesheycontainof Chronochromie volume3), Livre d'Orgue (volume3) andMeise de aPetdcdte volume4).

Volume5, part 1,dividesa selectionof themost commonbirdsof Europe nto fourteencontrastinaenvironments. or example,here s a sectiondevoted o birdsongsn the0woods,one o 'the oceans'and marinecoasts',and anothero 'the town'. Eachbird isdealtwith separately,ts habitat,appearancend he song tselfbeingdescribed.

The birds' songshemselvesre presentedn two distinctways.First, Messiaen's riginaltranscriptionof ason,,in thewild is quoted,without indicationsof instrumentation revenbar ines, hough heseoriginal notationsarenot alwaysncluded.Secondly, arious

extractsof birdsongare aken romMessiaen sompositions.A greatdealof variety sillustrated n thetreatmentof birdsong,wherebirdssuchasthenightingaleor blackbirdareconcerned, sso manycombinations f instrumentsand contrastingmethodsofrepresentationreemployed.Theearlier reatise,TechniquedemonLangageMusical(1944),onlytoucheson early styleoiseau',whereas ereMessiaen urveyshisowntechniques s heyevolved hroughouthiscareer,ocusinguponhisuseof particularaspecies.Analyses f thebirdsongsn Messiaen's wn compositions llowhimto identifythemainmelodicandrhythmic eaturesof individualsongs.


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Occasionally,hecomposerncludesonomatopoeicepresentationsn orderto indicateparticularnuances f timbreandphrasingn abird's vocalisation.AlthoughMessiaenrarelymarkshiscompositionsn thisway, it is nevertheless useful ool for theperformerwhenattemptingo portraycertainphrases f thesong hrushandnightingalen RJveilde. Oiseaux.For example, featureof thenightingale's ong,comprising epeatedowpitcheseachpreceded y a gracenote,and henconcludingwith a flourish, s describednthetreatiseas tio, tio, tio, tiotiolaborix'.

Because irdsongsby nature epetitive,Messiaens compelledo introducenewterminology o discriminate etweenmotivic characteristics.ustasverse s distinguishedfrom proseby its useof rhythmicpatterning,so, n thesameway, thereare manypatternsin birdsongcreatedby stressor accent.Alain Louviercites hewell-knownsayingaucommencementtait e Rythme' n the 'Avant-Propos' o thetreatise:certainly, hecomposer,with his-advancednowledgeof GreekandHindurhythmsandof addednote

values,s obsessedy metre.Messiaen ereappliesprosody o Idsanalyses f rhythmiccells,adaptedromDupr6's,nvestigations .

'Iarnbic eet'19representwO-notecefls, hefirst notebeingunaccented nd hesecondaccentedU -), while,a 'cretic' rhythm s a palindromiccell (- U -), knownin Englishasan'amphimacer'.Both featuresare oundregularly hroughoutMessiaen'sreatmentofbirdsong,andareof usewhen analysing articularly epetitivesongsandcalls. n thebluerock thrush'ssong,Messiaen ites he 'dochmiac'rhythm which s an ambiccell followed


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by a creticcell (U -/-U -), while theskylark,amongstmanyotherfeatures,employsaccretic'hythrnntwodescendingeapsaninthanda seventh),ndmany ompoundintervalsusing epeatedambiccells.Messiaen mploysmanyof these erms hroughoutthissecondreatise:Table WI is a compilationof thosecited n TraW.

Plainchant hraseologys also adapted,describingshortmelodicshapes f birdsong. For

example,climacus esupinus',porrectus lexus'and torculusresupinus'all derive romtennsoriginallyapplied o plainsong,ust as adaptations f chantingappearn LesCorpsGlorieur. In addition,Messiaen ombineshese ermswhen referring o morecomplexshapes singcombinations f theabove,andother melodicshapeswith Latin names. hiscanbeseenat Table 11/2.

It is nterestinghatratherhanhis reatise einganargument,racing hedevelopmentf0'bird style', it is in fact anencyclopaedicoflectionof illustrativeportraitson thecommonbirdsof Europe,presentingheir uniquesongsand cas. This important nformationprovidesanessential uide or theunderstandingf theindividualmusicalcharacteristicsof eachspecies' ongs,both in thewild and n Messiaen'sworks.

2 Trevor Hold and Authenticitv.

In lis article, Messiaen'sBirds' (1971) , TrevorHold enlightenedmanymusicologistswith his views. The footnotes, too, introduced papers and articles from ornithological andbiologicalournalsunknown o manymusicologists.He challengedhemusicologistswho


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over-estimated livierMessiaen s kill at notating heactualsoundof eachbird, andhepointed ut he nauthenticityf some f Messiaen smitations, revorHold,amusicologist, adnot only written articlesn musicalournalsbut hadalsopublishedn anornithologicalournal Ibis . HerelatedMessiaen sranscriptionso thoseofornithologists.n addition,hecriticised herathernaivecommentsmadeby musiccriticsonthesubjectof authenticityand criticisedsomeof Messiaen s laims.At thispoint itshouldbepointedout thatalthoughat one stageMessiaen laimed hatthe soundswereextremelyrueto life, heoften changed ismindthrough hecourseof hisoeuvreandthereforet is difficult to classwhathe hassaidat any onemomentas hedefinitive ruth.Early in hisbirdsongwriting career,Messiaen aid hat hissongswereauthentic, et laterbesaysheopposite.

