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Kraft-Birdsong in The Music of Messiaen VOL1 PDF
Kraft-Birdsong in The Music of Messiaen VOL1 PDF
A thesissubmittedto MiddlesexUniversity
in partial fulfilment of the requirementsfor the degreeof
Doctor of Philosophy
David Kraft
December2000
Abstract
7be intentionof this investigationis to formulatea chronologicalsurveyof Messiaen'streatmentof
birdsong,taking into accountthe speciesinvolvedandthe composer'sevolvingmethodsof motivic
intrinsic
incorporation
instrumentation,
characteristicsand structure.The
of
manipulation,
in
developing
is
in
to
turn,
taken
this
survey
selected
works
appropriatetabular
study
approach
formswith regardto Messiaen'suseof 'style oiseau',identifiedbird vocalisationsandeventhe
frequentappearances
of musicthat includesfamiliar characteristicsof bird style,althoughnot so
labelledin the score.Dueto the repetitivenatureof so manymotivic fragmentsin birdsong,it has
becomenecessary
to developnewterminologyandincorporatederivationsfrom other research
findings.7be 'motivic classification'tables,for instance,presentthe essentialmotivic featuresin
birdsong.
complex
somevery
The studybeginsby establishingthe importanceof the uniquemusicalproceduresdevelopedby
Messiaen:theseinvolve,for example,questionsof form, melodyand rhythm.7he problemof
'authenticity' - that is, the degreeof accuracywith which Messiaenchoosesto treat birdsong- is
in
birdsong
Messiaen's
A
selectedmajor works
use
of
of
then examined. chronologicalsurvey
follows, demonstrating
an evolutionfrom the ge-eralterm 'oiseau'to the preciseattributionof
birds.
to
particular
material
particular
harmonies(or
in later periods,the composerexploresnew instrumentationandaccompanying
,
idiosyncrasies
timbres
the
to
and
other
chordalcomplexities) create,as closelyaspossible, unique
larger
introduce
begins
Messiaen
birds'
to
time,
the
a
much
varietyof
same
vocalisations;at
of
birdsong
7be
birdsong
from
his
into
the
are
of
representations
world.
music,using
all over
species
least
in
the
'authentic',
than
and
perhaps,
with
works
colourful,
previous
or
at
more
more
much
is
Catalogue,
landscape
in
(for
greaterverisimilitude created.
portrayalof
example)
accompanying
The inclusionof so manyexotic speciesin the scoresof, for instance,SeptHarkar and
Chronochromieis a resultof Messiaen'smeticulousornithologicalinvestigationsandpainstaking
by
be
importantly,
increasingly
bird
More
to
the
tends
replaced other
monophonic
style
notations.
texturessuchastwo-voicehomophony,hornorhythin,hybrid forms andpolyphony.
The mostpertinentworks of this final periodare evaluated,clearlydisplayingthe manyfeaturesof
drawn
Conclusions
in
birdsong
their
the
the
are
call,
and
part
pieces.
and
structureof
each
features
distinguishing
by
the
the
of each
technical
the
means which
composerrealises
concerning
birdsong.Thethesisis sustainedby a closestudyof threeelementsgoverningMessiaen'streatment
between
(rbythm.,
birdsong;
the
close
relationship
melodyandstructure),especiallyconsidering
of
them.
Therehasnot previouslybeena systematicattemptto analyseMessiaen'spiecesin this way. This
birdsong,
Messiaen's
of
employment
researchprovidesa coherentstructuraloverviewof
displayingrecurringpatternsfound in the useof rhythm,melodyand structure.Further,the recent
d'Ornithologie'
Couleur
de
de
'Trait6
Rythme,
to
Messiaen's
the
research
enables
et
of
publication
begenuinelyup-to-date,usingthe composer'spersonalcommentson, andanalysesof, birdsongs
found frequentlyin his music.
ii
Acknowled2ements
iii
Foreword
iv
Contents
ChapterI
ChapterII
ChapterIII
ChapterIV
ChapterV
ChapterVI
ChapterVII
ChapterVIII
ChapterIX
Background
Issuesin MessiaenResearch
MusicalLanguageof Messiaen
The Notation of Birdsong
Characteristicsof 'Le StyleOiseau'in Works 1933-1948
The ExperimentalPeriod 1949-1951
R6veildesOiseauxandOiseauxExotiques
Catalogued'Oiseaux
Use of Birdsongin SelectedWorks 1960-1987
Conclusion
MusicalExamples
Bibliography
Dissertations
Discography
1-14
15-44
45-59
60-72
73-127
128-168
169-219
220-263
264-336
337-356
357-457
458-463
464
465466
Gloi-tarv
Key: DK- original terms
0: ornithological terms
NI: Nfessinen'sterms
This
involves
(1%1):
tcchnique
the repetitionof a
asymmitrique
agrandissement
down,
transposed
cell:
or
notesare
up
while othersremainthe same.
melodic
alternator (DK): Two notesinterchangeone after the other in a patternof equal
Commonintervalsare the tritone or augmentedoctave.
durations,often serniquavers.
bird call: A short, declarnatorysequenceof pitches.
vi
This
term
islands:
Indicates
that
certain
pitches.
around
a
passage
revolves
motivic
(1985).
Griffiths
by
Paul
wasoriginallyused
describe
have
Ornithologists
the quality
to
attempted
onomatopoeicrepresentation:
includes
Messiaen
In
bird
the
real or
sameway,
of
vocalisationswithmnemonics.
inventedwords that most closelyresemblethe sonoritiesof a particularbird
in
is
instance,
Oiseaux,
for
des
in
Riveil
thrush
the
portrayed
song
vocalisation:
i-di-di,
by
'6-di-di,
tioto, tioto,
the
onomatopoeia,
musicalnotationandaccompanied
tioto, tou-hitte'.
vii
viii
Chapter-1: Back2round
background
is to placeMessiaen
historicallyand
Thepurposein tracingthecomposer's
life
important
his
for
his
birdsong.
The
to.
of
attraction
periods
suggestpossiblereasons
in
influential
by
discussed,
to
composers;
works written other
with passingreferences
are
his
influential
is
The
the
to
own
considered.
extent
music
proved
which
addition,
diverse
involving
integration
as
of
elements
an
such
philosophical
outlook,
composer's
is
beauty,
freedom,
love
theology,
and
alsosurveyed.
nature,
life
birds
being
introduced
Already
Messiaen
that
to
of
was
aspects
and
particularly
nature.
asa grownman.Indeed,hismothersaid,
wouldlaterbecomeobsessions
Messiaenmovedto Nantesafter the First World War. During this brief stayMessiaenso
him
in
finest
that
they
the
the
town
offered
musicians
rapidly gainedthe respectof someof
free lessons.The most notableof thesemusicians,Jehande Gibon,taughtMessiaen
harmony.Messiaenhadalreadybeenintroducedto impressionisticmusicwith Debussy's
'Pell6as
de
Gibon
however,
Jehan
'EstampeS"2
the
ten
of
et
gave
year old a score
;
youngcomposer.
inspiration
freedom
Bartok
Debussy.
Both
Debussy
took
to
comparable
and
rhythmic
from folksongandEasternmusic,addingelementsderivedfrom themto their own
by
language
harmonic
Messiaen
Debussy"s
andmodal
extended
compositionalstyles.
for
lEndu
Gregorian
Oriental
the
and
many
and
modes,while also exploring
searching
Greekrhythms.It is this rhythmicfreedomwhich Messiaenwas, aboveall, to discoverin
birdsong:thesesongswould provideinnumerable,innovativesourcesof motivic material
for compositions.
his
he
Conservatoire
Paris
In 1919,Messiaen
studiesuntil
the
continued
where
entered
1930,talcingpianolessonswith GeorgesFalkenberg.Later, Messiaenstudiedharmony
lessons
(for
Gallon
Jean
ten
on musicaltheory.and
yjears)
private
and
received
with
musicwith MauriceEmmanuel,
percussion
with JosephBaggersandcomposition
with
PaulDukas.It wasMarcelDupr6whointroducedMessiaen
to plainchant,
organ
registrationandimprovisation,aswell asgiving specialattentionto Greekmetres.The
for source
discoveryof the 120Indiandeg!-Idlasrhythmsprovedto beinvaluable
in
LAscension).
described
(especially
These
early
even
works
after
are
material,
rhythms
in his treatise'Sarrigita-ratnikara'.
by the thirteenthcenturyHindu theorist,Sharngadeva,
The mostimportantfeatureof manyof theserhythmsis their inherentametricality:
Messiaenderivedthe principleof 'addednotevalues' from both the IEndu rhythmsand
the rhythmsof Stravinsky.Messiaenwould adda sixteenthnote, lengthena note or adda
sixteenthnote asa rest. This becamea notablecharacteristicof Messiaen'slanguage:the
is
dueto the
is
by
both
(which
the
the
timelessness
of
music achieved
absenceof a pulse
[ex
the
tempi
the
value
and
=etricality)
some
of
pieces
note
rhythmic
and
of
added
slow
]U11.4
first
by
language.
Many
the
shocked
at
musical
were
who objected,anxiousto givethe
he
label,
likened
it
dance
jazz.
Messiaen,
This
to
as
was
angered
a
or
music e-en
music
vehementlyopposednot only to jazz but alsoto 'Les Six' andtheir disciples.
broke
large
following.
brought
Ta
Jeune
France'
up at the
a
which
werearranged
different
followed
War
Two,
World
the
very
after which
composers
outbreakof
directions.However,theseyearswerevery importantfor Messiaen:he marriedthe
but therehaverecentlybeen
FewsingershavetackledPojmespourMi, for instance,
someenlighteningversions,notablyby lane Manning,GabrielleDumaine,Felicity Palmer
andPhylfisBryn-Julson.
in
Quartet,
freedom.
In
initiating
Quartet
therhythmic
the
the
as
newstages rhythmic
and
is
based
system
on the addednote value,prime numbers,Hindu andnonretrogradable
includedthepiano(practicallyasa soloinstrument)
in theorchestra,for example,Trois
PetilesLittirgiesdelaPriseiiceDit,itie (1943)andthe TurangalilaSymplimy(19461948)a few yearslater. The pianobecamea very prominentfeatureof Messiaen'smusic
at this time: the full rangeof the instrumentwasexploredwith experimentalharmonies
has
been
being
the
virtuosity
and,although piano
criticisedas not
a
andremarkable
it is usedregularly,andto greateffect,to
suitablesubstitutefor birdsongrepresentation,
this end.The pianocontinuedto play an integralr6le in the composer'smusicthroughout
his career.Beforewriting the TurangafflaSymphony,his regardfor Wagner(specifically
the opera,'Tristan und Isoldes'),humanlove andthe love of God were expressedin the
song-cycleHarawi (1945),wherethe relationshipbetweenlove and deathis also
explored.
including
In
he
had
the
three
ondes
work,
martenotwhich
usedon
previousoccasions. a
Messiaen
transfersthe Churchandits liturgyto theconcerthall:'I intendedto
sense,
a liturgicalact,thatis to say,to bringa kindof office,a kind of organised
act
accomplish
into
hall.
'
[O.
Messiaen
the
concert
of praise,
with ClaudeSamuel,1986,p22].
On the otherhand,the performancewas a successwith the public
KoussevitskycommissionedMessiaen'sTurangafflaSymphonyandmadeit possiblefor
him to teachcompositionin EuropeandAmerica.This major symphony(of ten
in
four)
in
first
Boston
1949
than
the
traditional
under
rather
was
performed
movements
the directionof LeonardBemstein.The Turmigall1aS)mphonyis onepart of Messiaen's
TristanandIsoldetriptych, the other piecesbeingthe Cinq Rechantsandthe songcycle,
Harawi. The symphonyincludesa wide variety of dynamics,colourationandmelodies,but
in
importance
birdsongis not of paramount
it differsfromlaterorchestralworksbecause
the compositionalform, althoughit doesappear(for example)in 'Jardindu Sommeil
d'amour', whereit occursmonophonicallyandis labelledsimply 'oiseau' ratherthan
bird,
in
later
to
a
as
nmned
works [ex 1/2].
attributed
10
durations,intensities
towards
a short-livedmovement
andthetimbres,whichstimulated
'
byModede aleursel
'integral'or 'total' serialism.Thepiecesthatwereinfluenced
MichelFano'sSonata
Sonatafor two pianos(1950_51)7,
d'Intemilis wereGoeyvaert's
for two pianos(1951), Stockhausen's'Kreuzspiel' (1951), Boulez's 'StructuresI a'
(1951-52)and,muchlater, BarbaraKolb's 'Apello' for piano(1976). In fact, Mode de
Valeursel dItifewiles (1949) is not a serialcomposition,althoughmusicologistssuchas
David Drew seemto categoriseit as 'durchgeordnetemusik'. Onceagain,the pieceis
further
for
it
did
himself
little
this
Messiaen
with
much
and
continue
not
cared
work,
technique.
birdsong.
harmonic
After thisperiod,Messiaen's
was
mainsourceof
andmelodicmaterial
Messiaenwas a skilledornithologistandbecameableto namethe songsof birds ashe
heardthem.Messiaenbeganto transcribethe songsof birds by hand:he slowedthem
down andreducedtheir pitch, makingit possiblefor westerninstrumentsto play them.He
knowledge
in
daybreak
the
to
the
of
to
the
gain
evening
at
or
woods
go
would
differentiationof soundqualitybetweentheseperiodsin time. La Messede la Pentec6te
(1950),for organ,indicatesthe return of Messiaen'sbelovedbirds. This work not only
includes
11indu
it
but
improvisation
and
the
also
organ,
on
showsthe effectof yearsof
Greekrhythmsandthe techniqueof 'interversions'which hadpreviouslybeenintroduced
in oneof the Quatrebudes de Rythme(1949-1956).The fourth movement,
'Communion',includesa wide variety of birdsong.A year later in Livre d'Orgue (1951),
II
The
Messiaencombinesthe 'Sharngadeva'rhythms,%kith
techniques
on
pitch.
quasi-serial
fourthmovement,
'Chantd'Oiseaux,andthelastmovement,
'Soixante-Quatre
Durdes',
both makeextensiveuseof birdsong.NMI desOiseaux(1953) andOiseauxExotiques
(1956) deriveexclusivelyfrom birdsongandcalls.By the time of writing Chronochronfie
(1960), Messiaenhad alreadycollectedbirdsongfrom all over Europe,Japan,India,
China,Malaysia,the Middle East,partsof Afficas,North AmericaandMexico. In
Chronochromiea strict interversionsystemis applied(seeJohnsonp159); however,the
freedom
to
the
this
ratherthan
sophisticatedstructureseems give
piecean effect of
use of
half
Messiaen's
deliberate
These
the
of
career
second
of
construction.
andother -works
of
in
later
in
detail
the thesis.
are surveyed greater
tp8de',
is reminiscentof the total useof birdsongappliedin NMI
The sixth movement,
desOiseauxand consistsof a counterpointof eighteenstrings,mimickingthe songsof
like
but,
birdsong
birds.
did
Messiaen
the
a
not wish to createthe exactsoundof
eighteen
had
he
inflection
intended
he
to
that
timbre
to
which
and
createa very similar
painter,
heardin the field.
12
Messiaen
at anearlyagehada considerable
passionfor thetheatreandgraduallythis
developedinto a love of opera.In manyof his analysisclassesat the Conservatoire,a
dAuise
deal
devoted
Saint
His
Franqois
(1975time
to
of
was
good
opera.
own opera
85) is a grandwork that celebratesthe Saintandhis love of nature(especiallythat of
birds), people,heavenand angels.The sixth scene'Le Priche aux Oiseaux'('The Sennon
birdsong
is
by
St.
Francis
transformed
theangels'music
to theBirds')is saturated
as
with
the languageof the birds and speaksto them. Messiaen
andconsequentlyunderstands
describesthis sixth sceneas 'organisedchaos'.Not only doesthe conductorhavethe
complextask of beatingbarsof unequallength,but he is alsofree to bring in certain
instrumentsin his own time ('hors tempo): in the words of St. Francis:'Everythingof
beautymustleadto freedom,the freedomof glory.'
had
he
beenarguedthatMessiaen's
hadreached
that
to return
techniques
a stand-stilland
to thearchaicvocabulary
of theearlierworks,whereasothersstatethathe hadlostthe
impact
of thosecompositions,althoughsomesectionsare very moving.
emotional
13
him:thisis anextremelyproblematic
haveendeavoured
taskasthemany
to categorise
is
language.
his
to
conglomeration
seem
create
a
a
unique
of
which
music
constituents
The considerationof Messiaen'srelationshipto his contemporarieshasperhapsbeen
discussedenough.PeterFlill points out:
' Strangeasit may seem,we needfor the momentto abandonthe long view, to
its
details
to
the
to
the
of
glass,
explore
closer
shimmering
colours
stained
step
afresh,andfeel againhow extraordinarythey are' [PeterHill, Messiaen
Companion,1995,plO].
14
Notesto ChapterI
'Taken fromClaudeSamuel,OlivierMessiaert
MusicandColor:Conversations
with the
Composer(Portland,Oregon,Amadeus,
1986),p15.
2Althoughmanymusicologists
in relationto
wouldquestiontheterm'impressionist'
for Messiaen
heembodied
Debussy,
certainfeaturesof the 'impressionist'
style.
3MicheleReverdy,L'OeuvrepourPianod'OlivierMessiaen.
(Paris,AlphonseLeduc,
1978).
demonLangageMusical.(Paris,Leduc,1944)pl, ex. I4For examples,
seeTechnique
10.
5TheworksHarawi,the TuratigalilaSymphojiy
Chiq
form
Rechants
a triptych
and
inspiredby themythof TristanandIsolde.
' For moreinformationon thesubjectof 'Modedevaleurset d'intensites'andthe
influenceon Boulez,Stockhausen
et al, seeToop,Richard:'Messiaen/Goeyvaerts,
Boulez,' in Perspectives
Fano/Stockhausen,
of NewMusict13,No.I (1974)pp141-169.
7But at thetimeof writingthis Sonata,Goeyvaerts
hadleft Messiaen's
classes
a year
beforeandhadnot heardModede Valeurset d7nivisitesdirectly.
' AlthoughAfficanbirdsongmostlyappears
in La
in laterworks,especially
deNotreSeig7zezir
Transfiguration
Jimis-ChristandDesCwzyons
auxboiles.
15
In orderto builduponpastanalyticaldiscoveries,
findings
themostnotableresearch
to thesubjectof birdsongon a theoreticalrather
shouldbecited,establishing
contributions
than empiricalbasis.
has
been
for
is
Messia.
topic
the
there
a
en
popular
musicologistsover
years:
much
literatureexaminingthe maintechniquesof his style.Most scholarsdiscussthe early,
later
Hindu
limited
the
transposition,
years,
rhythms,
and
modes
of
middle
Christian/Catholicsymbolism,colour andthe 'experimentalperiod' (includingpiecessuch
Ile
books
de
Valeurs
d7ntensWs
de
few
Mode
Feu
II).