TheTrevorHold articledrewattention o themanyarticlesonbird vocalisationsnomithologicaloumalssuchas Ibis , Auk , Biophon and Wildlife Sound .Themusicianspapersonbirdsongseemedo benaYveo theornithologists,ust as he

ornithologistspapersonbird vocalisations ppeared aive o themusicians. aulGriffithsclaims:

He [Messiaen]s farmore conscientious nornithologist hananyearliermusician,and armoremusicalanobserverhanany otherornithologiSt21.I


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TrevorHold talksaboutgeneralranscriptionprinciplesn hisarticle The NotationofBirdsong:A ReviewandRecommendation2. He conflates iewsfrom thetwo sidesoftheacademiciteratureonthe subject,producinga comprehensiveverviewof themanytypesof notationalprocesses iscoveredup to 1970.

In ornithologicaliterature here s muchonthe transcriptionof birdsong.First, it isinterestinghatTrevor Hold wrote thearticle The Notationof Birdsong Pis, 112,1970]a yearbefore hepreviouspaper, Messiaen sBirds . The laterarticle,concernedwith thegeneralnotationof birdsong,wassubmittedo theornithologicalournal Ibis . Therearethreesections ntranscriptionechniques:

I Syllabicnotation2 Staffnotation3 Other ormsof subjectivenotation

Hold followsthe stringentdescriptionsof thesewith somespeculationsn the Sound0Spectrograph . hedescriptionsof thestaffnotations,however,beginwith extractsbyOswald von Wolkenstein (1377-1445), Kircher (1650), through to Matthews (1904) andthehighlysophisticatedotationsof Sz6ke 1969).Hold thendiscusseshe attemptsmadeto evolvea new notation or birdsong,citingStadlerandSchmitt 1914)as hepioneers ftheseprocesses,r at least hefirst to attempt o makea convincingcaseor theirdiscoveries.


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M.E.W. North's article, TranscribingBirdsong 3 Ibis, 1950) s important n that it liststheproblemsf notating irdsongnthe ieldandbacksupMessiaen'sointsof viewaboutrepresentingheunique imbresof birdsong.Thetechnicalsuggestionsmadeare nsomecases impleeven or theaveragemusician, ut there s someadvicegiven hat isrelevantanduseful or themore proficient.North employsa vowel systemhat is similarto that of the Handbook'(1938 1,174.Thevowel-scale howsa gradation romthehighest-soundingo the lowest-soundingowels,anddisplaysan indicationof thecomparativeimbresof thesoundsranscribed.North suggests voking hequality of eachsoundbyusing ather udimentarydescriptiveechniques. hesewould include, orexample, lowing nto cuppedhandso create hetimbreof the tawnyowl. This isatechniquehatMessiaen ftenused n describingmuchof hismusic.North givesa

summaryf the ieldmethodseededo formanaccurateranscription,ndhe ists welvepoints o bear n mind.Examplesnclude: mitating hebirdsongby whistlingor singing,estimatingheoctaveanddescribinghesoundquality.He givesusefuladviceonproblemshatmightbeencounteredn thefield, ncluding hedistanceof thebird from thehearer.Distance,hesays,affects hequality of thetimbre,and someof thenotesmaybecomenaudibleo thehumanear.

Thesearticlesarevery important,not onlyto theornithologistwishingto write downthesonasof birds,but also or themusicianwishing o researchheauthenticityof Messiaen'stranscriptions nd hefinal resultsn hismusic.


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3 Previous Research

a) RobertSherlaw ohnson.

Johnson asdonea greatdealof groundwork onbird style, echniques ndgroup-forms.He 4asalsocompiledan appendixwhich istseachspecies f bird and heworks in whichtheyappear.n his book, Messiaen231975/89),hewrites about wo early pieces,RiveddesOiseaux 1953)andOiseaurExoliques 1956),whileanotherchapters devoted oCatalogued Oiseaux 1956-58).A smallsectionof approximatelywo pagesdealswiththedevelopment f birdsong n hismusic.The deassuggested erebecamehebasisnthepresentesearchor a more comprehensiveaxonomyof theway Messiaen sreatmentof birdsongranscriptionseveloped.ohnsonlsoisted asanappendix)llthebirds hathadbeenusedn thepieces,and ndicatedwhichpieceseachone appearedn. Thisinformationhasbeenan extremelyhelpful ool for research nd groundwork. However,heomits(quitenaturally) hebirdsong hathasnot beenspecified y Messiaenn thescore.For example,hebirdsused n thefirst movement f theQuatuorpour la Fin duTemps re,quite obviously,henightingale nd heblackbird,but as heyarenot writteninto the scoreandmighttheoreticallybeanotherbird entirely, heyare not includedn thistable or reference.

Johnsongives hereaderoutlinesof theformal structuresemployed y thecomposernRdveildesOiseauxandOiseaurExotiques.n NMI desOiseauxheseesheform asbinary: ypically,heseesa relativelysimple orm in what is otherwisea complexwork.


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Theorchestral assageshat precedehesesectionsalsohavean denticalstructure,accordingo Johnson.heseindingsare epresentedngraphicalorm,vAthdiagramswhichgivea strictoverviewof thelayoutof thepiece.He usesgraphicalmeanso showhow HinduandGreekrhythmsand heirassignednstruments redeployedn Oi.veauxExotiques.Thesegraphsdemonstratenstantly he processesf thecomposer.

In thechapterentitledCatalogued OiseauxJohnson reatesa classification cheme ffour groupsof bird vocalisations, s summarisedelow.

I Brief and ongervaried callsby birdswhichotherwisedo notsing;homophonic nddissonant2 Shortrepetitivesong-patterns ith slightvariations3 Variedsongpatterns,declamatory nd oftentonal4 Rapid chattering songs,continuousor brokenup by rests

He thengoesonto list eachbird thatappearsn theCataloguedDiseaux andassignsthem o theirgroup.