Yet
el
and
give
only
a
as
birdsong
Messiaen
Companion'l,
'The
to
them
attention
an
amongst
systematic
Johnson
by
Sherlaw
interviewwith ClaudeSamuel2,.
Robert
the
and
and views expressed
Paul Griffiths.The first task in this researchproject was to extractthe importantviews of
Messiaenhimselfon the subjectof birdsong.The next informationneededwas the
to the subject.Therehasbeenlittle researchinto the
musicologists'analyticalresponses
developmentof birdsongin his music,but the literature foundgivesa basison which to
work. The issuesI proposeto dealwith maybe categorisedasfbHows:
1 The Composer'sPersonalInsights
2 Trevor Hold and Authenticity
3 Previous Research.
Eachcategoryis, in addition,subdivided.
16
I The Comnoser'sPersonalTnsiehts
de
'Technique
(1944)
Mon
Langage
Musical'
by 0. Messing
a)
17
in theaccompaniment
thatsuggests
theinteractionof birdsong.
birdsongin silu:
18
I therecognitionof theindividualsingerandthespecies
to whichit belongs
2 musicaldictationandthespeedof thebird'svoice
Other informationgiven hereincludesMessiaen'suseof the Wagnerian'leitmotif' in
RgveildesOiseaux,andthe reductionof long silencesto a few seconds(whendepictinga
whole day of birdsong).He clearly showsa comparisonbetweenthe recognitionof the
characteristicsof differentpeoplewith ornithology.That is to say,everyonehasa
is
individual
hair,
the
that
characteristic
colour
one's
eyes,a particularway
of
particular
of spealdngor walling.Onewould recognisea personby anynumberof theseintrinsic
is
it
deterrnine
Messiaen
this
to
the
that
says
same
one
qualities.
perceptionwhich enables
bird
from
its
vocalisation.
speciesof
'For an omithologistit's muchthe same.
It's like it is with leitmotives:he recognises
its
by
bird
style,its themes,its melodic
each
'
turns of phrase,its specificrhythms7.
Messiaenstatesthat the real work beginswhenthe songsareto be incorporatedinto the
piece.For example,a songthrush'ssongwRIbe written from a conglomerationof
differcnt manuscriptsaccumulatedby Messiacn,
over the years.Thesemanuscriptsareput
togetherandsomephrasesare chosento form the songof the songthrushthat typifiesits
maincharacteristics.
19
' Oneneedscombinations
of instruments,
andstill
morecombinations
or complexes
of pitches...Each
is
furnished
the
noteof
melody
with a chordwhich
is intendedto reproduce
'
thetimbreof thatnoteg.
Messiaenexplainsthat he alsousesthe leitmotif principleto makesurethat the listener
bird
songor call. For example,he typically usesthe sameinstrumentsto
recogniseseach
bird
a
certain
sound,andthe compositionaldevicesmayalsobe the sameon each
portray
occasion.The goldenoriole mayalwaysbe written in octaves,or surroundedby certain
soundcomplexes;or the samemusicalphrasemay simplybe repeated.
Messiaenalsoaddresses
musicalform with regardto the useof birdsong.Thereare two
basicsystems,accordingto the composer:
I Deceitful
2 Truthful
The first usesthe bird soundsas raw material- the birdsongis alteredso muchthat the
Oiseaur
is
Messiaen
He
'musique
tls
to
relates
classes
concrete'.
original unidentifiable.
Exotiquesasa piecethat fulfils this criterion, ashe hastakenbirds from India, China,
North AmericaandMalaysiaandput themtogether,althoughthey could not possiblyhave
is
in
Messiaen,
The
the
to
sungwith eachother
real world.
secondmethod,according
better,more original andperhaps'more indicativeof the future'. He callsit the 'truthful
idea
it
have
describes
As
that
the
to
asone
conforms reality. we
notedearlier,
method' and
in
is
freedom
integral
Messiaen's
St.
John's
of
an
part
philosophy:perhapsa sayingof
of
his Gospelsumsup this belief - 'the truth will makeyou free' - andperhaps,too, this
20
Oiseazix.
Messiaensaysthat apartfrom the criesand caUsof the birds,there are threetypesof song:
I The songindicatingpossession(territorial)
2 The enticingsong(matingsong)
3 The breakof day song(dawn chorus)
21
Messiaen
citesthreebasictypesof caflsalso:
I The matingcall
2 The feedingcall
3 The cry of alarm
Similarly,in the Conferenceof Notre Dame(1977),Messiaensaysthat eachof his sacred
belongs
to one of threetypes:
pieces
I Liturgical music
2 Religiousmusic
22
"
Claud
Samuel,
Conversations
with
c)
23
bird's
in
far
bird
descriptions
dictionary.
Messiaen
of each
voicegiven any
evengoesso as
to claimthat,
24
However,is not a pieceof musicthat is written down with its exactpitchesand notations
like a photograph?
Messiaen's
transcriptions
areintendedasaninterpretation
of whatthe
bird sings,just asa paintingcapturesthe essenceratherthan the surfaceof its subject:it is
morethana merelymechanicalreproduction.It is possiblethat Messiaen'sinherentdislike
of machineryandfuturismlies behindthe statementquotedabove.
includetheslowingdown(sometimes
by four or five times)of the
Othermodifications
songsandthe useof gracenoteson the pianoto createa portamentoeffect.
This secondtreatise,a vast project,took Messiaenfrom 1949to the endof his life to
Loriod,
Yvonne
in
According
to
write: the sevenvolumesare the courseof publication.
25
26
in order to indicate
Occasionally,the composerincludesonomatopoeicrepresentations
in
bird's
timbre
of
and
nuances
phrasing
a
vocalisation.Although Messiaen
particular
his
in
it
is
for
this
tool
the performer
compositions
way,
nevertheless
a useful
rarely marks
in
RJveil
to
the
thrush
certain
phrasesof
song
and nightingale
whenattempting portray
de.v Oiseaux.For example,a featureof the nightingale'ssong,comprisingrepeatedlow
in
is
described
by
flourish,
then
a
grace
concludingwith a
note, and
pitcheseachpreceded
the treatiseas 'tio, tio, tio, tiotiolaborix'.
27
features,
the
while
skylark,
amongst
other
many
employsa
-),
development
his
being
It is interesting
tracing
the
treatise
that
than
of
an
argument,
rather
0
'bird style', it is in fact an encyclopaediccoflectionof illustrativeportraits on the common
birds of Europe,presentingtheir uniquesongsand cas. This importantinformation
for
individual
the
the
understanding
of
musicalcharacteristics
providesan essentialguide
in
in
both
Messiaen'sworks.
the
and
wild
of eachspecies'songs,
28
he
bird,
Olivier
Messiaen's
the
skill at notating actualsoundof each
and
over-estimated
inauthenticity
imitations,
Messiaen's
TrevorHold,a
the
of
some
of
out
pointed
had
in
in
journals
but
had
only
written
articles musical
alsopublished an
musicologist, not
journal
'Ibis'. He relatedMessiaen'stranscriptionsto thoseof
ornithological
ornithologists.In addition,he criticisedthe rathernaivecommentsmadeby musiccritics
it
Messiaen's
At
this
the
subjectof authenticityandcriticisedsomeof
point
claims.
on
shouldbe pointedout that althoughat onestageMessiaenclaimedthat the soundswere
he
his
his
life,
through
the
to
true
often
changed
of
oeuvreand
mind
course
extremely
thereforeit is difficult to classwhat he hassaidat any onemomentasthe definitivetruth.
Early in his birdsongwriting career,Messiaensaidthat his songswere authentic,yet later
be saysthe opposite.
claims:
29
I Syllabicnotation
2 Staff notation
3 Otherforms of subjectivenotation
30
in
field
birdsong
the
andbacksup Messiaen's
theproblemsof notating
pointsof view
in
birdsong.
The
the
timbres
technical
of
unique
are
suggestions
made
aboutrepresenting
but
is
for
is
the
there
that
averagemusician,
someadvicegiven
somecasessimpleeven
for
North
is
the
that
more
proficient.
similar
useful
employs
a
vowel
system
and
relevant
4.
1,17
from
(193
8
The
'Handbook'
the
the
vowel-scale
showsa gradation
to that of
highest-sounding
to the lowest-soundingvowels,and displaysan indicationof the
North
the
transcribed.
timbres
of
sounds
suggestsevokingthe quality of each
comparative
descriptive
include,
for
These
by
techniques.
would
sound usingratherrudimentary
hands
is
into
This
blowing
to
the
timbre
the
tawny
create
cupped
owl.
a
of
example,
in
describing
Messiaen
that
muchof his music.North givesa
often used
technique
form
he
lists
field
to
twelve
transcription,
the
an
accurate
and
needed
methods
of
summary
include:
imitating
by
birdsong
in
Examples
bear
the
to
whistling or singing,
mind.
points
describing
He
the
the
sound
quality.
and
octave
givesuseful adviceon
estimating
in
field,
from
including
bird
be
distance
the
the
the
the
that
of
might encountered
problems
hearer.Distance,he says,affectsthe quality of the timbre, and someof the notesmay
becomeinaudibleto the humanear.
31
3 Previous Research
Sherlaw
Johnson.
Robert
a)
birds
developed.
Johnson
listed
birdsong
(as
that
the
transcriptions
all
also
an
appendix)
of
hadbeenusedin thepieces,and indicatedwhich pieceseachone appearedin. This
informationhasbeenan extremelyhelpfultool for researchandgroundwork. However,
he omits (quitenaturally)the birdsongthat hasnot beenspecifiedby Messiaenin the
du
birds
in
first
la
Fin
Quatuor
For
the
the
the
example,
used
pour
movementof
score.
Tempsare,quite obviously,the nightingaleandthe blackbird,but asthey arenot written
into the scoreandmight theoreticallybe anotherbird entirely,they are not includedin this
tablefor reference.
32
The orchestralpassages
that precedethesesectionsalso havean identicalstructure,
findings
form,
diagrams
in
These
Johnson.
to
are
represented
graphical
vAth
according
layout
He
the
the
of
overview
of
usesgraphicalmeansto show
a
strict
piece.
which give
how Hindu andGreekrhythmsandtheir assignedinstrumentsare deployedin Oi.veaux
Exotiques.Thesegraphsdemonstrateinstantlythe processesof the composer.
The
He alsoclassifiesthe non-birdsongmaterialusedin Caialogued'oiseaUX26.
Mows:
into
five
drawn
be
this
groups
as
may
summationof
33
34
b) NormanDemuth.
28(1
Early
Birds
v
in
his
'Messiaen's
960) discussesthe earlytranscriptions
Demuth,
article
des
Oiseaux
Rgveil
(1953).
He
birdsong
to
talks aboutthe episodicnatureof
up
of
Messiaen'sform as opposedto the symphonicstyleof manypast composers.Demuth
have
birds
breath,
Messiaen
that
to
that
take
even
writes
a
and
quite
naturally,
pointsout,
in 'block-form' almostexclusively.The useof separatebirdsongsconsecutively,as
opposedto the superimpositionof oneupon another,createsan effect of separationrather
include
do
birdsong,Messiaenwas writing materialthat
In
that
than continuity. works
not
has
in
Turwigaffla
Sjmphony.
Boulez
in
Pierre
the
was very episodic nature,especially
in
form'
Messiaen's
'block
is
it
French
trait
to
that
that
musicwas
write
and
a
mentioned
birds,
lucky
It
Messiaen
discovered
keeping
in
the
this29.
that
as
of
songs
seems
with
only
in
for
inherent
his
technical
to
style, use
they createda nucleusof musicalresourcesakin
works after the period of 1941.
35
36
c)Paul Griffiths
37
different
bird
be
different
two
to
the
time
attempt
show
chaffinches
of
an
same
at
a
either
day - or it maysimplymark the stagesin Messiaen'stranscriptionsof the idealway to
have
developed
his
birdsong.
Messiaen
to
techniqueafter eachpiece.
seems
a
such
notate
Jannequin,
Paul Griffiths displaysmusicalexamplesof the nightingale'ssong,starting
with
0
CouperinandBeethoven,and concludingwith StravinskyandMessiaen.He finds that,
in
individuals,
Messiaen
for
the
the
song
of
amongst
nightingale
evenallowing variation
38
d) David Morris
39
Messiaen's
music.Thesecondis a descending
majorsixth,andthethird is a 'chromatic
formula' which involvesthe rearrangement
of threesemitones.Morris alsopoints out two
predominantmelodicshapes:versionsof the Boris Godunovthemeand 'distortions' of a
from
'Solveig's
Song'
Grieg's
'Peer
Gynt'.
of
segment
de
Crystal'
in
linking
bars
from
Titurgie
and
certainmotiviccharacteristicsa chart,
(movements
I andIH fromtheQ-Uarlel)
'AbIme,desOiseaux"
to thespecifiedbirdsongin
deduces
d'Oiseaux
(1956-58).
Monis
Catalogue
that,
the
'severalbirds are presentin "AbIme", but... at
this point in Messiaen'soutput [ 1940-1] they
areunspecifiedor the transcriptionsinsufficiently
'-14
accuratefor identificationpurposes.
Similarpoietic evidenceis givento Messiaen'sfrequentemploymentof 11indurhythms,
(especiay
diminution,
transmutations
ceUs
augmentation
of
rhythmic
various
progressiveaugmentation)- andthe useof addednote values.
40
de
e)Tenneguy Qu6netain
41
deQuenetain,
begana revolutionthatwasmore
Messiaen,
accordingto Tenneguy
by the
methodical:as followersmight say,he beganto capturethe rhythmicconsciousness
systematicreconnoitringof the rhythmicpossibilities'not only of the musicalworld, but in
the.universeitsele'. ' Moreover,Messiaenseesa rhythmicsymmetryof 'rhythmic canons'
and 'non-reversiblerhythms'reflectedin nature.
39
fir
'An thevAngsof butterflies,in theveinsof leaves,in thebranches
of a tree .9
f)David Dre
42
43
Notesto Chapter11
(London, Faber,1995).
PeterHill (editor), Messigen-Companion,
2 ClaudeSamuel,Olivier Messiaen:Music and-Color:Conversationswith ClaudeSamuell,
trans.By E. ThomasGlasow, (Portland,Oregon,AmadeusPress,1986).
3Robert SherlawJohnson,Y-najije-n,
(Lond6n,Dent, 1976,revised1989)pp116-158.
" PaulGriffiths, Olivier Messiaenandthe Music of Time.. (London/Boston,Faberand
Faber,1985)pp166-189.
5Almut Mler, Contributionsto the SpiritualWorld of Olivier Messiaen,(Duisburg,
Gillesund Francke,1986).
' Almut R68ler, op. cit., p31.
7 Ibid., p31.
8 Ibid., p32.
9 Ibid., p35.
10Ibid., p 149.
ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., pp85-97.
12ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., p94-95.
" ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., p87.
14ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., p89.
" ClaudeSamuel,op. cit., p89.
16Olivier Messiaen,Trait6 de Rjhme.de Couleur.et d'Ornithologie.
1vol-5-pt.
Chantsd'Oiseauxd'Europe, (1999).
17SeePeterHill's Conversationwith YvonneLoriod in the MessiaenCompanjo op. cit.,
,
p285.
" MarcelDupr&,'Traitd d'Improvisation',takenfrom vol.2 of CoursComplet
d'Improvisationd'Orizue (Paris,Leduc, 1926).
"' Note that a 'trochee' rhytlun is the opposite(- U).
2' Trevor Hold, 'Messiaen'sBirds' from Music andLetters, Vol.52, no. ii, (April 1971),
pp113-122.
" PaulGriffiths, op. cit., p 168.
22TrevorHold, 'The Notation of Bird Sona:a ReviewandRecommendation
'-Tb)Lis
112,
(1970) pp151-172.
' M. E. W. North, 'TranscribingBird Song' from Ibis, 92, (1950) pp99-114.
24cHandbook.' Witherbyet aL The Handbookof British Birds. (London, 1938).
25Johnson,op. cit. pp116-127andpp128-158 (Catalogued'Oiseaux).
26Johnson,op. cit., p136-137.
27Messiaenin Antoine Gol6a'sbook, RecontresavecOlivier Messiaen,(Paris,Julliard,
1960).
28NormanDemuth,'Messiaen'sEarly Birds' from MusicalTimes,ci, (1960), pp627-9.
290ther clearexamplesof thisform canbe seenin Stravinsky's'Symphoniesof Wind
Instruments'andin Debussy's'Jeux'.
30Demuth,op. cit., p627.
" Demuth,op. cit., p629.
32MessiaenCompanio op. cit. p271.
44
45
46
refersto a cadenza.
fundamental
brief
Messiaen
the
theories
outline
of
of
at thistime,whilereferringto
a
show
their inherentconnectionwith a later, more maturecompositionalstyle,especiallywith
birdsong.
to
regard
Harmonv
47
is
do
to includethesenotes
notes- which not resolve- sufficientjustificationfor Messiaen
in a chordin theirownright.Not onlydo theaddednotesfforeign') havethesame
but they are alsonotesthat are presentin
sonorityasthe aforementionedappoggiaturas,
the 'perfectchord' lex IH/1]. The chord of the addedsixth is the first of which he speaks:
'
feature
is
this chord a common
of the composer'searlyworks, yet morejustification is
for
is
The
techniques.
other
overtone
series
needed
usedto validatea modalandharmonic
language.Messiaenstates,
'In the resonanceof a low C, a very acuteear
hearsanF sharp[the eleventhharinonic]...
Thereforewe arejustified in treatingthis F sharp
in
asan addednote the perfectchord,already
providedwith an addedsixO. "
The added60',9" and I I" are alsoincludedin this formula.Messiaenshowsthat the
gnormalresolution' from the F# (the augmentedfourth) shouldbe a C. This chord andits
is
feature
an
unmistakably
melodic
resolution
characteristic
of the early
ubiquitous
in
be
found
In
the
traditional
a
music
resolution
of
chromatic
notes
would
compositions.
downwardsmotion - to its neighbournote.Messiaenfeelsthat he needsto justify this too,
from
the 'Boris Godunov'themeby Mussorgsky.I-Esargumentthat
showingan example
is
dissonant
the
the appropriateresolutionfor the F# is the C is rather strange,
not
note
as
0
it
does
but
has
fourth,
However,
the
chord
no senseof movement.
only an augmented
being
dissonant
C
dorainant
The
9hchord.
the
the
the
root
of
or addednotes
vAth
resolve,
48
for
interest.
harmonic
the
specifically
colouration
and
are
used
notes
accent:
Messiaen's
useof invented,contrivedandspecialchordsis notable.Thechordon the
don-inant
canbe displayedin severalways:a chord which containsall the notesof the
inverted
dominant
bass
(with
the
a
and
as
note
an
positionof the other six
scale
major
inversion
the
with
of
array
notes),a supposedresolution, addednotesas appoggiaturas,an
left
in
hand
(the
in
the
windoweffect),a
stained-glass
chordalcomplexes closeposition
be
the
the
chordwhich can ornamented
appoggiaturasasaddednotes,and
chordwith
be
in
dominant
The
thenonnalway,or
the
can
chord
of
resolved
notes.
with added
dissonance
form
[ex
IWIJ.
to
a complex
are added
appoggiaturas
49
Messiaen
includedactual
amongstothermusicalmaterial.In earlycompositions,
transcriptionsof birdsonginto his compositions,andmanytimbral complexitiesthat are
in
found
birdsongareused.In laterworks,Messiacn
hismusicwith
saturated
commonly
both high andlow registerresonances,
andaccompaniedthesesonoritieswith colourful
birds.ong. The 'resonancechords, asonewould expectfrom Wsgeneralharmonic
device
for
timbral
than
are
used
as
a
rather
purelystructuralpurposes.The
approach,
Catalogued'Oiseauxincorporatesmany'inferior' and 'superior' resonanceeffects;in
left
held
birdsong
define
begin.
These
textures
are
chords
often
while
new
effects
addition,
the later 'hybrid' texturewherean 'inferior' or 'superior' resonanceprecedesor follows a
birdsong.
phraseof
so
increasingly
(1944)
later,
becomes
the
the
as
composer
of
quartet
movement
-
birdsong,
invented
timbre
to many
the
chordsareattached
with recreating
of
preoccupied
theiruniquetimbralqualitiesin the%ild.Inventedchords,harmonic
pitches,simulating
inflectionsandcolour becomesynonymous:
'Messiaen
translates
coloursinto harmonies,
for thosewho haveearsto see'$.
The Modes of Limited Transposition
51
formulas
is
The
this
associated
are
often
vvith
of threenotes
mode.
unit
andcadential
intervallic
fonnula
involves
(associated
The
the
succession
sernitone/tone. cadential
which
for
first
'Boris
Godunov')
has
the
the
of
clearly
significance
scene
a
marked
vvith
he
in
incorporating
this
the samemelodic
used
as
often,
early
works,
mode
composer
intervallicrelationships[ex HI/51. Messiaen'sinterestin mode2 is dueto its harmonic
implications.The modeitself doesnot refer to a particulartonality; however,it caneasily
be usedin relationto onetonal centre,andmoveinto anotherwithout an alarming
in
in
The
Messiaen
'exist
an atmosphereof
general,
as
points
out,
modes
modulation.
liberty
being
to
the
tonalities
either
at
composer
at
once,
without
polytonality
several
feeling
'
leave
fluid.
The
to
the
tonal
to
tonality,
modescreate
or
give predominance one
52
Messiaenjuxtaposescomplexdissonances
with consonanttonal harmonies:in the
conjuresup thecolourassociations
mind,thiscombination
composer's
whichwerevery
importantto him. For Messiaen,Mode 2 suggestsshadesof purple,blue andviolet, whilst
mode3 displaysreddishorange,greenwith spotsof gold, andmilky-whitewith iris
like
Colour
important
in
Couleurs
Messiaen's
opal.
remains
an
aspect
of
music:
reflections
de la CW Oldie the coloursare namedin the score,in relationto specificchordal
'
complexes.
features
is laterextended
to encompass
generically
manyother
of Messiaen's
compositions:
Melody
Messiaen'smelodicstyleis closelyrelatedto his useof harmony.The melodicshapesof
folksong,
in
be
from
derived
to
the
early
works,
seem
composers,
phrases,
past
manyof
53
is
descending
fourth
becoming
F#
C,
(tritone)
the
the
a
vvith
augmented
of
resolution
feature.
in
his 'perfect chord', andthe use
The
6"
the
composer'suseof
major
prominent
in
lines
by
interval
Mozart
this
many
melodic
promptsthe composerto employthis
of
intervalregularly.Onceagain,the openingof Mussorgsky's'Boris Godunov' is cited,
is
by
from
interval
first
the
a
transposed,but nonetheless
augmented
copied,apart
which
(which
he
Messiaen
lei
111/61.
three-note
alsomentions
chromaticcells
semitone
descending
2'J,
Bartok)
two
that
a
or
consecutive
span
a
major
pitches,
associatedwith
followed
by
inversion
the
tone
of this second
an
ascending
sernitc-ne
as
well
as
whole
figure. This systemis really a form of imitation:the three-notecellsare subjectedto
by
is
interesting
but
It
that
to
note
swapped
around.
variousmanipulations are essentially
is
in
this
the
changing pulseor metre, effect produced manyworkswithoutstrictly
but
techniques,
these
to
only usingan ostinatopassagewith a changeof pulse.
adhering
Stravinskyprovidesseveralexamplesof this technique,two of which aregiven here: [ex
111/7a, b). AlthoughMessiaenemploysthe melodicprinciplesof previouscomposers,not
in
but
his
by
he
does
the
transform
the
completely
natureof
melodies using own style,
only
the sameway he is alsoableto changedramaticallythe natureof the melodicpatternsof
birdsongsaftertranscribingthem.
54
Anges, des Saints, du Chant des Oiseaux' (ex 146, ex 142 in 'Technique'), Troi.v Petites
is usedbothin
thatwasdiatonic,maldngit morecoherentto thelisteners'ear.Plainchant
forms
Miditationssur
la
Saime
IeMywre
de
throughout
the
modified
and
original
TrilliM (1969).Interestingly,plainchanttenninologyservesasa fonn of analysis,usedby
the composerandduringthis thesis:the basicshapeof manymelodiccellsin birdsongcan
be categorisedby plainchanttem-dnology.
Rhvthm
55
by thethirteenthcenturytheorist,Sharngadeva.
Messiaen
described
mentionsthese
influencesalongwith thoseof Stravinsky.The commonfactor betweenthe rhythmsof
StravinskyandIndianrhythmis that they are ametrical.Ametricalityis a particularfocal
(five,
Messiaen
for
Messiaen's
the
seven,
cites
of
prime
numbers
rhythms.
rhythms
point
by
beat
in
)
the
therefore
thirteen
replaced
notionsof measureand
are
etc. which
eleven,
the shortvalues(the semiquaverpredominantly).The Simhavikriditarhythm showsthe
in
bars
diminution
The
as
an
example
shown
techniqueof rhythmic
andaugmentation.
'Techniquede monLangageMusical' includetwo values-A andB. A augmentstwice
being
B
diminishes
the
the
the
twice,
a nonretrogradable
value
while
stays same, result
and
in
due
be
lex
In/9].
this
course
will
explained
rhyt -
56
Theaddednoteis a shortvalue(normallythesemiquaver)
thatcanbeaddedto any
is
it
be
dot.
The
the
the
additionof a
addednote
useof
rhythm,whether a note,rest,or
la
from
Quatuorpour
in
de
la
Fin
du
Tanse
Fureur'
Temps,
the
wherethe
veryprevalent
into
In
duration
in
to
subdivided
addup prime numberswhen
semiquavers.
cells
Messiaen'sfirst treatise(1944), a tableof possibleexamplesof augmentationand
diminutionis shownlex III/101.
The nonretrogradable
rhythm is one of the mostimportantrhythmicdevicesusedby
57
both
birds
de
In
Cristal',
Titurgie
the
that
the
them.
to
other
surround
patterns
rhythmic
in
'comme
The
the
to
the
are
required
play
pedal
violin
un
oiseau'.
rhythmic
clarinetand
by
harmonic
illusion
both
the
the
pedal
of
motion
use
of
and
a
rhythmic
pianogives
(twenty-ninechord complexesin order, andseventeenseparatedurationalvaluesin order),
is
The
heterophony.
static.
effect
one
essentially
of
explicit
wlile remaining
58
desirefor theomamental,
The'styleoiseau',asDavidDrewhassaid,satisfiesMessiaen's
him
it
harmonic
implications
it
if
he
deems
to
time
the
avoid
any
allows
same
at
and
his
increasing
interest
led
in
birdsong.
to
which
musi.cal character,
59
Notesfor ChapterIII
For moreinformationon this subjectseeHsu, Madeleine,Olivier Messiaen-the MusicalMediator: A Studyof the Influenceof Liszt. Debussy.andBartok. (London, Fairleigh
DickinsonUniversityPress,AssociatedUniversityPresses,1996).
2 Olivier MessiaenTechniquede mon Lan-Rage
Musical, (Paris,Leduc,-1944).
3 It is interestingto be awareof the fact that althoughMessiaenwas severelyopposedto
the membersof 'Les Six', their supportersandjazz music,the addedsixth chord is a
in
both
feature
theseopposingstylesof composition
common
Techniquede mon LangageMusical', op. cit., p47 (text version).
A Note on Messiaen'sDevelopment',Musical
Paul Griffiths, Toemes andHaYkaY:
Times (September1971), pp851-852.
' For a usefulsourceanda wider understandingof Messiaen'suse of colour, seeBernard,
Correspondence
betweenColor and Sound
JonathanW, 'Messiaen'sSynaesthesia:
Structurein His Music,' Music Perceptionvol. 4, (1986), pp41-68.
Seeprefaceto the score.
Tanneguyde Quenetain,'Messiaen:Poet of Nature', Music andMusicians (xi/9, May
1963),p 11.
" ClaudeSamuel,Olivier Messiaen:Music andColor Conversationswith ClaudeSamueL
(Portland,Oregon,AmadeusPress,1986),p67.
" David Drew, Wessiaen ProvisionalStudyI', The Score.10, (1954), p44.
-A
60
highest
is
(vibrations
Hz
4000
the
per second),which around
example,averagearound
2.
black-poll
in
Brand's
highest
fact,
A.
R.
In
the
the
researches,
pitch of
note of the piano
(E8
Hz
Frequencies
10,225
been
has
tone).
other
of
at
plus
a
quarter
estimated
warbler
is
human
in
laboratory.
Hz
being
That
17,000
the
been
the
ear
so,
birds have
cited up to
In
high-pitched
intervals
distinguish
addition,
very
are
sung.
when
sounds
to
unable
ofien
61
he
More
talk
timbral.
would
andabout
about
complexities,
usually,
words.
with
notation
lower
he
techniques
to
to
the
which
slow
speed
and
used
the rhythmicandcompositional
instrument.
bringing
the
the
within
range
thus
notes
of
each
the pitch,
62
OlMusical StaffNotation.
Pastcomposersoccasionallyusedbirdsongtranscriptionsin their compositions.Jannequin
in
Messiaen
In
birdsong
the
section
piece
as
a
cadential
of
music.
many
pieces
often
used
incorporatedbirdsonginto piano cadenzas,asin The Turatigalila Symphoity,Oiseaux
F-rotiquesandevenin SeptHalkar Messiaenwas fortunatein adoptingbirdsong,asit
for
his
formal
basis
for
became
the
structure
of a
a source motivic elaborationand
often
in
de
discussed
'Technique
Langage
Musical4'
Many
the
techniques
are
mon
of
pieces.
issue.
became
difficult
birds.
The
in
the
timbre
the
sensitive
and
most
musicof
present
Birdsongwas not only usedas an ornamentaldevice,asit had so often beenbefore,but
in
his
incorporated
the
the
the
music.
structure
all
were
phrasing, soundsand
the shapeof
63
birds
for
the
were
a
very
good
source
motivesusingthis
and
rhythmicametricality,
Of
freedom.
Hindu
the
added
values
course,
note
and
rhythmswere never
rhythmic
but
birds,
by
Messiaen
follow
the
to
their naturalrhythmic
wanted
consciouslyused
is
heard
dawn
Birds
the
of
as an
sing
as
part
an
never
ensemble:
chorus
not
complexity.
but as a continuouscacophonyof individualsongsters.A classic
homogenousensemble,
birds
individual
Chronochromie,
is
the
sixth movementof
whereeighteen
exampleof this
du
Temps
la
Fitt
in
first
Quatuor
Even
the
the
of
movement
pour
singsimultaneously.
Messiaenwas alreadywriting musicwhich useda continuousheterophoniceffect.The end
in
Riveil
des
Oiseaux
Norman
Demuth
like
be
dawn
a
what
piece
might
chorus
resultof a
-1
'impressionisticverism'.
The problemof the notationof birdsongis that howeverrhythmically free it maybe, its
be
Mler
A.
to
the
very strict.
rhythmicvaluesneed
tempomarkingsand
advises
Messiaen
that
to
to
the
then
to
on
say
subdivide
goes
values;
she
play
start
who
musicians
is
it
has
learnt
Once
this,
to
to
the
it would soundurimusical continue subdivide.
performer
importantthat s/hethen playsthe musicasif s/hewere improvising.In just the sameway,
instincts.
birds
the
to
their
birds
other
own
or
responding
arenaturally
the
has
instruments
for
is
difficult
Messiaen
the
the
task
The problemof choosing right
a
one.
for
instance,
difficulty.
When
is
the
the
the
glissandi
using
timbre
piano,
major
that
said
is
impossible.
birdsong
become
The
in
this
to
around
only
way
that are so common much
Of
has
Trevor
Hold
a
out,
piano
course,
as
pointed
appoggiaturas.
and
notes
grace
use
64
be
intervals
to
true
on
one
crescendo
note,
produce
a
glissando
able
or
play
will never
smallerthanthe semitonc.
It is necessary
to slow birdsongdown if the westernmusicianis to understandsomeof its
forms andmusicalsyntax This processrevealsseveralthings.First, somewestern
instrumentscanplay the notesto a fair degreeof accuracy,albeitwith inaccuratetimbre,
high-pitched
fall
Second,
the unique
the
the
sounds
the
some
of
of
i&rithin
range.
and notes
by a musicianin this slowed-downversion.One
form of the songcanbe comprehended
bird.
individuality
by
that
the
the
some
of
of
phrasesand motivesproduced
canrecogmse
The blackbird,for instance,singsin a virtually strophicforin. Thereis a seriesof phrases
but
length,
is
different
After
the
time.
each
phrase
each
same
slightly
that are practically
is
it
but
down
to
transcribe
the
possible
not
only
alsoto analyse
process
song,
the slowing
it just asonewould anymusicthat is built up from phrasesandmotivic repetition.
65
lasts
for
in
like
longer
is
The
that
thirteen
trill
music
minuteS7
a
no
sounds
seconds written
.
is
that
trill, but other notesare perceivable.The songresemblesa through-composed
work
both complexandvery differentfrom the strophicform of the blackbird:it seemsto
includea seriesof motivic manipulationsandvariedrepetitions.
66
instance,
For
is
for
for
there
sonority.
each
no
clear
reason
usinggrey and
correct colours
brownsto signi soundssimilarto that of a soprano,or, indeed,a shadeof greento
be
be
It
therefore,
that
the
the
said,
might
use
of
colour
can
ciffichaff
represent
interestina,but it canneverbe reliable.
0
14
in
Sz6ke
Peter
1969
The ornithomusicologist
madesomevery sophisticated
by
Kodaly
birdsong,
the
and
various
notational
symbols
used
adapting
of
transcriptions
folk-songs.To obtainthe notationhe hasmechanicallyslowed
Bartok in their Huncyarian
0
67
down the songs,sometimesby a ratio of 1:10 or evenby 1:25. This processis called
&soundmicroscopy'.However,Sz6kestill madeno attemptto representtimbre.It is
interestingto note that Messiaen,usingonly a pencilandmanuscriptpaper,could slow
down the songsonly after he hadnotatedthqmin the field. He was ableto slow thern
down by doublingor tripling the rhythmicvalues,but his changesof tempofor different
birds seemoftento havebeenbasedon guesswork.Perhapsat sourcehe attemptedto
ideas
his
but
inevitably
had
he
both
bird
the
of
own
vocalised,
added
write exactlywhat
intrinsic
limitations
hearing
human
As
based
the
and
memory.
of
on
andmadeerrors
Trevor Hold advises,
'Behindthe whole questionfiesthis importantfactor:
15'
hearing.
inadequacy
the
of man's
It is alsoimportantto rememberthat eachbirdsongoften falls into a numberof rhythmic
from
different
the
audible:
other
songs
which
are
simultaneously
that
entirely
are
patterns
difficult
but
it
is
differentiate
from
is
it
hard
to
also
one song
another,
asa result,not only
full
form
the
can
represent
of notationwhich
rangeof rhythmic
to choosea single
comp exity.
indeterminate
is
birds
that westernnotationalmethods
pitch
The problemof
singingwith
havedifficulty in relayingthe information.Stadlerand Schmittin 1914realizedthis, and
discoveredthat perhapsthe answerlay in the additionof certainsymbols(seeT. Hold's
following
indeterminate
Birdsong')
the
to
Notation
sounds:
represent
'The
of
68
(a) Theroller,theshake
(b) For toneswith a strongchatteringof nonmusicalsounds
(c) Soundsthat arenon-musical
[ex IVAJ
thetimbreof a particularbirdsong,phoneticimpressions
In orderto suggest
wereoften
in
field,
the
though
this
even
precisepitch was not normally
useful
especially
was
usedby
represented this method.
17
A k Saunders usedhorizontalaxesto representa period of time andvertical axesto
fine
line
The
the
thickness
to
of
was equivalent a serriitone.
representrelativepitch: each
indicatedthe dynamics,andtimbre was shownby descriptive,subjectivetermssuchas
is
interesting
It
Trevor
Hold
flute-Eke
that
values
etc.
'buzzing,warbling,
sonorities'
highly Saunders'theoriesof notation:he recommendsthesesubjective,introspective
himself
by
Messiaen
those
to
used
suggestions,similar
is
bird
describes
the uniquequality of each
sound
Ultimately,the notationthat most clearly
basic
bird's
The
As
be
phraseschangeregularly.
to preferred. mentionedearlier,each
by
bird
be
that
to
of
means
of
also
customised
need
that
characteristic
so
are
phrases
in
bird's
to
that
tables
understand
particularphraseology.
order
49motivic
classification'
69
'objective".
SonagEams,
informationhasbeenexcluded.
is
dominant.
part
onevoice or
70
However,it is importantto note that 'objective' analysisof this kind revealsthe sound
hears.
As
Br6mond
the
is
that
sound
one
points out,
not
and
that actuallyproduced
'it has beenshownthat frequenciesthemselves
...
are often not the most essentialpropertiesof a
form
length
lapses
but
the
and
of, or
vocalisation
between,its phraseor notei2o'.
71
72
Notesto ChapterIV
SeeTrevor Hold's article, 'Messiaen'sBirds', Music and Letters, Vol. 52, no. ii, (April
1971),ppl]3-122.
2For moreinformationon the songsof Passerine
birds seeA. R. Brand's article,
in PasserineBird Song,' Auk, 55 (1938) pp263-268.
'Vibration Frequencies
' Trevor Hold, 'The Notation of Birdsong:A ReviewandRecommendation',lhj, 112,
(1970),pp151-172.
Olivier Messiaen,Techniquede mon LangageMusical,(Paris,Leduc, 1944).
Born to Sing,(London/Bloomington,IndianaUniversityPress,
CharlesHartshorne,,
1973).
6 Trevor Hold, 'Messiaen'sBirds', op. cit., p 116.
7 SeeDavid Hindley'sarticle 'The Music of Birdsong',.Wildlife Soundvol.6, np.4 (1990),
pp25-33.