He alsoclassifieshenon-birdsongmaterialused n Caialogued oiseaUX26.hesummation f thismaybedrawn nto five groupsasMows:

I Mode: welve-tone. hythm: )Greekor Sharngadevab) permutationeriesc) free2Modeof pitches, urationsnd ntensities3Modesof limitedransposition4 Turangalila otives5 Colour-chordsotherhan heonesngroups and II)


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Johnsonlsodisplays series f diagramspplying is group structureheorieso theCataloguedDiseaux. He includesnformationontexture, onality, timbre, requency,rhythms,ntensityand herelationshipof eachbird to its group, anda seconddiagramhatshows heformalstructureof eachpiece n correspondenceith eachbird, animaland tsnaturalhabitat.

Messiaen soveof naturen generals exhaustively iscussedy Johnson.Aspectsofnature,suchas waves,cliffs andsea, eaturen someof thebird pieces.Like Debussy, ehada special egard or the sea:Debussywrote Ta Mer , whileMessiaenfor example)representedhebluesea,ts wavesand hegeneralappingof water n Te Merle Bleu(Catalogued Oiseaux). n CataloguedDiseaux, for instance,Messiaen reatesa portraitof a singlebird.n eachpiece:heattemptso findmusicalmeanso depict hesounds ndcoloursof nature sunrise, unsetand hesoundof thesea),n orderto suggestheparticularenvirorunent urrounding achbird. Johnson lso proposes,ike others,hatMessiaen s isillusioned r evenmisanthropicemperamentmayaccount or hispreferenceor nature o thesoundsof carsand hecity.

it is in a spirit of no confidencen myself,orI meann thehuman ace, hat I have akenbird-songsasmodeF.

Messiaen ayst is in thehoursof gloomthatheseeks efuge n thebirds:perhaps e slike thepsaMst who declares,


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in theshadowof your wingswill I takerefuge/until these roublesarepast. [Psalm57,v.2].

Johnson smonographs an authoritativeandcomprehensiveourceof information or thestudyof all of Messiaen smusic.His studiesn birdsongareparticularlypertinent: heeditorof the MessiaenCompanion ,Peter fill, asked or thechapteron this subjecto bewrittenby lim.

b) NormanDemuth.

Demuth, n hisarticle Messiaen sEarly Birdsv28(160)discussesheearly ranscriptionsof birdsongup to RgveildesOiseaux 1953).He talksabout he episodicnatureofMessiaen sorm asopposedo the symphonic tyleof manypastcomposers. emuthpointsout, quite naturally, hat evenbirdshave o takea breath,and hatMessiaenwritesin block-form almostexclusively.Theuseof separate irdsongsconsecutively, sopposedo thesuperimposition f one uponanother,creates n effectof separationatherthancontinuity. n works thatdo not includebirdsong,Messiaenwaswriting materialhatwasvery episodicn nature,especiallyn the Turwigaffla Sjmphony.PierreBoulezhasmentionedhat it is aFrench rait to write in block form and hatMessiaen smusicwasonly in keepingwith this29.t seemsucky thatMessiaen iscoveredhesongsof birds,astheycreateda nucleusof musical esources kinto his inherent echnicalstyle, or use nworks aftertheperiodof 1941.


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Musicalnotationhad developeddramatically ince hebeginningof thetwentiethcentury:theneed o signifycomplex hythms,atonalityandconstantchanges f metrebecame

commonplace. essiaenwasthusable o hearandrepresent irdsongwith twentiethcentury ears ,using henewlyavailableechniqueso createbirdsongvocalisationswithgreaterprecisionand subtlety. t was nevitablehat thecomposer sown musicalpreferencesroducedsubjective notationsof birdsong:compositional roceduresnecessarily layeda part in thetranscribingprocess.For example,hroughoutMessiaen scareerhereare many nstanceswherephrases xpandor contract,givingthemusicanimprovisatoryquality.The motivic island cfFect, sPaulGriffithscalls t, is producedbythe expansion r contractionof phrases nd nterweavingof motiviccells. t was heevolvingmusicalclimate hat gaveMessiaenhe tools to simulatennovativebirdsong.

TrevorHold hasdrawnattention o theprominentpartplayedby thepiano n Messiaen smusic,and o thefact that this imposesimitationson theuse of glissandi,whicharesuchastrong eatureof birdsong.Certainly,Demuthhas ikened he TurangafflaSymphonyo aGrandPianoConcerto,derived rom theconcertante rinciple.PerhapsMessiaenwasgreatly nfluenced y Skriabin,not onlyby hissensitivityo synaesthesiand heimportanceheybothattachedo toneandcolourrelationships, ut alsoby hisuseof thepiano n Prom6th6eLe Po6meduFeu). Demuthalsosuggestshatbird music(incorporatedmerelyas ragments y Wagner,Beethoven,Rousselandothers)waseffectivelyoriginatedby Messiaen,who eventually sedbirdsongexclusivelyn manypieces.


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It is not correct or NormanDemuth o say hat, 'Messiaenhasnow completedwhat s

virtuallya collectionof everykind of bird music3o.Of course,at the time that thisarticlewaswrittenhe hadcollectedmanydifferentkindsof birdsong,but hefoundmanymorefrom all over heworld afterthis date.Healsoconcludeshepaperwith thecomment,

'I do not envisage, owever,anythingnovel ntheway of harmonyarising rom it, sincetsnatureand extureare oo mobile 1.iMessiaen imselfcomplainedhat oneof hispupils,GeorgeBenjamin,wrote thepiece AtFirstLight' with little use of harmony.Benjaminhad o explain hat thepiecewassaturatedwith harmony,but that theharmonywas 'lost inside heform, inside heargument nd extureof themusic'.It mustbeclarified hatperhapsDemuthviewsharmonyn a more raditionalway than he olderMessiaen nd heyoungGeorgeBenjamin32.Certainly the birdsong was later accompaniedby quite exploratory harmonies.

c)Paul Griffiths

PaulGriffiths.,n 'Olivier Messiaen nd heMusic of Time933, spokeof the difficulty infinkincyariousbirdsongsogether n a work. Themostsignificantpoint is that theremustbea consistencyn the treatmentof variation;however, here s anever ncreasing ubtletyof transcriptions ndcolouration hat accentuateheintrinsic imbralqualityof eachbird.


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Hementionshat thedifferent nterpretationsof thechaffinch'ssong, or instance,mayeitherbeanattempto showwodifferent haffinchesthesame irdatadifferentimeofday- or it maysimplymarkthestagesn Messiaen'sranscriptions f theidealwaytonotatesuchabirdsong.Messiaen eemso havedevelopedhistechniqueafter eachpiece.

. n theearlyworks, 'styleoiseau was nfusedpredominantlywith theuseof theubiquitoussecondmodeof limitedtransposition.Thetritone,the fourth, and rills arefairly frequent:manyornithologists ommenton the trills beinga significantmotive n manybirdsongs,andalso n territorial/mating alls.Trills, fourthsand ritonesalsoappearater n a quitesophisticatedse of birdsong.PaulGriffiths, however,showsmusicalexamples f someof *thebirds n RdveildesOiseauxbeingportrayedmusicallyusing he intervalsof thefourthand he fifth, plus a tritone particularly.The ittle owl, robin,whitethroatand hesongthrushareexamples. hesemotiviccells area dominant eatureof earlymaterial.Griffithspostulateshata substantial roportionof early ranscriptionss influencedby thecomposer's reoccupationwith thesentervallicrelationships.Moreover,PaulGriffithssayshatNMI des Oiseaur,OiseauxExotiquesandCatalogued'OiseauxaUsuited hepresentstateof thecomposer'smusicalstyle.Like Johnson,PaulGriffiths alsodemonstrates formalstructuren Riveil desOise= andOiseauxF-roliques, ut hedoesit,withoutdiagrammaticalmeans.

PaulGriffithsdisplaysmusicalexamples f thenightingale'ssong, startingwith Jannequin,0CouperinandBeethoven, ndconcludingwith StravinskyandMessiaen.He finds hat,evenallowing or variation n thesongof thenightingaleamongstndividuals,Messiaen


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has ar moresophisticationhanhisprecedingivals lex 11/3].Notice, however,hatbothBeethoven ndMessiaennclude allingseconds sa prominenteature;six serniquaverswith Beethoven nd hesamewith Messiaen, ut up a sernitone nd with theadditionofgracenotes.Griffithstracesa developmentn thecomplexityandsophistication f thechaffinch ssong,showingexamplesrom VingiRegardssur IDifant Jsus,Nved desoiseaux,Catalogued Oiseauxand inallyMiditatiom swr eMystJrede la Sainte TrinjtJ.Theseexamples re usefulstartingpoints or theunderstanding f thedevelopment fMessiaen sechniquesn portrayingbirdsong.

d) DavidMorris

DavidMorris s A ComparativeBibliography istsalmostall of thebooksonMessiaen,articles, hecomposer s wn publications, issertations,recordingsand other nformationin a systematicormat. n addition,Morris s articleanalysingAbImedesOiseaux , romthe Quatuorpour a Fin du Temps, sesa serrotic pproach.Thesegmentationsevealmanysymmetriesn themusic,enablinghereadero find recurring patternsof intervallicandrhythmiccefls.Further,poietic evidences taken rom the TechniquedemonLangageMusical , n orderto form - as ar aspossible hierarchiesn a neutral analysis.

For example, edivides hemovementnto separate arts.Part I is givenapitchcountwhereonlyeightpitchclasses reused.Morris arrangeshis eight-notemode nto fourpairs,eachorrningatritone:E/Bb, Ab/D, G/DbandF/B. Usingpoieticevidenceosupporthisresearchindings,hecitesMessiaen sirst treatise,Technique ,and iststhree


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intervallicpreoccupationsf thecomposer. hefirst is thetritone,foundthroughoutMessiaen'susic.Thesecondsadescendingajorsixth,and he hird sa 'chromaticformula'which nvolves herearrangementf threesemitones.Morris alsopointsout twopredominantmelodicshapes: ersionsof theBoris Godunov hemeand distortions' of asegment f 'Solveig's Song'from Grieg's Peer Gynt'.

Morris stateshatalthough hemainbirdsongworks date romthe 1950'sand hemoresophisticatedortrayalsappearn theseatercompositions,many hythmicandmelodicfeaturesof 'styleoiseau appearn earlierpieces,ncluding he AblimedesOiseaux'.Later,thespecificnamesof the species re ncluded n thescore;however,Morris citescertainmotiviccharacteristicsn a chart,inkingbars rom TiturgiedeCrystal'and'AbIme,esOiseauxmovementsand H from heQ-Uarlel)o thespecifiedirdsongntheCatalogued'Oiseaux (1956-58).Monis deduceshat,

'severalbirdsarepresentn AbIme ,but... atthispoint in Messiaen's utput [ 1940-1] theyare unspecified r thetranscriptionsnsufficientlyaccurateor identificationpurposes.-14

Similarpoieticevidences given o Messiaen'srequentemployment f 11induhythms,various ransmutationsf rhythmicceUs diminution,augmentationespeciayprogressive ugmentation) and heuseof addednotevalues.