' This odd term, 'jizz', is usedby Trevor Hold throughouthis article 'The Notation of
Birdsong', op. cit., when describingthe 'essentialshape'of a particularbird vocalisation.
" Walter Garstang,The Songsof the Birds (London,JohnLane - the BodleyHeadLtd.,
1922).
StanleyMorris, Birdsong:A Manualfor FieldNaturalists.(London, Witherby, 1925).
'The Notation of Birdsong', op. cit., p160.
12For more informationon the relationshipbetweenmusicand colour, seeWilson Lyle,
W.
(1982);
Jonathan
'
Review.
43
Musical
Introduction,
An
Music:
'Colour and
and
Correspondence
BetweenColour and SoundStructure
Bernard,'Messiaen'sSynaesthesia:
in his Music', Music Perception4, (1986).
13An ethologiststudiesanimalbehaviour,especiallyin the wad.
14p. Sz6ke,W. Gunn&A Filip's article, 'The MusicalMicrocosm of the Hermit
in
(1969),
Trevor
11
Academiae
Scientarurn
Hungaricae
Musicologia
Studia
cited
Thrush',
Hold, 'The Notation of Birdsong:A ReviewandRecommendation',IhiiL vol. 112(1970),
pp151-172.
15Trevor Hold, 'The Notation of Birdsong:A ReviewandRecommendation',Ibis (1970)
P151.
16Takenfrom PierreBoulez,'Timbre andComposition- Timbre andLanguage',
(Harwood
2
Acaden-&Publishers,1987),p166.
ContemporgyMusic Revi
vol.
11k A. SaundersBird Song,(New York StateMus. Handbook7,1929); andGuideto
Bird Songs(New York, Doubleday& Co., new Ed. 1951).
" This diagramis takenfrom 1.ITjorth's article, 'A Commenton the GraphicDisplaysof
Bird SoundsandAnalyseswith a New Device,the MelographMona", Journalo
TheoreticalBiology vol. 26 (1970), pp6-7.
19For moreinformationon the 'MelographMona', seeIngemarHjorth's article, op. cit.,
PPI-10.
20J.C. Brimond's chapterin the book, AcousticBehaviourof Animals,(New York,
Company,19633),
pp709-750.
ElsevierPublishing
0
73
For the purposesof this research,use of the term 4le style oiseau' is limited to instancesof
74
in
into
been
has
that
pieces
%ith
used romantic/classical
quavers
graduallyaccelerate
effect
however,
dotted
finally
trill;
of
a
use
and
rhythmscreatesan energeticeffect,
semiquavers
bird
Many
found
birdsong.
be
in
later
trills
to
more
examples
of
can
also
works,
more akin
for exampleRived desOiseauxlei V/2 - Reveil desOiseauxp7, s2, b I].
features a Lisztian,
&chattering'soundin the pianopart lex V/3 - PomesPour Mi, Book 1, p,13, s5, bl], and
includes
is
Godunov
'Ta
Voix'
Boris
that
the
to
to
a
motive
very
similar
the postlude
begins
(like
2,
V/4
Book
lex
the
trill)
with a slower rhythm and
p6] which
tbeme,
increasesto sextuplets.A high-pitchedgroup of pitchesin 'Les Deux Guerriers' sounds
bird
like
Mt,
Book
high
2,
[ex
V/S
Poames
Pour
the
the
to
a
sparrow
chirp
of
similar
Corps
Glorieux,
Les
in
includes
Messiaen
high-pitched
Even
b3].
the
work,
grace
p9, s2,,
feature
Les
birdsong
[exV/6
a
common
again
of
yet
many
are
phrases.
notes, which
CorpsGlorieux - Book 3- p8, A, b1l. Thereis also the point that sloweddown birdsong
in
be
to
speededup plainsong,especiallywhen there are repeated
nature
similar
often
may
'anchor' notes.
be
du
Seigneur
(193
brief
5),
'style
Nativitj
In the organwork,
appearances
of
oiseau'can
found. In the secondmovement,'Les Bergers' lexV/7 - Book 1- p5, s5, b1l, the organ
help
depict
Great
Positive
Bourdon
Salicional
8'
the
the
the
on
and an
on
specificationsof
both the sonority and the melodic effect of birdsong, even though Messiaenmay have
75
Perhapsit was the composer'ssituation of confinement,and the fact he had no idea for
how long he was to be imprisoned,that led to the title of this Quartet. Certainly, the
due
be
instruments
The
to
the
title
that
time.
musicians
available
was
at
can
choice of
interpretedas 'Quartet for the End of Metre'; as Roger Nichols says of this work, 'bar
2
to
lines are often no more than aids ensembleand a meansof reducingaccidentals. The
in
ftom
'The
St.
derived
Revelation
John the
fact
in
is
the
a
passage
apocalyptic
of
title
Divine', chapter ten, versesfive and six: the Angel lifts his right hand heavenwards,
it
for
The
four
instruments
be
time
there
easier
that
more
use
of
makes
shall no
vowing
.3
Messiaen
incorporate
to
extensive
use
of
structures.
also
an
polyrhythmic
the composer
includesquite sophisticateduse of rhythmic pedals,11indurhythms, added note values,
birdsong.
diminution,
non-retrogradable
and
rhythms
augmentationand
76
The phrase'commeun oiseau' is usedfor the first time in the Quartet.Both the clarinet
'Liturgie
de
first
Cristal',
bird-like
in
the
the
movement,
play
phrases:the names
and violin
in
but,
improvisations
in
the
they
the
the
to
of
preface,
are attributed
score
are not given
between
in
four
The
blackbird
the
the
and
nightingale
and
morning.
repetitive
the
-three
high-pitched semiquavers(all on the same note) are similar in nature to the more
in
Nveil
des
Oiseaux
[Quatuor
bi
the
nightingale
s2,
of
pl,
sophisticatedrendition
Riveil des Oiseaux pl, s2 b1l. The motives of the violin part (nightingale)are limited,
fbHows:
into
four
be
as
categories,
andcan put
followed by eight/tendemiserniquavers.
I three serniquavers,
2 'scandicus'
3 repetitivehigh-pitchedtritones (derniserniquavers)
4 extendedversionof 2
lex V/9]
The beautyof the nightingale'ssongis not found in its rhythmic or melodicinvention,but
its
in
later
be
its
immense
tone
and,
as
can
seen
power,
portrayals,
rather as a result of
in
de
fact,
dynamic.
In
'Trait6
tempo,
to
articulation
change
and
easily
ability rapidly and
4,
Messiaendividesthe nightingale'ssonginto eight
d'Ornithologie
Rhyme,de Couleur,et
high-pitched
described
(3)
The
tritones
two
repetitive
as
are
motives.
principal
disconnectednotes, creating a 'drumming" effect: as mentionedearlier, this ubiquitous
(1) are
featuremay be betterreferredto as an 'alternator'. The repeateddemiserniquavers
by
described
'macline-gun'
'rapid
labelled
trillings
bere
as a
effect
on one note', often
as
later
in
frequent
(2)
Similarly,
three-note
the
cell
analyses
of
rhythmic
ornithologists.
'quartet'
be
the
or
rhythm
scandicus.
as
classified
may
works
77
The third movementof the Quartet is entitled 'AbIme des Oiseaux. Messiaengives the
bird
to
s/heshouldattemptto min-de: the clarinetpart seems
which
clue
as
perfomer no
features
'style
be
several
of
of
oiseau', and the movement
to
an amalgamation
incorporatesmany birdsongcharacteristicswhich expressMessiaen'srhythmic, melodic
begins
first
Boris
Godunov
The
the
of
section
a
version
with
and ornamentalpreferences.
R.
bar
The
G
A
'neighbour
back
C
A,
Bb,
to
Fg,
the
as
next
adds
notes
and
and
themefirst
is
F9.
The
Messiaen's
to
the
typical
of
rhythm
a
example
notes' and againresolves
R
is
in
The
taken
the
regular
up
an
octave
and
resolved
values.
note
use of added
Messiaenicway (as in the perfect chord) to the C Natural. Te style oiseau' beginsat the
78
du
la
Fin
Temps',
IAnge
dArc-en-ciel,
Annonce
'Fouillis
pour
qui
Movement seven,
by
five
high-pitched
five
'chirping'
brief
notes
sounds,
created
includesa
suggestionof
described
be
they
as
may
written
as
grace
notes,
although
notes:
grace
preceding
with
79
iambic cells lex V/11 - p49, s2, b2-31. In conclusion,the blackbird's theme of the first
labelled
'style
is
these
appearances
are
oiseau'
whether
or
not
prevalent
movementfashion.
in
the
episodic
an
throughout
work
0
The duet for two pianos,Visionsde IAmen, marks the beginningof a new period in the
is
importance.
One
in
the
take
to
a
of
piano
role
of
paramount
which
composer'soutput,
Messiaen'sfirst pupils at the Conservatoirewas the pianistYvonne Loriod (who became
his secondwife), whose exceptionaltechniqueand virtuosic capabilitiesinfluencedthe
for
The
demanding,
two
to
pianos.
original
and
exploratory
work
composer write sucha
duet is on a grandscale,exploiting entirelyseparateroles for eachpart. The first, written
for and played by Yvonne Loriod, is both rhythmically and harmonically complex,
displayinga decorativenatureand featuringthe distinctive timbres of bells and birdsongs
lower
(labelledor otherwise).The second,originallyplayedby Messiaen,is predon-dnantly
in registerandholdsthe principalthemes,rich harmoniesanda sympatheticseductiveness.
The two parts complementeachother- as Messiaensays, 'I have entrustedto the first
involves
difficulties,
the
that
charm
chord-clusters,
speed,
everything
the
rhythmic
piano
have
I
the
the
thematic
to
the
elements,
second
melody,
piano
main
entrusted
andsonority.
in
'
The
they
demands
recur
themes
and
power.
are
cyclic
nature:
that
emotion
everything
unity.
overall
giving
occasions,
many
on
80
in
is
Messiaen
de
I
Amen
techniques
that
Visions
uses
anotherexampleof a piecewhere
later works would be more specificallyassociatedwith namedbirdsongor 'style oiseau'.
As an analyst,one must first excludepassagesthat simply use added note values, and
intrinsic
both
high-pitched:
to
these
that
are
although
qualities
the
are
passages
second,
in
Messiaen's
birdsong,they are alsoregularlyused all of
music.
de
IAmen
interrupts
Visions
in
the main
the
composer
where
There are many occasions
birdsong.
be
bird-like
that
they
as
cannot
classified
so
short
phrases
calls,
texture with
Suchexamplescanbe found in the secondmovement,asfollows:
ei V/12 a- p8, sl, b2
ex V/12 b- p8, s2, b3
itself
intervals
in
'call'
this
movement,and manifests
The same
motive appearsat several
in
(2)
(1)
in
identical
forms:
close successionusing
chords,and
in two separate
notably,
V/14
&
different
V/13
[ex
ex
chordal
very
complexities
employing
serniquavers,
straight
b2].
&
bi-2
s2,
pl9,
p9, s3,
81
in
be
likened
to
the
The rhythmandgroupingof the sen-quavers
the
can
woodlark
songof
Riveil des Oiseaux- if we ignore the fact that harmonyis used in exampleV/14. The
in
'Moins
Vif'
derniserniquavers
dectaplet
the
section of this secondmovement
ostinato
includegracenotes,repetitiveB naturalsand cretic cells in a sectionthat lastsfor thirtyfour bars,concludingwith the 'Au Movement'which beginswith three call motivesIp 15,
b2l.
&
b2
bl;
s3,
p159
slq
p159
sl,
in
den-isemlquaver
high-pitched
Even the
passage the 'Tres Lent, avecAmour' sectionof
be
birdsong
jp371.
feasibly
four
to
conscious
or
a
unconscious
reference
may
movement
in
line
is
top
to
the
decorative
this
that
sinlar
of
whitethroat
The
nature of
Chronochromie- althoughit would be impossiblefor evena bird to sing, as there are no
The
breathing,
for
with
markings.
whitethroatsingsmanyother passages,
only phrase
rests
however,
in
lines;
line
W16
the
melodic
shows
and
melodic
the use of varied rhythms
Hgh-pitched
demisemiquavers
that
are
and may seem to resemble
twelve continuous
birdsong[ei V/15 & ex V/16].
birdsong
intended
by
from
be
derived
is
the
to
fifth
composer
The
movement specifically
in
des
du
Saints,
Chant
des
Oiseaux'.
Most
des
Anges,
this
is
'Amen
notable
its title
0
is
this
there
that
and
are
effect,
several
employ
notes:
passages
the
grace
of
use
movement
V/17.
in
is
oneexample shown ex
82
The high-pitched,climacusgrace notes (in both the piano parts) that occur immediately
first
the
exampleabove,glisten one after the other: the effect may be said to sound
after
like a conversationbetweenseveralbirds [p5l, s3, bl-3]. It can be arguedthat the earlier
falling
(like
is
but
later
in
this
clusters
chromatic
a
call)
used
movement,
motive employing
double dotted quaver.The first time (in the
in this casewith the rhythm: deniiseniiquaver,
'comme
he
includes
Messiaen
the
the words
uses
expression
un
oiseau,
entire work)
4clair,libre et gaiMight, free and cheerful'. The sevenmotivic featuresof this birdsong
5
in
are:
movement
section
(1944)
This epic work consistsof twenty piecesfor solo piano and lasts for approximatelytwo
hours. The completework is coherent to the listener for many reasons.Messiaen's
83
immediately
Messiaen's
preceding compositions, a striking
In comparison with birdsong,
instead
decorative
in
found
is
the
of
of
which
a merely
use
transformation
There
that
soloistic
r6le.
are a great numberof passages
of
a
functiontakeson muchmore
bird;
but
'comme
the
therefore,
exact
oiseau'
also
un
named
with
as
arenot only specified
bird-like
influences
the
that are not
be
to
all
sonorities
and
consider
it would unreasonable
his
in
does
limit
Messiaen
by
such
a
substantial
not
work.
the
composer
categorised
84
birds
into
that
to
the score,amongst
several
other
phrases
are
of
written
symbolisation
la
foudre',
des
'comme
le
Jardin'.
'comme
cloches',
are:
which
The first useof birdsongappearsin the third movement,'Regardde la Vierge". The high'chirp"
introduce
b4l
later
'interruption
[p14,
to
seems
calls'
s2,
or
pitchedexclamation
[seep14, S3,bl-21. There are, however,many other occurrencesof a very similar sound
labelled
birdsong.
include:
Such
the
are
not
as
which
examples
qualitythroughout piece
p15, s3, W
p74, s2, b2
p160, sl, b2
du
is
birdsong
found
in
fifth
labelled
'Regard
the
The secondappearanceof
movement,
Fils sur le Fils' [pl9, s4l. Messiaenon this occasionspecifiesthat the soundof the right
handshouldbe Tke the songof a bird. For that reason,one may be permittedto interpret
decorative
left
hand
the
line
simply
not
especially
as
only
and
as soloistic,
the
lasts
is
'song'
for
The
bars
block
twelve
tempo
chords.
at a swift
and
with
accompanies
it
includes
than
representations,
as
previous
meticulously marked
much more realistic
breaths(rests).The notion of freedomseemsto be explorednot only by the ametricuse of
demiserniquaver/quaver
by
the
triplet
the
but
use
the
and
cells:
with
notes
grace
also
rests,
is
For
interpretation
the
specific
analytical
purposes,
both
necessary.
some
systems,
of
is
from
by
built
'grace
The
be
the
term
song
up
note'.
comprehended
rhythmsabovewill
features
follows:
birdsong
The
the
as
of
are
severalexactmotivic repetitions.
85
I gracenotes
2 triplets, sextupletsand quintuplets
3 gracenotesusing the intervals major second,major seventhand
minor ninth
4 contrastfrom loco to up an octave
5 singlehigh-pitchednote
6 derniserniquaver-semiquaver
rhythmiccell (iambic)
7 scandicus
8 'climacus resupinus'
lex V/181
Movement eight, 'Regard des Hauteurs', begins with the inscription - 'Gloire dans les
les hauteursdescendentsur la cr6checommeun chant d'alouette...', which can
hauteurs...
be translatedas, 'Praisein the heights...the heightsdescendon the crib like a songof the
lark...'. After a short introductionwherea repetition of sextupletdemiserniquaver
chordal
in
depicts
is
Played
a
short
sounded,
excerpt
a single nightingale.
complexes vigorously
dissimilar
it
it
is
hard
brief
is
it
to
that
to
any
nightingale
so
as
and
so
recognise
octaves,
However,
G
interpreted
be
b2-3].
the
[see
repeated
sharps
as a
can
s4,
p49,
such
birdsong:
'trillings'
in
feature
this
the medium treble
rapid
on
one
of
note
common
in
hear
listens
If
the
to
sonc,
nightingale's
a
wild,
one
may
often
repeated
register. one
00
86
faster
is
(sometimes
like
The
the
than
example
a machinemuch
cited
effect usually
notes.
if
however,
the
that
the
on
assumption
one
works
nightingalesings many phrases
gun);
fast,
his
down
for
Messiaen
that
the
slows
and
own
phrases
that are extraordinarily
bars
[see
two
the
then
second
credible
are
a
symbolic
rendition
perhaps
purposes,
from
by
An
b4l.
this
the
transcribed
a
version
of
song,
of
nightingale's
example
p49,s4,
be
in
V/19.
the
Flindley
speed,
can
seen
David
of
cz
a
quarter
at
hand's
follows:
lark
features
important
the
the
right
representation
of
as
of
are
The most
[p49,
(ULTU-)
b3l
IV'
'paeon
s5,
a)
b) E natural/Bb - dirninishing the interval (in serniquavers)IpSO,sl, bl]
[p5O,
bl]
grace
notes
with
s2,
c) repetitive chirp
d) repetitive B flats lp5O,s4,bl and extended p5l, s3qb1l
[p52,
bl
&
b3]
s3,
s3,
p5O,
semitones
e) varied ue of
0 trills [p50, s4qbl-21
instance
first
Bb
A
in
two
and
natural.
the
uses
notes,
namely
The paeonic cell a)
includes
for
A
Bb
bar,
the
third
in
and
as the
substitutesan natural
Messiaen, the next
from
There
Eb.
this
that
cell
fourth
several
melodic
variants
emerge
are
an
note
cell's
87
between
The
Bb
the
sernitone
relationship
and the A natural pavesthe way for the
alone.
instances
incorporate
There
that
are
many
repetitive Bb: we find them in the
e) phrase.
first a) cell, andthe Bb is repeatedalternatelyin phraseb); in addition,d) consistsentirely
is
flats.
it
Therefore,
B
reasonableto concludethat the Bb is a 'reference
of repeated
in
hand.
key
In
the
the right hand, in fact, if grace notes are not
right
note,
or
point',
includedin this statistic,therearethirty-oneB flats out of eightynotesin total on page52.
The repetitive 'chirp' subject c) developsin its second appearance,including not nine
but
first
(as
thirteen- notice that, in both passages,
the
occasion)
on
the rninor third
chirps
for
final
(which
the
two
sen-iquavers
changes
use ascendingsemitoneswith
repetition
gracenotesalsoa senfitoneaway).