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Thisresearchs particularlymportant:as hetitle suggests,t is an nvestigation f variousserniotichierarchies. egmentationsareemployedn orderto produce,with referenceothe 'Technique',a 'neutral' analysis,whilerevealingmanymotivicpatterns.

e)Tenneguy eQu6netain

Tenneguy e Qudnetainn hisarticle Poetof Nature' advises sthatMessiaenscontinuinghework startedby Debussy.When alkingaboutMessiaen's ompositionallanguage esayshat,

'.. [it is] essentiallya languageof modality; in otherwords, it.makes ree usenot only of the classicmodes- ma or and minor - but also of theecclesiasticalmodesof the middle ages, of exoticmodesand indeed,of modesof the composer'sown invention. In all this, Messiaen s continuingthe work of DebuSSY'-36.

Tenneguy e Qu6netain lsonoticeshat in Messiaen'smusiceachbird has ts own mode.It became ssentialn pursuinghecurrent esearcho find basicsimilaritiesn thesongofeachbird rather han o analyse achsongwith pitch-set heory.De Qudnetain lsopointsout thatwith Debussy ndStravinskyherevolt fromtheclassicaldiom had begun:

'with Debussy,herevolt is gentle:he freesthebeatcompletelyromtimeto time...continuallyvaries hetempiandmultipliesthepauses.Stravinsky'srevolt is aggressive:heshifts hestressesshewishesnsteadofleaving hemat thesameplace n eachba?


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Messiaen,ccordingo TenneguyeQuenetain,egan revolutionhatwasmoremethodical:as ollowersmight say,he begano capture herhythmicconsciousnessy thesystematiceconnoitringof therhythmicpossibilitiesnot onlyof themusicalworld,but inthe.universetsele . Moreover,Messiaen eesa rhythmicsymmetryof rhythmiccanonsand non-reversiblehythms eflectedn nature.

An thevAngs f butterflies,n theveinsof leaves,n thebranchesof afir tree 9.9

f)DavidDre

DavidDrew s ProvisionalStudies40are essentialeadingor all musicologistswho havean nterestn any aspects f themusicof Messiaen.

This is a goodbasis or an mmediateunderstandingf thebasicprinciplesof Messiaen smusic;however, hegroupof articleswaswritten in 1954/5andcan only talk aboutworksup to thatperiod, andasa result heopinionsnevitablyseemdated.He pointsout thatthereare certainprinciplesof structurehat appealo Messiaen, overning heriseand allof pitch,and he ineof a complexbirdsong,both of whichadmitahighlychromaticstylisationandrhythmic reedom.

Thestyle oisema, ike thestylehindoue,satisfiesMessiaen s esire or theorn=ental, and at thesametimeallowshimto avoid anyharmonicmplications,if heso wishee .


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He alsostateshatMessiaen'sanguages such hatcounterpointcannot unction n thetraditionalway,althoughMessiaenn the Trois PefilesLiturgies de la Priseme Diviiiecombined irdsongwith counterpoint,ashedid in Meive de la Pentecdle.This mportantgroupof articlesby David Drew is usefulmore or thegeneralunderstandingfMessiaen sompositionalechniqueshan,specifically, isuseof birdsong.

It is important irst to survey heissuesrelated o birdsongand ncorporatehese indingsinto a criticaltaxonomy. t wasfoundthat ittle research adbeenpublished n thesubjectof how Messiaen eveloped isuseof birdsong.Phrasesn earlycompositions renormally abelledsimply oiseau',and so heanalysis f eachcommonbird and tsdevelopmentn transcriptionwill bepresented fter he early esearch.A furthertaskwillbeto look at Messiaen'smethodologyn hisuseof birdsong,and heearlypiecesincorporatinghetransposition nd ransmutationechniques.


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Notes o Chapter11PeterHill (editor), Messigen-Companion,London, Faber,1995).2ClaudeSamuel,Olivier Messiaen:Musicand-Color:Conversations ith ClaudeSamuell,trans.By E. ThomasGlasow, (Portland,Oregon,AmadeusPress,1986).3RobertSherlaw ohnson,Y-najije-n,Lond6n,Dent, 1976, evised1989)pp116-15 .PaulGriffiths,Olivier Messiaen nd heMusicof Time..(London/Boston,FaberandFaber,1985)pp166-189.5Almut Mler, Contributionso the SpiritualWorld of Olivier Messiaen,Duisburg,GillesundFrancke,1986).' Almut R68ler,op. cit., p31.7 bid., p31.8 bid.,p32.9Ibid.,p35.10bid., p149.ClaudeSamuel, p. cit., pp85-97.12ClaudeSamuel, p. cit., p94-95.ClaudeSamuel, p. cit., p87.14ClaudeSamuel, p. cit., p89.ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., p89.16OlivierMessiaen, rait6deRjhme.deCouleur.et d'Ornithologie.ol-5-pt. 1-Chantsd'Oiseauxd'Europe,(1999).17SeePeterHill's Conversationwith YvonneLoriod in theMessiaenCompanjo, op. cit.,p285.MarcelDupr&, Traitd d'Improvisation', aken rom vol.2 of CoursCompletd'Improvisationd'Orizue (Paris,Leduc,1926).' Note thata 'trochee'rhytlun s theopposite - U).2' TrevorHold, 'Messiaen'sBirds' fromMusicandLetters, Vol.52,no. ii, (April 1971),pp113-122.

PaulGriffiths,op. cit., p168.22TrevorHold, 'The Notationof Bird Sona:aReviewandRecommendation-Tb)Lis12,(1970)pp151-172.' M. E. W. North, 'TranscribingBird Song' from Ibis, 92,(1950)pp99-114.24cHandbook.WitherbyetaL The Handbookof British Birds. (London,1938).25Johnson,op. cit. pp116-127and pp128-15 (Catalogued'Oiseaux).26 ohnson, p. cit., p136-137.27Messiaenn AntoineGol6a'sbook,Recontres vecOlivierMessiaen,Paris,Julliard,1960).28NormanDemuth, Messiaen'sEarlyBirds' from MusicalTimes,ci, (1960),pp627-9.290therclearexamples f thisorm canbeseenn Stravinsky'sSymphonies f WindInstruments'and n Debussy'sJeux'.30Demuth,op. cit., p627.Demuth,op. cit., p629.32MessiaenCompanio op. cit. p271.


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PaulGriffiths,op. cit., pp166-189.DavidMorris, 'A Semiotic nvestigationof Messiaen's AbimedesOiseaux ',MusicalAnalysis, ol 8, (1989),p142.Tanneguy e Qu6netain,Messiaen:Poetof Nature' from MusicandMusicians, i/9,(May 1963)pp8-12.Quinetain,op. cit., p11.However, t is important o n, tethatecclesiasticalmodesarenot useduntil theorganwork, Midilations mir leMyslrede a Sainte TrinW (1969).Qu6netain, p. cit., p11.Qu6netain, p. cit., pl 1.Qu6netain, p. cit. p11.DavidDrew, 'Messiaen- A ProvisionalStudy',The Scor 10,13and 14(1954-5).4' DavidDrew, 'ProvisionalStudy ', The Scor , no. 10,(1954),p.44.


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Chapter TIT:Nfusical Lan2uas e or Messinen

Thecharacter f Messiaen'smusicwas clearly nfluencedby hispersonalnclinations.Messiaen, eingdeeplyreligious,chosemanysubjectswhichhad heir roots in Christian-specifically,RomanCatholic- theology.FEsoveof nature s reflectedn hissophisticateduseof birdsong,and hedepiction n musicof the andscapeshat surroundedhesesongsters. hereligioussideof thecomposerwassusceptibleo plainsong, acredexts,intense olours especiallyhose ound n stained-glass indows)and hesoundof theorgan.However, heseaspects annotbeconsideredn isolation: heymergeo form hischaracteristic tyle.Messiaenwashighlyreceptiveo manystylesof classicalmusic.Hisrhythmswere aken rom Greekand -finduclassicalmusic,StravinskyandDebussy,heharmoniesromDebussy,Mussorgsky,Dupr6,Stravinsky,WagnerandRavel.Justashiscompositional tyle evolved rom cosmopolitan ources f inspiration,sohisuseofbirdsong, oo, came romvisitsto manycountriesaround heworld.

With the traditional raining hatMessiaenreceivedat theConservatoire, e discoveredspecialormulaeof composition,heconglomeration f which formed hisuniquestyle.Messiaen referreda compositionalorm thatwasa reaction o thenineteenth enturysymphonicraditionandmore n keepingwith themusicalanguage f Debussy'-a trendof musical orm thathadevolved rom a strongFrenchancestry.Theharmonicsystemsratherstatic n nature,and here s no 'dynamic'formalstructure.Flisreferenceo a


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pedal-group , or instance,s a modem orm of ostinato,andhis omamental-groupreferso a cadenza.

In 1944Messiaenpublishedhetreatisen two partsentitled TechniquedemonLangageMusical22. Thispairof technicalbooks llustrateshemusicalsourcesromwhichMessiaen ad akenhis nfluences,and explainshetechniqueshathe hadusedn someofhisearliercompositions. heentirechapter ocuseson this source.ThefollovAngheadingsshowabriefoutlineof the undamentalheories f Messiaentthis ime,while eferringotheir inherentconnectionwith a later,more maturecompositional tyle,especiallywithregard o birdsong.

Harmonv

Messiaen eginso addresshis enormousopic with a chaptern the TechniquedemonLangageMusical ,entitled Harmony,Debussy,Added Notes . Thetitle obviouslyindicateshe mportancewhich s given o Debussy. t is important o rememberhatMessiaen enerallyusedharmony or decorationrather hanfor functional easons:dominantchord, or example,wouldbe ncorporatednto a piece,but a chromaticnotemightbeaddedo thischord or variety.Modal harmonies,oo, mightoftenbecombinedwith chromaticism.Oneof theprincipleshatMessiaen dvisess thenotionof the addednote , andMessiaenntroduceschords hat include hese addednotes .In theexamples

, hequotes,he s candidabout hesources f hismusicalanguage.He seems ompelledojustify hismusicby clearlyshowinga natural progressionrom pastcomposers just as


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Schoenberg'stonalityandserialismwere shown o bea developmentrom theharmonicfluctuationof Wagner'sstyle.Debussy'suseof non-resolving ppoggiaturasndpassingnotes whichdonot resolve issufficientustificationor Messiaeno includehese otesina chordntheirownright.Notonlydotheadded otesforeign') havehesamesonorityas heaforementioned ppoggiaturas,ut theyarealsonotes hatare presentnthe 'perfectchord' lex IH/1]. Thechord of theaddedsixth s thefirst of whichhespeaks:this chord s a commoneatureof thecomposer's arlyworks, yet moreustification sneededorotherechniques.heovertone eriessusedo validate modalandharmoniclanguage.Messiaen tates,

'In theresonance f a low C, a very acuteearhearsanF sharp the eleventh arinonic]...Thereforewe areustified in treating hisF sharpas an addednote n theperfectchord, alreadyprovidedwith an addedsixO.