The left hand's treatment of the lark incorporatesentirely different motives. The main
featuresof the left handmaybe categorisedas follows:
88
in
dawn
in
birds
Just
the
the
to
as
chorus,
sing
an
start
may
notes, as shown above.
develop
fashion
manyof the original motivic and rhythmiccells.
andquite quickly
episodic
'reference'
Messiaen
'blackbird
gives
many
points: thereare a
phrases
section',
During the
few
in
A
group
seven
of six or
semiquavers.
substantialnumber of repeatednotes a
V/21.
device
at
ex
are shown
examplesof this
89
The
Styleoiseausonoritiesprovidealmostall the musicalideasfor the wholemovement.
is
'Vif'
final
the
to
confined
the
material
section
and
perhaps
exclamatory
non-birdsong
'inferior resonance' at p54, s5, b2-3.
Movement ten, 'Regard de I'Esprit de,Joie', introduces (in its second bar) a violent
,interruptioncall' [ex V/22a - p58, sl, b2l. Messiaendoesnot indicate 'Styleoiseau'here;
but exactrepetitionsof this motive recur throughout the movement.The third emergence
jp58,
b2],
last
is
before
the
'Bien
ModdW
s3,
and
the
this
repeated
appearance
motive
of
different
notes which neverthelesscreate an equivalenttimbral effect; this
uses
section
in
The
is
[ex
V/22b
times
A,
b1l.
exact
repetition
eight
repeated
climacuscell
- p63,
'PresqueVif' sectionmakesfull use of the interruPtioncall, in this casewith an altered
in
(although
in
harmonic
this
the
section
music
as
a
whole
and yet
addition,
colouration;
'style
labelled
employs
repeated
oiseau)
semiquavers,very similar to a motive
not
again
91
first
have
birdsong
thirteen,
to
at
may
glance
seem
element,
no
movement
However,
'Moddrd,
Peu
Vif,
the
un
otherwise.
whichoccursaftera short
or
unintentional
is
bells,
introduces
in
hand
depicting
the
the
that
introduction
soundsof
a phrase
right
intended to emulatethe xylophone. The phrase is shown in ex V125. This phrase is
in
is
the
also
movement,
version
points
and
a
at
various
manipulated
repeatedexactly
involving
in
later
the
the
the
a
towards
reorganisation
as
end,
of
original
pitches,
employed
[p96,
b2l.
The
the
s3,
yellowharnmer
eight repeatedserniquaversare
representationof
in
j
hand
[p9l,
bIj
left
in
this
transposed
the
occasion
ma
or
seconds,
on
s49
and
alsoused
down a tone includingthree semiquaversbeforethem. [p92, sl, b1l Repeatednotesare a
Chronochromie,
for
instance,
in
Messiaen's
the
feature
the
of
use
xylophone:
of
common
demisemiquavers
by
IF
that repeatthe samenote. In thiis
'Strophe is saturated sextuplet
depictin(S.,a fragment of the nightingale's song. Perhaps Messiaen
is
Messiaen
example,
features
des
its
Anges',
bird
in
'Regard
'MEme
fourteenth
specified
style
The
movement,
juxtaposed
'style
The
oiseau'
passages
are
with a rhythmiccanon.
Mouvement'section.
feature
intrinsic
displays
an
of Messiaen'smusicalstyle,often
This sectionperfectly
(which
bird-like
form:
textures
the
'block
the
canon
alternate
with
rhythmic
referredto as
freedom.
durational
The
form),
in
chordsof the
creating
an
effect
of
is used a reduced
for
birdsong
[pl03,
&
form
begin
the
to
s5,
an
accompaniment
s3
p103,
canon
rhythmic
follow
bar
flourishes
themselves
a
regular
consistsof two
The
also
pattern:
each
bl-31.
A
The
beginning
first
the
flourishes,
the
second
an
aB
on
natural.
on
natural,
descendinc,
0
92
features
full,
hand
typical
The right
of 'style oiseau'.Being much
part makes useof many
left
hand;
it
Messiaen
the
complements
as
so
where
uses
often
rhythmically,
complex
more
Numerous
is
it
the
to
there
performer.
assist
motivic aspectsare
a time signature,
four
(with
(1)
hand:
in
the
the
the
staccato
serniquavers;
additionalquaver)
right
employed
form
in
[
b3l,
their
times
original
p103,
s2,
and
many
employing
two
occasions
on
appear
bl-2;
b2-3];
(2)
b2;
b2;
Jp1049
derivation
the
s5,
p104,
s4,
s2,
s2,
p105,
p106,
a close
followed
double-iamb
by
'spondee'
(-)
jp][03,
b1l.
is
feature
the
s3,
a
of note
second
diminished
(seven
bars
later)
time,
to
the
the
quaversare
Whenthis cell appears next
.
followed
by
C
E
both
the
two
naturals,
occasions,
are
an
accented
yet on
serniquavers;
higher
be
If
to
term
A
this
(3)
a
pitch.
one
precedes
may
permitted
often
note
grace
sharp.
divided
into
be
follows:
its
then
several
'chirp'
may
categories,
as
use
cell,
the
including
(often
iambic
aG
natural
grace
a
phrase
note);
a) ending
jp103, s3, b3l
b) in the middleof a phrasei) repeated;iambic [p104, s4, b3l
ii) threegracenotes[p103, s3, b2l
iii) two gracenotes[as before]
iv) highergracenote;iambic JpI04, s3, bIj
[ex V/27]
its
is
lower
than
attachedquaver,andproducesthe effect of
the gracenote
Predon-inantly,
divergent
bird
Messiaen
balances
'twitoo'
the
and
style
sonority.
than
a
rather
a chirp'
On
(disregarding
two
by
the
the
a
occasions
grace
notes)
rhythms.
varying
rhythmiccanon
is
frantic
in
bar
[p104,
b3four
the
from
comparison
s4,
next
yet,
built
is
quavers;
bar
up
93
de
I'Enfant-j6susl,
des
Baiser
Te
'Regard
fifteenth
the
and
sixteenth,
Both the
movement,
is
'style
des
Mages',
des
Bergers
there
contain
elements
of
oiseau',although
et
Proh6tes,
first
longest
The
(the
in
the
two
the
the
this
of
of
slow
score.
movements)
of
mention
no
includesmanyhigh-pitchedtrills [pI10, A, b1l, repetitionsof anapaesticcells jp114, sI,
high-pitched
'stabs',
clusters
and
short
scmiquavcr
bl-21, gracenoteswith accompanying
0
"style
[V/28a,
The
b].
as
with
oiseau'
movement
a
preoccupation
suggest
may
which
all of
harmonic
tension
involves
resolution,
screaming
chordal
and
even
and
complexes
a whole
into
long
flourishes
in
hand.
The
lead
the
figurations
that
middle,
right
Chopinesque
depicted
by
however,
in
birds
Jardin';
Te
is
the
this
are
garden
'Mod6r6', section entitled
94
The
IpI
131.
includes
the
two
second
of
serniquavers
movements
repeated
gracenotesto
be playedlike an oboe,perhapsreminiscentof the We of the unaccompanied
cor anglais
"Tristan
Isolde'
Act
III
[p
beginning
123,
bII%
of
und
the
of
s2,
while the penultimate
at
bar is rhythmicallycomplexandagainsuggestsbird style IpI27, s5, b2l. The triplet
feature
distinctive
is
Messiaen's
later
birdsong:
just
of
a
cell
use
of
one
senquaver
Sept
HaYkar
in
[see
be
Halika-i
b2]
The
in
seen
p99,
can
grace
notes
parallelonly
example
ringt
[exV/29
Regard
LEnfant
Jim
'style
the
effect.
to
oiseau'
sur
i.
add
pl; 7, s5q
b2l.
The seventeenth
movement,'Regarddu Silence,' hasa numberof bird style events,
by
first
The
found
be
the
they
as
credited
such
composer.
not
are
appearance
can
although
in the form of an interruptioncall [p][29, A, b4l: it involvesa chordalcomplexandgrace
feature
Not
does
it
itself
in
This
the
'Bien
movement.
the
saturates
only
manifest
notes.
Mod6r6' sectionasa serniquaver/quaver
rhythmiccell (iambic) [pI29, s5, b3l, but it also
hand
before
in
Jp133,
in
bl
the
A,
21
part,
right
major
the
seconds
reo--ularl
and
occurs 0y
[pl35,
the
INIoddrd,PresqueVif, andbeforehigh-pitched
repetitions
of
same
note
s2,
0
b2l. The 'Mod&6, PresqueVif sectionusesmanyserniquaverflourishesthat, first,
b1l,
A,
fp130,
involves
descend
that
and,
second,
use
ostinato
an
crossed
gradually
hands,both of which 'vibrate delicatelylike spiders'webs". The mainbird stylefeatureis
however,
b2l;
[p132,
C
the codausesthe polymodalityof the
s2,
the repetitive sharps
between
in
the two hands.One caninterpretthe
chords
alternating
introduction, altissimi,
Eke
light;
the
in
the
overall
effect
sounds
yet
rather
terms
chatteringof a
of
passage
93
down
into
it
breaking
towards
the
the
end
of
slows
movement,
as
chaffinch,especially
colourful gracenotes.
PEglise
d'Amour',
de
begins
figure
in
'sheaf
'Regard
final
with
a
The
epicmovement,
interrupt
flourishes
The
the
three
rhythms
which
opening
are
cretic
contrarymotion.
first
de
'Theme
('Theme
in
Dieu'
God')
the
the
appearance
of
of
graduallyextendeduntil
interruption
followed
by
low,
This
call,
with
an
a
concludes
B major.
announcement
drumbling'percussiveeffect in the lower regionsof the piano's registerwhich amplifiesthe
The Wif sectionthat follows
high-pitches,
a
colourful
creating
resonance.
aforementioned
in
hand
the
the
right
are
is a lengthytranspositionalpassage: melodicpermutations
is
in
bass.
Although
the
the
somewhat
passage
expansion
juxtaposedwith an asymmetric
is
involving
the
by
a
pedal,
menacing
a
effect
produced,
also
of
use
the
extensive
clouded
0
leaps
the
the
permutations
are
raised
an
and
melodic
octave
bird-like quality,especiallyas
96
in
b2l.
The
God'
A,
[see
'Theme
the
tempo
second
appearance
of
of
p159,
are at a rapid
Db majoris interruptedby a very brief 'Bien ModiW sectionwhich includesa flourish,
followed by gracenotesandalternatingmajor seconds,and finally an interruptioncall.
Later (pl6l), the 'Tr6s Mod6r6' sectionbeginswith stridentchords(like bells),the
'Th6med'Accords' ('Theme of Chords) andchordsin 'transposedinversions'.Call-like
bar,
in
When
the
emphasising
power
of
each
chordal
complex.
each
exclamationsappear
form,
in
its
in
it
is
in
F#
God'
'Theme
complete
a stylethat
written
occurs
major,
of
the
describes
tam-tams,bells
Messiaen
alsotellsus thatcymbals,
as'brassfanfare'.Messiaen
birdsong
in
here.
Messiaen
Before
included
the
the
birdsong
the
credits
score,
are
and
'Theme
God'.
When
break
the
the
composer
appearance
of
of
each
up
exclamations
it
is
be
'interruption
that
can',
non-diatonic
may categorisedas an
eventuallycreditsa cell
in
left
bars
'style
b3l,
JpI73,
by
the
three
complex
of
oiseau's
s2,
which
andpreceded
handbeginswith a repetitionof the triplet cell [ex V131a].The triplet is then alteredto a
transposed
two
the
three
the
are
up
a
sernitone
notes
on
occasions,
and
where
sextuplet,
hand
for
The
first
the
these
chromatic
scale.
ascending
right
an
of
with
concludes
phrase
becomes
frantic
it
(in
itself.
the
bars
phrase
more
as
plays octaves)
alsorepeats
three
is
interruption
flats
towards
the
E
the
exclamation,
which
call.
accelerates
and
repeated
9
high
C sharpsare
The
diatonic
the
are
repeated
one
after
other.
Later, the
exclamations
deepen
'chirp',
like.
their
the
timbre.
the
other
quality
of
and
notes
a
sound
prominentand
break
'Theme
God'
[ex
interruption
diatonic
the
calls
up
of
chords
repeated
In addition,
V/31b - p173, s4, bl-21.
97
in
distance
brings
bass
the
flourish
that
thework to a close.
rumble
notes
of
a
in
be
that
therefore,
a comparativelyearly work manyof the general
clear
should,
Trills
interruption
bird
frequent,
but
later
style
are
present.
and
are
calls
of
characteristics
(especially
the reorganisationof short motivic cells),
phrases
of
many
the repetitivenature
be
blocks
for
building
high
the
of
many
passages
rhythm
and
may
seen
as
pitches,
the
laterbirdsongrepresentations.
Messiaen's
Harawi (1945)
is
for
demanding
and
piano
subtitled,'Chant d"Amour et de Nfort, and
This
work- soprano
'Tristan'
being
TurangaftlaMessiaen's
triptych
first
the
two
the
other
is the
of
part
Cinq
Rechants
(1949).
is
derived
The
from the title,
(1946-48)
the
subtitle
and
s)anphonie
from
dialect
for
Peruvian
love
the
'Quechua"
is
the
a
song
which
word
ends
with
a
which
by
Messiaen
himself
The
death.
surreal
nature,
written
a
and possibly,
lovers'
poemsare of
d'Harcourt
in
forefront
B6clard
by
the
who
notably
was
of the
influenced similarwriters,
time.
the
at
mind
composer's
but
the
arrangesthe movementssymmetrically,vAth
Messiaenstructures piececyclically,
Ville
Ta
Dormait,
Toi',
an
qui
as
the
movement,
which
acts
opening
of
the exception
98
introduction. The piano takes on an immenser6le, and together with the soprano it
in
As
'Trois
Petites
Liturgies
de
la
the
Pr6sence
the
of
surreal.
adventure
an
undertakes
Divine', many devout Catholics may feel uneasy %ith Messiaen's exploration or the
intense
love:
human
dramatically
displays
the
music's
spirituality
of
momentsof
passion
hypnoticsensuality.
Vif' section.Above a sustainedEb major broken chord, the song beginswith two
followed
by the first main feature [p5q s2, b1l. (1) This
4chattering"groups of grace notes,
99
10
C
1
The
begins
(3)
two
third
naturals
p6,
sIqbI].
sounding
again,
motive
rhythm appears
C.
E
Each
down
demisemiquavers,
these
two
and
of
two
notes
moves
two
up
or
with
loud
high-pitched
A
With
first
finishes
the
the
a
natural.
with
exception
of
and
sernitones
demisemiquavers
in
first
begins
this
or
of
semiquavers
section
with a
motive, eachgroup
descendingmajor/minorthird, threeexamplesof which are shown at pS, s3, U.
(4) The fourth featureis an accentedhigh-pitchedquaver,which breaksup the semiquavcr
have
flourishes:
[p5,
b1l.
the
derniserniquaver
quaver
may
a
preceding
note
s4,
grace
or
(5) The next featurebeginseachgroup of serniquavers
with the notes E natural,C sharp,
in
the examplesbelow at pS, s3, b2.
this
shown
C natural:two examplesof
are
is
in
highest
3:
the
to
the
structure
very
similar
motive
The middle group of
sen-iquavers
begins
(in
is
the
third
this
third);
(a
D)
twice,
and
group
with
a
case
a
major
repeated
note
D
lower
(the
A
to
C#
the
the
first
a
sernitone
natural,
up
and
note
natural)
moves
the
G9.
Each
by
the
down
to
tone
of
groups
usually
a
moves
step, an exampleof
a
moves
begins
bl
I"
A,
D
below
[p5,
The
is
third.
group],
and
and
ends
with
a
which shown
down
Eb,
Bb
but
Ab
Each
E
the
to
to
an
to
moves
an
and
up
an
octave.
naturalmoves an
in
is
into
the
technique
be
close
of
pitches
proximity:
very similar
can condensed a group
asymdtrique'process.
to the lagrandissenlent
The
begins
1.
begins
birdsong
motive
second
with
phrase
with a more
section
The second
interval
Jp7,
than
third.
flourish
greater
uses
no
a
major
s2,
nevertheless
which
complex
in
D
B
D
the
texture,
the
top
out
D#/E#/G#/Bb/
stand
and
natural acts as a
and
The
bl]
100
begins
Eb.
I
high
to
the
this
time
of
return
motive
which
note
on
a
prolongedneighbour
The characteristicthird that beginseachgroup is alteredto an ascendingminor third - on
begins
C
Eb.
the
with
notes
natural
and
a
group
severaloccasions
lp7, s3, bl - third group (with three repeated C naturals)l
lp7, s4, bl - third group]
[p8, s2, bl)
[ex V/33]
(6) The trill is introducedfor the first time on a Hgh-pitchedE natural Jp7, s4, b1l: it acts
broken
bird
Eb
high
that
the
the
major
chord
underpins
all
of
sections.
over
resonance
as a
bird
flourish
final
the
sectionstartson a middle C and rapidly ascendsvvith
The
second
of
Ngh-pitched
'call'.
finishing
a
with
a crescendo,
follows:
textures,
ModdW
three
'Tr6s
as
employs
The
section
I birdsongin the right hand,block chordsin the left
2 the openingostinatoflourishes[eg. p4, s2, bl]
3 colourful two-part descendingtriplet serniquavers
first:
Birdsong
is
the
the
other.
after
appears
one
phrase exactlythe
Thesetexturesappears
four
flourish
hen-ddemisemiquavers,
followed
by
both
begins
It
a
of
with
sameeachtime.
five
C
The
'Un
legato
ends
and
with
repeated
next
naturals.
serniquavers,
staccatoand
long):
four
bars
birdsong
(only
brief
is
the
two
consists
of
Smcenotesand
Vir
peu
section
flourish
C
that
the
completes
an
exact
repetition
of
substantial
and
naturals,
two repeated
birdsong
section.
the second
101
'NfoddW
like
homs
the
the
acts
as
a
refrain
and
staccato
chords
glass
andthe
represents
After
introduction
dance-like.
in
these
left
the
sections
are
repeated,
the
returns
voice
hand, as a recapitulation,this time with a right hand part intentionally representing
birdsong.