Theadded60',9 andI I are also ncluded n this formula.Messiaen hows hat thegnormalesolution' romtheF# (theaugmentedourth) shouldbea C. Thischord and tsubiquitousmelodic esolutions anunmistakablyharacteristiceatureof theearlycompositions.n traditionalmusic heresolutionof chromaticnoteswould be found n adownwardsmotion- to its neighbournote.Messiaeneels hatheneedso justify this too,showinganexamplerom the 'Boris Godunov' hemebyMussorgsky.-Esargumenthattheappropriate esolution or theF# is the C is ratherstrange,as hedissonant ote s not0onlyan augmentedourth,but it hasno sense f movement.However, hechorddoesresolve,vAth heC being heroot of thedorainant9hchord. Thedissonant r addednotes


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appearwithout preparationor atraditionalresolution,and without a particularexpressiveaccent:henotes reused pecificallyor colouration ndharmonicnterest.

Messiaen sseof invented,ontrived ndspecial hordssnotable. hechordonthedon-inantanbe displayedn severalways:a chordwhichcontainsall thenotesof themajorscale with thedominantasabassnoteandan nvertedpositionof theothersixnotes),a supposedesolution,headdednotesas appoggiaturas, narrayof inversionwithchordal omplexesn closepositionnthe efthand thestained-glassindoweffect),achordwith theappoggiaturass addednotes,and hechord whichcanbeornamentedwithadded otes.Thechordof thedominantanberesolvednthenonnalway,orappoggiaturasre addedo form a complexdissonanceex IWIJ.

The chordof resonancescitedwithall thepossible oteshatcanbeheard ywhatMessiaen escribes s an extremelyineear [exIII/11. Messiaen lsodisplaysan nterestin a chord hat s built up from perfectand augmentedourthsrather hansuperposedthirds.Messiaen s hord n fourthsusesall thenotes rom thefifth modeof limitedtransposition, lternatingperfectand augmentedourthsabovea givenbassnote:often,thechordsand hemodehavea melodic ormulawhich involves he ntervalof the tritone[ei IR/2].

Resonances subdividednto two categories. hefirst, superior , involvesgenerallyaquietchord/notewhich s playedaboveamorefundamental hord/note.The second,inferior , ispredominantly uilt up from loud chordswhich ncludesoftercoloursabove.


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More regularly, his resonances achieved y a chordor note playedoudly in thebassamongstthermusicalmaterial.n earlycompositions,essiaenncluded ctualtranscriptions f birdsongnto hiscompositions, ndmany imbralcomplexitieshatarecommonlyoundnbirdsongreused.n laterworks,Messiacnaturatedismusicwithboth highand ow register esonances,nd accompaniedhesesonoritieswith colourfulbirds. ng.The resonance hords, as one would expect rom Wsgeneralharmonicapproach, re usedasa timbraldevicerather hanfor purely structuralpurposes. heCatalogued Oiseaux ncorporatesmany inferior and superior resonance ffects;naddition,chordsareoften eft heldwhilenewbirdsong exturesbegin.Theseeffectsdefinethe later hybrid texturewherean inferior or superior resonance recedes r followsaphraseof birdsong.

Often,chordsare arrangedn closeposition,and somencludedissonantaddednotes.Thestained-glass indow effect s perhaps reatedby thecolourthat thechordhasproduced.Theabsence f certainpitches out of the total of twelvesernitonesn anoctave)often produceshesentensecolours.Messiaenquotesan extract rom theQuatuorpour la Fin du TempsexIH/3] describingheprogression s acascade f blue-orangechords.He would also,quiteregularly n earlyworks, combinedissonant olour-chordswith diatonicones.An example f this is found n Te BaiserdeI Enfant-Jdsusfrom Vingi Regardssur I Enfwit-Jemis.

Messiaen ontinueso developnew approacheso harmonyhroughouthiscareer.Acontinuumof inventedcolour-chordss found n thepianopart as early as hefirst


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movement f thequartet 1944)- later,as hecomposer ecomesncreasinglypreoccupiedithrecreatinghe imbreof birdsong,nventedhords reattachedo manypitches, imulatingheiruniqueimbralqualitiesn the%ild. nventedhords, armonicinflectionsand colourbecome ynonymous:

'Messiaenranslatesoloursnto harmonies,for thosewhohaveearso see' .