Nfessiaencreatesa balancein texture: the prin-dtivedrums, in the left band, are staccato
in
legato.
introduction,
is
As
in
beginning
birdsong,
is
the
the
the
right,
the
pianissimo
and
increased
dynamics
in
'cry'
intensity
are
gradually
the right
until
a
sforzando
and
and the
hand. Messiaenuses the phrase, 'comme un oiseau: the phrasing is realistic, as the
breathe
bird
time
to
The
the
the
with
single
meticulously
marked
gives
tests.
composer
describin,
birdsong
be
before
that
'phrase'
(,,,,
a
when
period
of
used
sounds
will
a rest;
word
102
Many phrasesendwith a high 'chirping' sonority: thesechirps arc all staccato,and in the
duration
long,
for
is
it
bird
the
to
short
the
very
makes
plausible
a
phrase
when
only event
[p28,
bl-21.
first
birdsong
A,
In
before
breath
the
the
the
phrase
phraseof
next
snatcha
lp26,
has
bl-2],
A,
high
three
grace
preceding
notes
and on other
chirp
section, the
[p27,
four
b2l
[p27,
bIj
include
A,
s2,
notes,
or
all.
one,
grace
none
at
they
occasions
have
bar
fourth
this
some
phrases
a preoccupation
with a rhythmic
section,
Fromthe
of
[p27,
bl],
bar
three
of
three
of
quintuplets
sl,
another
groups
groups
includes
one
cell:
[pVt s2, b1l. The latter examplebeginswith two repeatednotesin the
denusemiquavers
bar
derniserniquavers.
there is an i=bic rhythm,
an
earHer
-In
first two sets of
C
F's
toward
the
the
two
sharps,
and
repeated
end
of
movement,
using
serniquaver/quaver
0
demiserniquaver
between
[p28,
bl-21.
focal
two
rapid
passages
s4,
become a
point
listener
intervaUic
be
the
they
to
might
a specific note,
Messiaengives referencepoints
birdsong
form
but
the
the
to
they
with
a
provide
of
coherence
relationshipor rhythm;
28,
three
a
On
there
a
rapid
phrase
concludes
with
occasions
where
are
page
musician.
from
inversion)
in
from
C
B
(one
the
to
interval:
two
other
natural,
and
are
majorseventh
here
is
included
The
feature
two
Another
the
use
of
similar
repetition.
E
Eb to natural.
in
is
the
below,
the
the
samenotes
sameorder-,only
rhythm slightly
use
interspersions
'motivic
in
This
is
[p28,
bi-21.
the
A
second
version
sI,
absent
.
the
natural
as
adJusted
103
island"' effect is often usedby Messiaen,and also by Stravinskyin the 'Pite of Spring'
VRite', p1j. The end of this birdsongsection concludesvAth a sextupletflourish and a
high-pitchedsforzando'chirp'. The glass-like'Vif' follows, and the song closeswith the
Toundou TcH' ostinatoin the voice, down a tone and accompaniedby three growling
bassnote clashes[V/351.
The eighth movement,'Syllabes', makesno specific use of birdsong. There are several
The
final
'Modire,
faster
Peu
Vif
is
becomes
more
excited.
and
un
more
andmore
effect
in
fact,
'Pia',
legendary
The
the
the
of
suggest
alarm
cries
of
repetitions
manic
energetic.
Peruvianapes;however,the words are sung so fast that each "Pia" blends into the next,
hear
Ustener
"pee-pee'
is
the
the
that
that
may
very
weU
sonority
so
often
the
result
with
if
intended
by
birdsong,
this
the
effect
was
not
composer.
even
with
associated
in
VEscalier
is
du
Redit,
Gestes
bird
the
ninth
movement,
present
style
Once again,
first
bar
features
The
three sets of tribachic triplet
intentional
or otherwise.
Soleil'.
104
being
three-note
the same.They are an important tool for the
cell
each
serniquavers,
is
Bb
the
minim, and the piano strikesa chordal complex,using the
on
a
voice
composer:
is
duration,
the
therefore
only
rhythmic
motion
provided by this motive lei V/36 same
is
bar
The
from
b1l.
final
the
exactly
same,
next
apart
the
slo
chord which seemsto
p70,
flunction as a resolution. The accompanimentin bar four includes three sets of the
is
(iambic);
each
set
rhythm
exactly the same,and the voice singsthe
semiquaver/quaver
jp70,
A4
b2l.
is
E
The
in
the
same
rhythm
using
s3,
and
effect
not
very
similar
notes
it
bird-call;
interruption
This
three
to
motivically,
yet,
produces
a
calls.
addednote
nature
An
is
flourish
the
first
throughout
movement.
ascending
utilised
the
concludes
cell
value
five
in
length.
The
bars
bars
five
same
are repeatedexactly, the only differcnce
subjectof
being the words. After the flourish is soundedfor the secondtime, an 'exclamationcall'
in
Jp72,
high
Ab
b2].
The
the
voice
part
sl,,
a
major secondgrace note clash
precedes
in
When
the
timbre
complex,
chordal
the
of
to
altissimo.
the tribachic serniquavers
adds
fifteen
in
itself
times:
this
and
occur
they
ostinato
pattern
are
presents
regularly
return,
'A
Tempo'
the
A
the
Ab
until
pitches,
same
the
which
uses
exactly
notes
natural,
using
feature
This
MI.
W&
Jp75,
C#
s4,
p78,
also completesthe movement,addingto
s3,
and
final
Eb.
the
sustained
singer's
the exuberanceof
is
(movement
d'Etoile'
ten)
Oiseau
possiblythe most gentle and pensivesong of
'Amour
F#
key
key
love.
The
birdsong,
Messiaen
the
the
major,
the
of
chooses
mystical
the cycle.
for
be
first to markedas such sometime, actsas an interludeafter eachbrief phraseby the
birdsong
the
the
movement,
without
throughout
exception,
excerpts are
singer, and
105
F#
first
long
lex
V/371.12
The
major
chord
with
an
added
sustained
sixth
a
over
sounded
Jp84,
the
birdsong
same
are
sI. b2]: the phraseendswith a gracenote
exactly
phrases
two
C natural and a minor third descentto an A natural. The 'style oiseau' phrasesin the
(occurring
longer,
this
one
times),
exactly
seven
are
either
a
whole
or
a
as
more
movement
be
labelled
The
The
1.
'style
third
will
common
phrase
most
phrase
elaboratesong.
derniserniquavers
I's
C#,
begins
B#
two
a
phrase
on
with
and
only the
oiseau' passage
by
is
displaced
Two
F's
E
twice.
an
octave,
and
sounded
are
repeated
next natural
followed by two anapaesticcells, and the phraseconcludeswith the inversionof the final
feJs
immense
Straight
in
1.
one
away
an
space:not only as a result of
two notes phrase
longer
durations
faster
but
the
th
tempo,
wi
which
after
also
appear
rhythmic
such a slow
birdsong
1,
the
After
of
phrase
a
three
more
elaborate
extends
appearances
more
cells.
bl].
The
beginning
faster
Jp85,
between
the
the
s4,
durations
groups
gracenotes at
of this
but
is
full
it
freedom,
the
crotchetand dotted crotchetthat give the
bar addto the senseof
high
is
its
full
Even
the
the
to
register
a
range
Of
such
at
piano
explored
phrasespace.
G
The
is
in
E2
from
I
to
triplet
sharp4.
semiquaver
pattern phrase
potential, ranging
P-toiles,
les
'Tous
Oiseaux
des
The
words,
displayedhere on two occasions.
prompt the
intervals,
includes
triplet
the
third
ubiquitous
semiquavers
and
minor
short phrasewhich
hemidemisemiquavers
jp86,
b2l.
bird
The
s2,
septuplet
next
style
of
but with the addition
high
'chirps,
B
three
two
includes
simple
quavers
and
on
naturals
with
sextuplets,
phrase
begins
first
The
the
three
phrase
with
penultimate
notes
of
phrase
notes.
grace
preceding
includes
four
It
durations.
triplet
the
serniquaver/quaver
also
rhythm and
1, usingthe same
is
This
in
two
the only one
straight
crotchets.
phrase
addition,
and
derriiserniquavers,
interval,
A
C
(inverted
[p87,
third
to
or
s2,
does
a
minor
not)
with
conclude
not
which
106
b1l. The song draws to a close with an F9 major chord with an added sixth, in a low
by
1.
followed
phrase
register,
ttoiles',
les
is a striking contrastto 'Amour Oiseau
The eleventhmovement,'Katchikatchi
d'ttoile'.
be
complex
construedas
grace notes which may
interruption call, and repeatedchordal
interlude
before
idea
Eke
the
again,
used
as
chirping
an
motivic
next
continuous
sounding
&
bl].
The
'Ahi'
b2
[p88,
line
s3,
on
p89,
unpitched
scream,
occurs
the
s2,
poem
of
or
by
interruption-Eke
final
The
the
an
call.
cry
ends
accompanied
each
three occasions,
movement
death
in
its
finality.
lovers
le
The
Noir,
'Dans
last
represents
eternal
are at
The
movement,
is tragic, recallingthe beginning
love.
The
human
from
the
far
but
end
of
movement
rest,
dead.
'Toi',
lovers
Messiaen
the
the
word
as
are
now
mentioning
of the work without
instruction
bouche
ferm6e'.
'i
displays
for
the
final
the
with
singer
which
note
writes the
lovers
at
peace.
and
motionless
the
of
one
Sharngadeva
rhythms and many other characteristic
Nlessiaencombinesrhythmic canons,
birdsong.
in
The
takes
of
a
soloistic
r8le
even
use
piano
on
techniqueswith a sophisticated
107
bird
depiction
to 'style oiseau',
style: althoughthe piececredits numerouspassages
of
the
included
has
also
manycharacteristicsof birdsongor calls.
the composer elsewhere
Foundation,
by theKoussevitsky
Commissioned
the TurangalflaS)-mpliony
wasto occupy
from
17"
July
1946 to 29h November 1948. This large-scale
for
two
Messiaen
years,
lasts
The
ten
and
approximately
movements
seventy-five
minutes.
work consists of
divided
follows:
the
as
are
workmovementsof
I
Introduction
II
IH
IV
v
Chant d'Amour I
Chant d'Amour 2
Mod&6, Lourd
Pr sque Lent, REveur
Bien Niodere
Joie du SangdesEtoiles
Jardindu Sommefld'Amour
Vif Passionn6,avecJoie
Tr&sNfod6r&,Tr6s Tendre
VI
VI[I Turangalila 2
Un Peu Vif,
Bien Nlod6r6
Mod&6, PresqueVif, avecune GrandeJoie
Xloder6
_Bien
Bien Mod6r6
108
brutality
Mexican
The
indicates
the
of
ancient
monuments.
secondcyclic theme,
motive
Ith6me-fleur'(Tower theme') - is given to the clarinetsin two parts, with a pianissimo
dynamic.The two parts are opposites:they are widely separatedand then move together
13
'
'like
two eyesreflectingeachother... Messiaenthinks of a 'delicate
in contrarymotion,
"
fuchsia,
florid
This
theme
gladiolus,
an
a
red
excessively
convolvulus'.
pliant
a
orchid,
but
is
in
the
the
theme
also
antithesis
notes,
opposing
of
previous
character.
not only uses
The third cyclic theme ('th6me d'amour/the 'love theme') is the most important,
This
theme
the
the
to
surges
with
composer.
passion,
symbolising
spiritual and
according
fourth
Isolde.
The
Tristan
'th6me
d'accords'
('chord
theme,
and
cyclic
of
union
emotional
four
in
in
that
the
cluster
chords
occur
at
various
of
points
work
theme'), consists
fragmented
or elaboratedversions.
truncated,
original,
is
its
full
to
used
the
Although
potential, few elementsof traditional
cyclic principle
in
found
introduction
be
The
has
form
the
the
two
work.
can
parts
and
states
symphonic
is
in
(introduction
The
2.
I
two
second
movement
sections
and
themes
and coda):
cyclic
design,
in
hybrid
is
the
first
which
a
rondo/variation
of
episodesare variants of the
a
the
development
is
the
the
of
opening
the
a
motive
and
secondphraseof
second
and
refrain;
be
interpreted
The
the
could
also
as
one
of
variation,
movement
while
ninth
the refrain.
be
like
'Final'
fifth
the
also
seen
may
as
scherzos,
and
a sonata
fourth and
movements
is
for
'development
the
the
the
According
to
eighth
movement
composer,
section'
form.
the whole symphony.
109
from
Sanskrit.
'Turanga'
denotes
taken
word
movementand
-Turangalla' is a compound
'play,
is
in
literally
described
divine
'Lila'
terms
the
depicting
time.
means
and
of
rhythm,
has
in
its
Messiaen
The
also
several
word
polarities
meaning:
the
universe.
action upon
love.
in Harawi,
lifeldeath.
As
The
destruction,
word
also
may
mean
and
cites creation/
inextricably
interconnected.
Other
death,
life
all
are
and
and
love is confined within
follows:
list,
be
the
to
as
added
can
opposites
rhythrii/ametricality
time/timelessness
tonality/modality
tonality/atonality
joy/despair
human/superhuman
The solo piano almost acts as a solo instrument,possiblyinfluencedby the r6le that the
'Prom6th6e
(Le
Poirne
in
du
Skriabin's
Fcu).
There
long
takes
arc
cadenzasthat
piano
in
but
is
movement,
the
a
climax
a
above
all
the most essentialtool
piano
often precede
Rarely,
birdsong.
depicting
the
the
sonorities
of
woodwind and the violins producea
when
'le
instruments
that
oiseau;
to
style
of
certainly,
these
on
no
occasion
akin
are
sonority
creditedas such.
described
illustrated
in
de
full
technical
'Technique
procedures
The
and
of
mon
gamut
in
found
is
Messiaen
this
Musical'
symphony.
Lwga.(Ye
uses non-retrogradablerhythms,
diminution,
superimposed
rhythmic structures and a sophisticated
and
augmentation
by
the
rhythmic
series
superimposingWas rhythms. The most
chromatic
deploymentof
in
incorporatcd
Messiaen's
is
in
bird
to
appear
this symphony,
output
style
yet
authentic
More namesof specific birds are included in the score: many of the namedbirds are
in
birdsong
The
has
become
decorative
differentiated
character.
musical
not
only
sharply
but alsorcalistic.
do
figure
in
the solo violin andviola who alsoplay
the
as
of a pyramid ,
demisemiquavers
G
C
The
is
hannonics
the
string
and
string
respectively.
overall
on
cffect s*UM*Iar
glissandi
tjoijey
in
Des
CmiyoYls
the
wind machine
aux
of
the
sonorities
to
before
The
four
the
introduced
is
piano
cadenza.
moments
second
part uses
theme'
Hindu
harmonic
The
interrupts
rhythmic
on
cells.
ostinato
rhythmic pedalssuperimposed
be
heard
fast
the
and
inight
as
a
occasions
ostinato
cell
of
several
texture
on
the
is
based
'statue
The
b3l.
Ip
19,
the
theme'.
conclusion
on
song
nightingale's
d'Amour
'Chant
I'
The second movement,
form
The
is
'coupict-rcfrain'.
the
by
of
augmentation.
movement
a
of
superimposed means
first
is
by
into
the
the
divided
trumpetsand
is
two
sections:
contrasting
played
The refrain
112
is strong, passionateand quick; the secondis played by the ondesmartenot and is slow,
first
Messiaen
In
the
verse,
contraststhe sombretimbre of the low oboe,
quiet.
gentle and
light
ftom
(in
the
clarinets
with
percussive
effects
and
violins
anglais
pizzicato) and
cor
bells.
Messiaen
links
from
the
the
and
also
piano
rapid sectionswith a warm and
attacks
denselyorchestratedF# major chord lp88-891.
begins
(the
F
third
movement)
with a coriversationbetweenthe first clarinct
'Turangalila
is,
it,
Messiaen
'punctuated
by
bell,
as
the
puts
which
martenot,
vibraphoneand
and ondes
double basspizzicatos'. Thi's sectionis very reminiscentof the opening of Stravinsky's
it
Spring',
is the openingof the movement,
'Rite
[see
Spring'
not
only
p1j,
as
of
'Rite of
dialogue
between
its
because
two parts, its use of two grace notes,
continuous
but also
of
fragmented
The second theme on the low
long
the
of
small
first
repetition
cells.
and
note
a
is
the
a
passage
unison
on
with
celesta, glockenspiel and the right
combined
trombones
is
by
The
flute
theme
in
third
the
played
oboe
the
part.
and
piano
hand of
a rhythmic canon
first
the
Messiaen
then
combines
and second themes on the brass, and
in retrograde.
first
he
to
the
and second movements of the symphony with
refers
immediately after,
A fourth theme, made up of three rhythmic characters played on the
'allusions'.
various
is
introduced
fully
drum,
bass
developed
from
and
the
and
to
middle
wood-block
maracas,
drum
bass
The
decrescendo,
the
gradually
crescendos,
the
maracas
movement.
he
t. end of
The
movement
constant.
ends
with
texture
remains
a
sparse
the
wood-block
very
while
bells,
doub
I
bass (Pizzicato) and
its
the
martenot,
ondes
clarinet,
e
to
opening:
sirlUlar
identical
but
this occasion the maracas,
sonorities,
using
on
present,
again
are
vibraphone
.P
Although
does
include
the
music
added.
not
are
a
style
oiseau
wood-block
and
piano
113
bells
the
the
sonorities
of
piano,
combined
celeste,
element,
and vibraphone (p92)
fluttering
[p1301
JP1201.
The
trill
and
rapid
phrases
extended
an
composer
0
Eke
bird
[p1321:
the
this
forte
song
sound
of
a
the
should
solo
piano
indicatesthat
remains
0
final
begins
the
the
exception
of
the
with
phrase
which
section,
piano and
throughout
On
V/38].
[ex
fortissimo
the whole, the piano is triumphant: important
to
a
crescendos
love
the
'Tr6s
theme
Njodird,
and
passionate
the
scherzo
the
opening
of
as
such
themes
instruments.
If it were
and
strongly
simultaneously
on
other
Amour'
appear
section
avec
114
is
birdsong
fact
in
for
the
that
generally
the
written
octaves,the piano would not be
not
heard at all; at other times, one-partwriting is reservedfor tender momentswhen the
fp136,
b3],
both
is
quiet
and
while the groupsof rapid, %videly-spaced
sparse
texture
notes
do not in any caseallow for playingin octaves[p136, W& p134, b2l.
demisemiquavers,
bars
four
first
three
groups
of
of
consist
The
each separatedfrom the
first
is
dotted
longer
D
the
by
is
a
note:
quaver
the
natural
a
single
and
second
aG
other
G#
is
length.
The
in
does
it
feature
in
a
reference
point:
not
only
twice
the
crochet
a
sharp,
in
the secondand alternatelywith aD natural in the third, but it
times
three
first group,
fact,
In
G#
features
the
two
the
groups.
throughout
second
regularly
this
separates
also
in
first
bars
is
[p132,
b3-6].
Each
D
these
also
ubiquitous
the
natural
group of
section,and
by
broken
is
[p133,
b6l
[p133,
b3l
in
a
up
rest,
the
section
a
single
entire
note
or an
notes
When
b4l.
[p134,
the solo strings announcethe passionatetheme, the
interruption call
freer:
introduced,
is
and
quintuplets
septuplets
are
together
rhythmically
with a
piano
figure
Jp1331.
At
9,
line
the
notes
piano
grace
plays
and
a
single
cell
consisting
syncopated
G# is heardeleventimes,anda top G natural breaksup
demiserniquavers:
the
of sextuplet
(G
forms
three
final
a
cell
of
note
sharp/C
sharp/G
part
the
natural)
on
and
texture
the
Two
double
in
bar.
bar
first
figure
the
9
note
cells
beat
alternate
te
second
of
of
quaver
G
finally,
leading
interruption
three
G
a
single
onto
and,
grace
note
(E/D# and sharp/D)
demisemiquavers
idea
(using
first
followed
by a singlelonger
The
b241.
eight
jp134,
calls
followed
bar,
by
interruption
in
two
the
next
is
calls
and
a
short
repeated
note)
W]
[pM,
serniquaver/quaver/semiquaver,
cell
which
was
rhythmic
palindromic
[p133,
bl-2].
The
by
third
the
syncopation
group of eight semiquavers
introduced earlier
115
labelled
figure
16,
"style
although
not
at
oiseau', incorporatesmany
The piano cadenza
'Mod&6,
Libitum'
These
the
at
ad
occur
sectionsJp160,SS,bl-21, after
interruption calls.
flourishes
(like
in
dectaplet
a
glissando),
the
and
secondgroup of 'Tris
the ascending
dark-textured
bars,
chords.
alternatingwith
Moderd'
ttoiles',
is
des
long
Sang
dance
du
jubilation,
five,
'Joie
a
of
Movement
perhapsthe first
(1933).
LAscension
from
Apart
from
'Alleluia'
episodic
to
the
references
the
since
is
based
'statue
the
the
on
a
variant
therne,,especially
movement
of
entire
'flower theme',
After
interval
third.
a triple exposition-vAth-variation,there is an
a
of
in its use of the
development
of
consisting
a
rhythmic
section,
canon
made
up
of
six rhythmic
extended
increases,
first
three
decreases
the
The
rhythmic
characters
the
of
second
rcharacters'.
and
durations
forming
these
the
of
are
reversed,
six rhythmic
the third remainsconstant:
'statue
the
thirds
A
the
ensues,
presenting
theme'
cadenza
of
piano
a
solo
at
characters.
116
The
'statue
the
concludes
movement
tempo.
%ith
theme' played%ithextremelylong
rapid
durations on the brass.Althouoghthere is no intended'Style oiseau' in this movement,the
have
interruption
an
affinity
the
exclamations
vAth
some
of
conversational
calls cited on
many earlieroccasions.
examplesinclude:
fp1881
fp201, fig 24]
[p214, b5-8]
[p231, bl-31
117
bl].
These
V/40
[ex
slow repeatednotes give the movementa calm
p239,
serniquavers
-
flowing
lovers
timelessness
contentment,
and
and
a
serenity
the
as
and
sleep,while the
intended
depiction
light,
instruments
to
the
add
of
shadow,
the new plantsandthe
other
flowers in this specialgarden.Not only are there repeatednotesin serniquavcrs,
but
'reference
the
struck,
are
especially
at
notes'
endsof. phrases,giving a senseof
certain
be
found
One
in
Messiaen's
can
example
coherence.
useof modesix: the
rnodal/melodic
C
F
B
'reference,
the
sharps
the
naturals,
and
naturals,
are
and
notes
points are
repeated
These
'reference'
D
naturals.
quaver
points are often precededby triplet
the two staccato
denserniquavers.After sevenbars of reper.ed notes (on the samepitch), scatteredgrace
interval
(always
C
the
'alternator'
tritone
F
with
phrase
to
natural
an
sharp)" and
notes,
distinctive
birdsong
b2l,
[p239,
This
is
a
interruption
phrase
of
call
appears.
phrase
an
throughout
it
the
be
labelled
occasions
several
on
movement:
exactly
may
the
repeated
divided
into
four
be
(i)
first
The
four
This
can
parts.
song
rserenesong'.
notesmakeup an
by
followed
(H)
immediately
four
a
group
of
sextuplets,
cell,
, alternator'
rising staccato
'chirps'
(iv)
[p240,
b2l. This &serene
(iii),
two
note
does
grace
s2,
and
song'
serniquavers
bar
in
[ex
V/411.
the
the
point
same
at
occur
always
not
derived
from
&serene
birdsong
the
also
are
song. The secondbar of
Other segmentsof
(ii)
'serene
but
the
features
of
the'second
cell
song,
as a quintuplet: on this
figure I
C
begins
the
the
Eb
(the
second
note
and
concludes
on
with
natural
the
cell
and
occasion
in
'chirps,
(iii))
two
tritone
last
and
grace
augmentation
note
the
of
using
first two notes
Frequently,
b1l.
there
[p241,
(iii)
are
repetitious
sl,
serniquavers
the
on
same
of
two notes
note,
however,
is
introduced
'serene
in the fourth
the
song';
a
new
cell
'alternators' and
118
bar of figure 1. This featureusesthe notes,G, D, G#, F# and C#. In a later instance,the
is
identically
V/42a
rig
3,
b3l
lex
down
this
motive
the
of
repeated,
with
pitches
rhythm
it
different
bars
two
appears
earlier
with
pitchesusing a retrogradeversion
an octave,and
durations,
finally
first
two
first
three
additional
with
an
serniquavers,
and
the
the
three
of
in
forms
bar
fig.
3):
3
(of
this
aggregate
a non-retrogradablerhythm lex V/42 b,
durations
fragments
is
between
In
bl-21.
these
two
A
another
ubiquitous
s2,
motive.
very
p243,
cin
bar
'of
introduced
is
the.
in
Written
the
second
movement.
shape
similar
descending
intervals
first
the
are
small
notes
derniserniquavers,
and the others are set very
high-pitched
"chirp'.
The
is
a
with
overafl
effect
a group of rapid
wide apart, concluding
V/42c
first
[ex
b2l,
On
A,
Ab
Eb
begin
the
the
occasion
p239,
the
and
notes.
scattered
high-pitched
D
quaver
a
natural;on the secondoccasionthe
with
fragment, and conclude
but
followed
by
four
den-isemiquavcrs
they
are
employed,
are
three
notes
which
same
high-pitched
D
F9 quaverinstead(p243,
high-pitched
and
end
with
a
naturals
two
contain
frequently
is
throughout the movement, but it is altered,
This
used
b2l.
shape
s2,
On
dramatically.
in
few
important
this
each
occasion
motive,
expanded
a
and
transposed
left
hand
in
Two
be
the
part.
put
and
examples
can
emphasis,
seenon page
notes aregiven
in
hand
the
the
notes
are
right
of
part and the phraseconcludes
244, where the majority
Immediately
'chirp'
[see
high-pitched
p2441.
the
preceding
second
comparatively
a
with
(describedabove)is a fragmentof musicthat usesthe samenotesas the cell in
appearance
is
incorporated
(the
in
bar
1)
but
time
natural
repeated
aB
note
this
at the
bar two,
high-pitched
D
the
after
added
are
natural.
beginning,andgracenotes
119
for
frantic
bars
becomes
two
birdsong
and
excited
at the successive'Mentir Peu i
The
bars
Although
lp252,
bl-21.
Tempo'
'A
the speedis rather slow, there are no
peu' and
its
followed
to
these
by
state
of
urgency:
add
grace
notes
notes
are
grace
and
groups
rests,
finally sextuplets(also demiserniquavers).
Apart
from
demiserniquavers,
and
the major
of
bars
built
from
the
two
B,
A,
D,
G
the
notes,
are
grace
up
second
notes
and
second/minor
final high Ab or Bb. Thesegroups of notes begin at several
between
the
an alternation
frantic
A
bars.
261:
two
second
section
the
occurs
on
page
once again
places within
finish
bars
B,
A,
D,
G,
Ab
two
the
in
the
open
and
with
cell as cited
octaves,
written
in
between
to
At
recurrent
serniquavers,
them.
attached
notes
the
grace
with
above,
'serene
Tempo',
'A
is
the
the
second
part
of
song"
played, starting
immediatelyensuing
C
(D
(the
first
the
and
ending
on
natural)
natural
the
third
note
note
the
of
second
with
is
first
twice,
the
'serene
repeated
with
the
and
phrase
of
the
song),
song'
part of
The
bar,
its
the
repetition.
next
second
with
use of rising staccato
immediatelypreceding
is very sin-dlarin natureto the third and fourth parts of the 'serenesong' (see
serniquavers,
120
I repeatedpitches(in serniquavers)
2 'alternator' (tritonesusedin isolation)
3 'serenesong' (andfragmentsfrom it transposedor not)
i) alternatorconsistingof four notes
ii) sextuplets
ifi) four rising staccatoserniquavers
iv) two gracenote 'chirps'
4 G, D, G sharp,F sharp,C
(with rhythmsin original,retrogradeandnon-retrogradableorders)
(transposedandconsiderablyextended)
5 scatteredderniserniquavers
i) short extracts,a triplet anda finishinghigh-pitchednote"
ii) extendedandelaboratedphrase
6 frantic two bars
full
"free
the
in
technique
makes
use
of
this
of
movement
multiplications',where
Messiaen
in
isolation
is
from
to
put
repeated,
or
added
fragment
phrase
a
another
segment,giving
a
An
be
found
improvisatory
in
this
blackbird's
quality.
example
of
can
the
birdsong
an
the
Livre
d'Orgue.
fourth
in
of
the
movement
cadenza
'Turangalila
begins
2',
The
first
with
a
movement,
piano
cadenza.
seventh
The episodic
descending
in
four
the
martenot
chromatically
ondes
groups
with
of
section ensues
(in
tuba
in
trombones
a
and
close
Position)
chromatically
three
ascending
and
crotchets,
describes
full
Messiaen
the
ondes
phrase
martenot
as
gentle,
of
three.
pity
and
of
goups
121
depths;
bass
down
the
the
towards
muddy
of the trombones and the tuba is
going
like
'monstrous
dinosaurs'.
The rhythms that use the
slow
advance
a
as
surnmarised
4chordstheme' are terrifying, and symbolisea pendulumknife relentlesslyapproachinga
'The
Edgar
Allan
Poe's
Pit
in
Pendulum'.
the
story
and
as
prisoner,
includes
birdsong
Messiaen
several
In the piano cadenza,
characteristics.As in previous
is
the
&styleois.eau' episodes, music mainly in octaves [ex V/431. This section contains
high-pitched grace notes, repetitive machine-gun-likesemiquavers(on the same pitch),
interruption
b2l
[p264,
[specifically
and
s2,
calls
groups
staccato
when closing
ostinato
'Bien
Similarly,
NfoddW
the
figure
first
6
I
p264].
see
sections
at
cadenza
and
the
in
interruption
in
high-pitched
the
calls
piano
and
the
even
celestaand
several
contain
At
Mod6r6
[see
-,
Peu
Vif
(figure
the
3),
both
p265].
un
the
instruments
woodwind
flute
the
has
the
serniquavers
repetitive
on
the.
play
piano
same
pitch,
and
very
clarinet
'chirps' with precedinggracenotes,andthe piano, on its own, has
high-pitched
occasional
flourishes
interruption
'alternator'
and
passages,
calls [seep2701.The movement
frequent
interruption
the
call
on
piano
and
a single sforzandoquaver
exclamatory
an
with
closes
in
does
At
the
the composer classify these
movement
point
no
frorn the maracas.
fragmentsas 'style oiseau'.
has
been
ten
which,
up
until
now,
movements
without substantial
in a symphonyof
for
development
Messiaen
for
the
sees
need
a
section
the
expansion,
entire
and
evolution
de
I"Amourl,
is
dedicated
'D6veloppement
to
this
task:
Movement
the
title
eight,
of
work.
According
both
has
to
symbolic
the
and
significance.
a
musical
composer,
the movement
122
have
drunk
Isolde
love
Tristan
like
and
a
potion that unitesthem for ever. All the
couples
in
but
it
is
'love
the
the
is
themes
movement,
used
are
theme'
which
the main
cyclic
is
The
'love
development.
theme'
in
three
full glory, like
employed
on
of
occasions
subject
'Lent"
The
explosionsrepresentthe climactic momentsof the whole
ecstatic
explosions.
by
Isolde.
Tristan-Isolde.
Tristan
transcended
The
ABABAB
are
and
pattem
symphony:
'love
intermittent
three-chord
theme'
episodes
and
ostinato toccatas are contained
and
introduction
coda.
and
an
within
in
bird
be
found
in the colourful use of
this
style
movement
can
The only conceivable
intemption calls jp298; p311, W& p316, b2l and the fast 'chattering', perhaps,in the
(figure
Vif
'Presque
49).
Messiaen
does
label
the
at
cadenza
these
not
piano
short
lp339-3401.
such
passagesas
123
focuses
'Final'
on two main subjects.The first subjectis a fanfare
triumphant
The epic and
horns,
instruments
the
by
trumpets
while
other
the
and
the
of
orchestraemphasize
played
is
'love
is,
Robert
The
the
theme'
Sherlaw
subject
Johnson
and
second
as
sonorities.
these
"
into
the
'transformed
the
scherzo
rhythm
of
movement'.
out,
points
The various
bars
3116
the
impelling
give
of
semiquavers
movement
the
a
considerable
of
groupings
force. The first subject returns as a recapitulation: the three groups of instruments
intensify
brass
the
brass,
other,
each
giving
a ceremoniousand intense
strings)
(woodwind,
in
'love
theme'
the sixth movement makes a dramatic
the
The
of
version
power.
in the coda. The movementbeing well-establishedin its original key of F#
appearance
concludes.
the
symphony
major,
124
Looking at the symphonyas a whole, it is the piano that has the 4style oiseau' music, as
birdsong
that
suggest
may
characteristics,even though Messiaenhas not
well as passages
labelledthem as such.The gamelanand strings,on occasions,add to the various birdsong
difficult
instruments.
to
Many
that
with
produce
western
so
are
musicologists
sonorities
Messiaen
in
interested
the
the
why
chose
reasons
piano as the main, and almost only
are
for
The
'le
depict
oiseau'.
piano,
style
example,cannot glissandolike 4 violin or
tool, to
it
in
instruments;
both
familiar
tones:
can
play
nor
quarter
attributes of
some other
for
foremost
The
reason
usingthe piano is its range:the piano also hasa
birdsong or calls.
brilliance
its
Nevertheless,
the
top
at
crisp
of
a
range*.
and
the composer
percussiveeffect
in
that
'like
this
bird':
states
work
phrases
should
the
sound
occasion
song
of
a
on every
but
decorative
is
representative,at this stage of the composer's
the bird style not only
development.The only attemptat renderingparticular species,however,may be found in
du
d'Amour',
Sommeil
'Jardin
blackbird
the
where
nightingale,
movement,
the sixth
and
less
imitated,
Messiaen
later
than
albeit
accurately
are
to achieve.
was
warbler
garden
in
lack
him
hesitate
this
task
Messiaen's
confidence
of
made
to namethe species
Perhaps
just
blackbird
left
in
the
the
birds
the
as
nightingale
and
score,
were
the
out
of
the
score
of
du
Temps,
Fin
in
la
Quatuor
the preface.The credited
and
only
mentioned
pour
in the
is
it
it
is
in
to achievea tentativesound,if the
is
when
not,
octaves:
usually
birdsono,
0
intervals
because
it
impossible
it,
the
for
widely-spaced
make
or
allows
octave
orchestra
incorporatesthis monophonicand explicitly linear techniqueto
Messiaen
playing.
through
motives/cells
are
small
put
as
many
effect
compositional
comprehensive
The
birds
to
do
applied
non-birdsong
also
material.
are
obviously
which
of
all
processes,
125
but
forms
imitation,
themselves,
techniques
these
many
of
manipulation and
not use
be
detected
in
birdsong.
The
Tra
may
cells
motivic
of
11 11
gal 11,
aSnpho
XI
it i e
extensions
for
(written
five
later),
the
and
naturalistic
exploratory
work
the
way
some
years
paves
birds
Oiseaux,
thirty-eight
des
named
are used,and where the piano is again
where
Riveil
importance.
In
this
devotes
itself
the
instrument
work
entire
of
paramount
orchestra
to
the
Turmigall1a
S)-mphonie
birdsong,
to
the
depiction
as
opposed
of
where the pianoplays
the
bird
'style
the
and
most
of
uncredited
the
oiseau"
style,
while
credited
the
rest of the
all
harmonic
textures,
themes.
cyclic
and
principal
voluptuous
plays
orchestra
126
Notesto ChapterV
MessiaenCompanion,ed. PeterHill, (Faber,1995),p250.
2 Roger Nichols,Messiaen,(London, Oxford UniversityPress,1975,revised19S6).
3 Both the JerusalemBible andthe King JamesAuthorisedversionusethe word time,,
but the original Greekversion(written towardsthe end of the first centuryA. D.) might be
better translated'delay'.
" Olivier Messiaen,'Trait6 de Rhyme,de Couleur,et d'Ornithologie', (Paris,Leduc,
1999), pp423427.
' In this instance,Messiaenwrites the phrase'commeun oiseau':no particularbirdsong
or
intended.
is
call
" This techniqueis usedin a passagewith manyrepetitions, involving the transposition
of
down
a sernitone,while othersstaythe same.
somegroupsof notesup or
7 Taken from the record sleevenotesin Malcolm Troup's Tealisationof Vi?zgtRegardsSur
1,Enfalli Jisus, Altarus RecordsLtd, 1986.The noteswere written by Messiaenhimself
by
the
pianist.
translated
and
' Perhapsone cancategorisethe diatonicarpeggiogracenotesasthe cymbals,and the
Tam-Tarnbottom
See
the
173,
the
four,
bar
the
of
piano
page
at
system
two in
crashes
the score.
9 This is a regularoccurrencein Messiaen'soeuvre:an interruptioncall is definedandthen
in
bar.
one
again
and
again
later repeated
10The samenotesof the syncopatedrhythmarerepeatedstraightafter, in simple
serniquavers.
11This term is employedby Paul Griffiths in his book, Olivier Messiaen ndthejfusjcof
1985),
Faber,
(London,
p147.
Ti-n-me,
12it is interestingthat all the birdsongin this songis in altissimo.
13See CD notes from Myung-Whun Chungs recording with the Orchestre de I'Opera
Messiaen's
431781-2.
Stereo
own words, translated by Paul Griffiths, pI0.
Bastille,
14Ibid, p10-
127
follow
bars
this
texture
same
use
with a very similartechniqueto that of the
which
sixty
dagrandissement
asym6trique'system.
(London, Dent, 1976,revised1989)ppl 16-158.
21Robert SherlawJohnson,Me-LssiLaen,
128
Tanglewood
Darmstadt,
he
began
teaching
at
and
to
Messiaen
three
was
write
WhHe
short
0
Rythmiques
Neumes
Mode
de
CwWyodjavd,
Valeurs
dInteilsilis.
for
and
el
piano:
pieces
his
influenced
to
final
that
pupils
write suchcomplexand sophisticated
piece
the
It was
by
Stockhausen
(195
'Kreuzspiel'
1),
'Structure
I
as
a' and
such
integral pieces,
both Fano"s(1951) and Goeyvaerts'(1951-2)
(1951-2)
Boulez
X'by
and
-polyphonie
129
des
Oiseaux'and'Soixante-Quatre
'Chant
Durees'(fourthand
the
Arbirandperhaps
Livre
d'Orgut)
from
the
the
anticipate
predominantsignificanceof
movements
seventh
birdsong materialin the works to come.