The Modesof Limited Transposition

Messiaen'smodesdivide heoctave nto betweenwo andsixpointsof symmetry.Themodesorm a nucleusor Messiaen's arlymelodicandharmoniccompositionalconstructions. hepointsof symmetryimit thenumberof transpositionshatcanbemadeandarebasedontheequal-temperedhromaticscale.Thepointsof symmetryaresubdividednto thesameelationship f tonesandsernitones,heonlyexceptionbeingmodeI (thewhole-tonescale)whichdivides heoctave nto sixequaldivisions.Messiaenrarelyuseshismode:aswith Debussy,t is incorporatedonly whenconcealed mongstothertextures.He alsocombineshismodewith others ex IH/4]. Consequentlyheidentityof mode ischanged uitedramatically.Thepedalpart in 'Les Eauxde a Grice'from Messiaen's esCorpsGlorieur involves hecontinualuse of thewholetonescale.TheharmonyhatmodeI implies acksa certain ension hat thecomposerequires:hetritone isthe onlyfeature hathasany nherent mportance,


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Mode2 isusedmore regularly n Messiaen s ompositions.Certainharmonies,melodiesandcadentialormulas reoftenassociatedvithhismode.Theunit sof threenoteswhich nvolvesheintervallicsuccessionernitone/tone.hecadentialonnula(associatedvvith hefirst scene f Boris Godunov )clearlyhasamarkedsignificanceor thecomposer sheoften, n early works,used hismode ncorporatinghesamemelodicintervallic elationshipsex HI/51.Messiaen snterest n mode2 is due o its harmonicimplications.Themode tself doesnot referto a particular onality;however, t caneasilybeused n relation o one onalcentre,andmove nto anotherwithout analarmingmodulation.Themodesn general,asMessiaen oints out, exist in an atmospherefseveralonalitiesat once,without polytonality thecomposer eingat libertyeither ogivepredominanceo one onality,or to leave he tonalfeeling luid. Themodescreate(andallow)a varietyof chromatichordshatare elatedo atonalcentre. hus,Messiaensable o juxtaposechords hathaveno diatonicrelationshipwith eachother,with theresult hataformalstructure s producedwhich s coherentwithout theuseoftraditionalharmonicmplications.

Modes4,5 pd 6 areused ess requently han heothersas heydo not haveso manychromaticpossibilities.Messiaen ites eachof thesemodes,pointingout theirdistinguishableharacteristicsn someof hisearlyworks.Theyare runcatedn form asallof their notesare presentn some ransposition f mode7. Mode 3 is a modeof strictlylimitedtransposition,ike modes and2.


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Messiaenuxtaposes omplexdissonanceswith consonantonalharmonies:n thecomposer's ind,hiscombinationonjurespthecolourassociationshichwereveryimportant o him.For Messiaen,Mode2 suggests hades f purple,blueand violet,whilstmode3 displaysreddishorange,greenwith spotsof gold, andmilky-whitewith irisreflectionsike opal.Colourremainsan mportantaspectof Messiaen'smusic: n Couleursde la CW Oldie thecolours are namedn thescore, n relation o specificchordalcomplexes.

Occasionally,n the ater birdsong'works,modesof firrited transposition re employednchords n order o depict hebird's plumage.n Te Merle deRoche'(CataloguedDiseaza), theprincipalbird's song s 'bright orangeike its plumage'7. heterm 'mode'is laterextendedenericallyo encompassanyother eaturesof Messiaen'scompositions:

'[Messiaen"swork] ...s essentially languageof modality;in otherwords, t makesreeusenot only of theclassicmodes majorandminor- but alsoof theecclesiasticalmodesof the middleages,of exotic modesand ndeed,of modesof thecomposer's wn invention .

It maybesaid hateachbird's songhas ts own 'mode'.

MelodyMessiaen'smelodicstyle s closely elated o hisuse of harmony.Themelodicshapes fmanyof thephrases,n early works, seemo bederived rom pastcomposers,olksong,


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Indianatis and later- birdsong.As wehaveseenn theBorisGodunov heme, heresolutionf theF# sC,vvithhedescendingugmentedourth tritone)becomingprominenteature.Thecomposer's seof themajor6 in his perfectchord', and heuseof this interval n manymelodic inesby Mozart prompts hecomposero employ hisintervalregularly.Onceagain, heopeningof Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov' s cited,transposed,ut nonethelessopied,apart rom thefirst intervalwhich s augmented y asemitoneei 111/61.essiaenlsomentionshree-notehromaticells whichheassociated ith Bartok) thatspana major2'J, two consecutive itches,or a descendingwholetone ollowed by an ascending ernitc-nes well as heinversionof thissecondfigure.Thissystems reallya form of imitation: he three-note ells are subjectedovariousmanipulationsut are essentiallywapped round. t is interestingo note hatbychanginghepulseormetre,hiseffectsproducedn manyworkswithoutstrictlyadheringo theseechniques, ut only usingan ostinatopassage ith a changeof pulse.Stravinskyprovidesseveralexamples f this technique,wo of whichare givenhere: [ex111/7 , b). AlthoughMessiaen mployshemelodicprinciplesof previouscomposers, otonlydoeshecompletelyransform henatureof themelodiesbyusinghisown style,but inthesamewayhe s also able o change ramaticallyhenatureof themelodicpatternsofbirdsongsafter ranscribinghem.

TheIndianatis areusedasabasisor melodicmaterialby Messiaen.Manyof the rulesand raditionsof theRagastyleclearly nfluencedsomeof thecomposer'smelodicstructures:herepeated otesat theendof a phrasearea conunoneature,andMessiaenuseshis idea n piecesike VAnge auxParfurns' exI 13 n 'Technique'), Amen des


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Anges, desSaints,du Chant desOiseaux (ex146,ex142 in Technique ), Troi.vPetitesLiturgiesdelaPr6semeDiviize(movlandex168n Technique ).Of course,headdednotevalue, oo, is a primary eature aken rom this source.

Theprinciplesof manyplainchantphrases re akenandusedby,Messiaenn diverseways.Thecontoursof plainsong hrases ftenforeshadowheoneswrittenby Messiaen.Mostplainsong hrases ndonthe final (the I note of thefnode):ex170 n the TechniquedemonLangageMusical is anexarnple f this dea aken rom SalveRegina ex HI/8].Someof thephraseshatMessia

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