(1950)
Pentecke
In
de
Messe
Z.
-
in
five
is
la
Pentecile
fbUows:
de
Messe
written
movements
as
The
I
la"frAp
I
2 Offertoire
3
4 Co nunion
5-C!"?+;,.
into
integrated
be
low
the
Mass
to
service,
the
specifically
of
intended
is
TWswork
described
has
his
the
Messiaen
composition
a
as
r6sum6
of
all
collected
Pentecost.
in
La
Sainte
improvised
Trinitd
the
He
the
services
at
all
church
of
on
improvisations6.
130
it
birdsong
has
be
first
element:
no
would
The
wise to start by looking at the
movement
begins
Shamgadeva
'Offertoire'
in
three
'personnages
with
rhythms
movement.
next
first (trifiya) remainsconstant,the second(caturthaka)augmentsby
The
rythrniques'.
(nihpnkarila)
diminishes
the
third
by
demisemiquavers
and
each
repetition,
at
one
three
is
legato
'Mod6rd'
The
that
ensues
a unisonsection,perhapsreminiscent
den-dserriquaver.
first
Glorieux,
Corps,
des
the
Les
the
Corps
movement
of
'Subtilite
organ
cycle
of
features
decade
It
previously.
short semiquaverphrasesthat are
Glorieux written over a
in nature.The 'PresqueVir incorporatesthe 'dur6eschromatiques,
discrete
extremely
hand
the
treated
The
and
pedal
are
as
separate
entities,and serialised
right/left
technique.
by
(top
for
hand
duration
The
stave)
augments
a
sixteenth
duration.
each
right
by
until the
itself.
5,
The
left
hand
the
begins
has
the
repeats
where
pattern
unit
duration
reached
with
5,4,1,2,3,
follows
the
duration
5
pattern:
and
other
permutations
and
he
unit
t
in
is
The
texturesarebroken up by two
The
an
ostinato.
organised
part
pedal
supervene.
bass.
follows
'Mod6rd"
The
in
C
the
the
using
exact
naturals
pitches
and
crotchet
simple
left
handpart is added
the
title,
that
from
same
except
with
a
section
the
previous
rhythms
131
frequent
its
listener
for
grace
the
of
use
notes,
prepares
with
the bird style at the
which,
'Un PeuLent'.
'comme
Messiaen
the
relinquishes
phrase,
that
un oiseau'usedin previous
It is significant
in
'oiseau':
labels
focus
is
interest
this
phrase
the
each
section,
real
of
pieces,andplainly
droplet
is
birdsong
from
in
this
representation
found
water
and
the
the
be
a
change
to
r6le
in
Messiaen's
Nevertheless,
birdsong
does
Messiaen
earlier
bird
works.
or
as
style
of
be
bird,
bird
these
The
to
excerpts
must
referred
as
style.
particular
any
not specify
in
follows:
into
divided
be
sections
order
seven
as
birdsong can
132
I two 'alternators'
legato,+E natural
2 exact repetition of I
3 first half of I
4 repeated notes
legato +E natural
leszato+E natural
a) staccato and mostly in threes and twos b)
divided into three parts, the first two are
identical
with the characteristic high note IchiTto
finish
he
'alternator'
tthe
two
usin
the
usIn
u0
ne
Imo, n(
tes of
t lh'altcrnator
notes
otes
01
tlus! LE
lus an E natur
tu ralI
atura
The 'Un PeuLent' returnsat the endof the movement.In this instance,the sectionis in
bars
final
following
format:
The
take
the
hand
nine
andonepart.
one
I Moder6- first bar of the original section(page4 in the score)
2 two barsof repeatedlow Cs (as originally found on page5 of the score)
3 two 'alternators'as I above
4 onerepeatedlow C natural
5 first andthird partsof the repeatednote motive as4 above
6 two clarinetandnazardchordalcomplexes
7 final semibrevechordalcomplex
[seep131
(Les
Oiseaux
Les
Sources)'
involves
'Communion
et
fourth
a specificuse
movement,
The
it
begins
in this
in
As
the
with
an
movements,
epigraph
other
or
quotation,
birdsong.
all
of
case:
133
fourth
bars
this
three
movementare labelled'oiseau. The listenermay
of
The opening
immediatelyfind a new senseof rhythmicfreedom[ex VI12aj. The barsare all at a
long durations,while shorternotesare usedin the
first
two
the
consist
of
tempo:
moderate
indeterminate
final
7:
8
henidemisemiquaver
the
bar
the
marking
on
specific
last
with
flourish. Unfortunately,the gracenotesandthe disregardof any senseof beatare the only
like
bird
bars
that
style.It certainlydoesnot soundlike birdsong,
sound
featuresof these
does
include
the
be
'chant'
composer
the
the
not
why
reason
word
at the
which may
bird-calls
The
birdsongs.
than
The two slow
are
sounds
the
rather
section.
begmng of
in
distantly
faster
bird
flourish
the
displaysthe
the
woods,
the
singing
and
bars represent
its
[see
fluttering
The
tree
startled
on
wings,
a
of
p171.
calls of two other
agitation and
Groups
tempo
two
markings.
of chordalcomplexesappearrather
birds occupythe next
bars
'Lent'
in natureto the
first
two
are
exact
repetitions
and
very
similar
the
statically:
labelled
the
A
not
as
such,
mark
this
although
which,
end
of
the
sectiom
cuckoo
cansof
bars
five
is
for
the
the
as
nightingale's
next
song
three
written
with
emerges
contrast
V1/2a]:
[ex
separateregistrations
134
is
in
his
different
exploration
timbraleffects,whichis achieved
of
change
the onlynotable
The
in
this sectionis very reminiscentof the
the
nightingale
registrations.
by modifying
'Jardin
du
Sommeil
d'Amour'
(Turangaffla
in
Stpnphony).
the
of
The
part
piano
birdsong
in
Turwigaffla
S)7nphony,
the
are
used
'alternator'
the
quavers/semiquavers
and
repeated
its
interval
C-F
the
is
common
tritone
of
most
fact,
use
of
In
replica
exact
an
sharp.
series
found
in
first
the
of
nightingale's
the
sono,
representation
the
violin
N4essiaen's
part
of
01)
la
Pour
Fin
du
Quatuor
Temps,
includes
the
also
tritone 'alternators'
first movementof
dcn-isemiquavers.
repeated
of
use
regular
and
(moderately,
freely)
Librement'
full
irrational
'Mod&6,
makes
use
of
The ensuing
rhythms
W
is
indication
hand,
tempo
The
of
contradictory:
on
the performeris
one
VI/31.
above
je]L
(s)he
is
hand,
the
to observethe specific
free,
be
other
required
on
and
to
asked
durations!
However,
Messiaen
be
the
may
that
the
suggesting
rhythmic
of
comple)dties
135
French
'libre
the
to
Pair'
customary
(Tree asa bird').
refer
saying,
should
comme
organist
in the left handby staccatopitches(mostly
The song,on this occasion,is accompanied
drops
in
that
the secondmovementthe drops of
of
water,
represent
whereas
serniquavers)
birdsong
important
The
bird
features
in the right
the
separated.
were
most
and
style
water
hand maybe characterised
asfollows:
I four ascendinghernidernisemiquaver
thirds and a high chirp,
2 two low pitch sustainednotes(I" occasion:C#)
3 threeinten-nittentdottedquavers(occasionallywith gracenotes)(3:2)
4 two irrationalflourishes
5 two intermittentdotted quavers(3:2)
6 long D natural(with gracenotes)
7 three syncopatedquavers (21b-G natural -E natural)
8 exact repetition of I
nd
9 prolonged/augmented
versionof 2 (2 occasionC natural)
-[seep181
blackbird
in
bars.
the
He marksthe changeby
the
the
of
song
ensuing
Messiaenspecifies
its
flute
the
These
4'
own,
on
and
use
texture.
a
of
staccato
stop
a
phrasesand
the use of
from
Turangalila
the
incorporate
aforementioned
a
principle
movement:many
calls also
'reference
These
'reference
point.
G
a
the
with
end
points'
are
notes
of
notes
groups
first
in
B
C#.
the
is
is
it
important
times
phrase,
natural
six
and
sounded
at
sharp,which
in
its
function
'phrase'
integral
define
to
the
relation
word
as
to
an
part of
this point
is
broken
into
A
'Phrase'
blackbird's
is
defined
up
cadenza
separate
phrases.
the
birdsong:.
is
'call'
is
that
continuously
until
a
rest
marked,
appear
and
a
a short
as a group of notes
However,
Messiaen's
birdsong
of
side
rests.
either
that
use
appears
of
rhythmic cell
in
in
be
terms
of
calls
and
phrases:
some
cases
other
analysed
always
cannot
insight
into
timbre
rhythm
and
may
provide
more
the
melody,
as
such
characteristics
136
The
the
song.
of
meticulouslynotatedrestscreatea realisticeffect,
motives
structure and
breaths
birdsong.
Using
texture
the
spasmodic
and
of
the above
they
signify
as
form
found:
be
Mowing
the
can
tern-nology,
Blackbird Sectionof 'CommunionL(righthandpart).
pBRASE/CALL
MOTIVES
threeG#s,two
sernitone
'alternators'
syncopatedphrase
3
4* call
FINAL
'REFERENCE
POINT"
G9
endsAith a
scandicuscell
G#
four serniquavers
99
pitch palindrome',
(porrectusshape)
staccato
and
semiquavers,
gracenotes
long phrase
7* call
8
9
10
two sen-quavers
flourish
extended
syncopatedrhythm
syncopatedrhythm
wC
12
two semiquavers
four serriquaver
group, sounded
threetimes
- -----13
INFORMATION
C#
usingan
indetem-Linate
flourish
gracenote on 2nd
indeterminate
+ gracenotes
the last threenotes
of 9
gracenote on I'
the third group is
altered,beginsand
endson the ref
point G sharp
B natural
C-A-C + G-C#
repetition
long C natural iambic
Eb
+
call
1
1
derived
from
iambic
G-C#,
- 15* call
7& 11
than
birdsong
is
a
phrase.
rather
a
call
that
cell
a
* Denotes
16
B natural
C#
G#
B natural
G#
C#
1 C.#
137
be
followssimplified
can
as
The structureof the whole movement
de
Messe
la-PentecOte.
Movement
4
'Communion'
Structure:
Song
of
Bird
Ecq5
E
"rI
cvr-riON
6r6
[ 6
rE
Lent
Un Peu Vif
Kjo--d&6,Librement
LENGTH
3 bars
5 bars
5 bars
bars
6
IY2
a)
b) 7 1/2bars
---------Lent
5 bars
Vif
Peu
n
I bar
12 bars
Mif
Un Peu VIf
Tr&s Lent
2 bars
3 bars
TEXTURE
oiseau
chord clustersandcuckoo
single-line:nightinstale
oiseauand drops of water,
blackbird and drops of
water
chordalcomplexesand
cuckoo
(as the previousLent)
I' bar of earliernightingale
texture
chordal/modalchordsand
addednote values+ solo
linelo( not labelled)
earliernightingaletexture
modal chordalcomplexes,
dim 7ths,+ ascending
dropletsusing the highest
piccolo I stop, 32' on the
pedal
in
to
the
are
nature
calls
similar
chordal
complexes
the
cuckoo-type
As mentionedearlier,
final
'Call'
The
blackbird
in
bl-21.
[see
the
the
before
of
them
s3,
bars
p17,
two andthree
C
G
to
the
top
correspond
exactly
which
sharp,
note
and
natural
the
hand
notes
uses
right
&reference'
B
two
the
other
the
employ
notes
calls
cuckoo
and
chord,
cluster
of each
natural
G
and sharp.
138
The bird stylein this movementis innovativewith its frequentuseor irrational values.The
is
by
blackbird
droplets
the
the
accompanied
of water (althoughthe second
sectionwhere
birdsong)
between
the
is
suggests
possibility
of
a
counterpoint
not
two separatebirds,
part
In fact, this sectionis the first movetowardsa two-part.birdsonglike that of a 'Tris Vir
(Le
Loriot')
Catalogue
dDiscaux.
in
the
movement
of
second
section
The fifth movement,'Sortie (Le Vent de I'Esprit), containsa long passageof birdsong
larks.
Wif
This
be
divided
into
of
section
can
a
chorus
three
which represents
is
birdsong,
first
The
the
the
while
secondand third partsusethe
parts.
simultaneous
'interversionsSurdur6eschromatiques'technique.The secondpart, written in chordsin
duration
begins
that
to
in
twenty-three
adds
up
bass
a
with
semiquavers
total; the
clef,
the
by
diminished
is
it
this
serniquaver,
one
and
process
continues
until
reachesa
next chord
(in
the
of
continuous
use
semiquavers
where
chords)concludesthe
single serniquaver,
in
first
duration
the
lasts
four
the
Th
opposite
mannerthird
acts
part
section.
in length(a crotchet),andgraduallyaugmentsto a durationworth twentyserniquavers
five serniquavers.
in
included
In
Messiaen's
larks
this
movement.
are
entire output, a
vocalisationsof
lark
has
the
different
type
are
represented,
and
of
composer
madea clear
numberof
include
Types
lark,
between
the
them.
used
calandra
short-toedlark,
differentiation
skylark,
lark
(African),
hoopoe
Japanese
lark
lark,
(African),
horned
shore
skylark,
wood
from
lark
North
USA.
types
the
Messiaen
USA)
two
is less
of
meadow
(North
and
lark
in
indication
the scoresimplystatesThoeur des
instance:
the
in
this
specific
139
larks'.
However,
larks
because
the
of
are
chosen
they fly muchhigher
alouettes'/'Chorus
birds,
immense
freedom.
they
The senseof frcedomis
and
so
symbolise
an
other
than most
by
the
the
complexity
of
chromaticrhythmsthat negateany senseof
precise
enhanced
bird
has
the
human
ideas.
these
no
conception
although
of
or
regularity,
rnetre
in
following
be
larks'
the
'chorus
analysed
may
The
manner.The characteristicswill
of
first be.defined,andthenthe form of the sectionoutlined [ex VIU41.
MainCharacteristics.
D#
four
threequavers
repetitive serniquavers,
a)
b) four semiquavers,
two 'cretic' sets(addednote values)
Ab
(in
Bb
fours)
twos
note,
serniquaver
grace
or
c) cell:
d) anapaesticcell: two demisemiquavers
anda semiquaver
(C4
C
two
or
natural)
crotchets
e)
0 'alternator'E/F#, Ab/E natural,Bb/Ab (derivedftom c)
dramatically
'alternator'
changedby 'agrandissement
g)
asymitrique'
h) four repeateddottedquavers
i) repeatedEb serniquavers
bar-by-bar,
be
Eachbirdsong
asopposedto phrase-by-phrase.
examined
The structurewill
is
bar,
durations
the
(and
cell)
written
mere
within
a
a
while
occasion
chromatic
on
phrase
'interruption
The
ties
is
included
be
many
are
used.
as
separate,
call'
to
entirely
not
seem
in
[see
the
two
appear
section
whole
only
p23-26).
since
characteristic
as a
140
Labelled Characteristic
a
as
b
Bar
I
2
3
4
c (& d)
5
6
e
all
8
9
10
e
a
b
13
. F#)
f
14
15
9
-
is
19
&
f
(Bb
and
reference notes
Ab)12
- 20
- 21
)&h
f (Bb
---
------22
73
D# repetition
E and Ab
C natural
a +291)
16
17
extratwo slurredquavers
usingmajor 7"' and minor 901in
a 'cretic' rh%ihm
plus Mo groupsof threenotes,
I' usesthe major 71
'Rererence' Points/Notts
DOtepctition
DN reNtition
outer parts:E-Eb-D&
nh-Mb
CN
&d
E)
f
(Ab
and
cs
Variation/Qualities
A natural repetition
A natural repetition
F# in 'alternator' and repeated
cells
E natuz-al
E natural
E natural
E natural
E natural
E natural
Bb
Eb
L--
[p23-261
incorporates
birdsong,
irrational
Messiaen
simultaneously
first
which
in
the
is
TIiis work
values
found
in
his
Divergent
variations
are
use
and
startling
'interversion'
system.
andthe
141
depicting
birdsong.
More
when
even
regularly,the composerusesthe
of registrations,
in
its
bird
to
the
timbre.
an
attempt
create
unique
of
name
actual
Ongue
Pikes
(1951)
Sept
d'Orgue
pour
Livre
-
has
The
below
seven
movements,
work
as
shown
as
pitch.
as important
H
Hi
IV
v
vi
vH
Reprisespar Interversion
Pike en Trio
Les Mains de I'Ablme
Chants des Oiseaux
Pi6ce en Trio
Les Yeux dans les Roues
Soixante-QuatreDur6es
in
Messiaen's
for
the
last
only
sections
are
output
first
movements
organwhich
The
and
The
theological.
the
or
secondand sixth movementsare also
spiritual
forgo any elementof
in
incorporate
the
the
same
pitch-series,
they
sameway that the third
as
together,
finked
is
fourth
fantasy
the
the
nucleus
movement
of
entire
do,
the
work
fifth
of
while
-a
and
in
Hindu
first
become
the
three
rhythms
The
movement,
uses
which
composer
birdsongy.
142
between
birdsong
black-bird,
to
act
as
conversations
the
seem
of
Two passages
nightingale
is
first
blackbird,
The
the
principally
a
vocalisation
of
thrush.
two
with
short
song
and
"
by
The secondusesthe songof
the
thrush.
intedections
and
nightingale
song
episodic
it
flamboyant
the
as
sings
alternate
voice,
the
main
passages
thrush
as
with
the song
from
The
blackbird
the
call
a
short
and
nightingale.
three
the
other
of
sections
rnelodies
blackbird,
in
the
robin
and
nightingale
turn
each
birdsong
exhibit
cadenzas:
several
of
are
143
blackbird,nightingale,
I Conversations:
songthrush,blackbird
2 Blackbird'scadenza
3 Conversations:
songthrush,nightingale,
songthrush,blackbird,
blackbird,
thrush,
blackbird
songthrush,nightingale,
song
4 Robin'scadenza
5 Nightingale's
cadenza
is
by
first
in
bird
the
separated
a very brief "Un PeuLent' bar on the pedal
Each
passage
(violoncelle8) which containsthe ubiquitousgracenote so often associatedwith short
'interruption
as
an
call'. As Messiaendoesnot labelthis as
categorised
interjections,often
is
low
in comparisonto the conversational
kind
the
register
very
and
birdsongof any
describe
be
it
to
However,
in
later
them
unwise
as
may
such.
works,
vocalisations,
birdsongs
in
low
because
he
has
a
register
transposedall the
numerous
N4essiaen
notates
high-pitched
that
the
down
so
octaves
very
several
soundsareboth audibleand
birdsong
The
instrument.
desired
is
this
overall
the
effect
of
to
method
on
representthe
playable
In
it
is
in
to
this
each
other.
case,
moreprobablethat these
birdsongsexactly relation
listener
the
the
of
giving
a chanceto differentiatebetweeneach
interjectionsserve purpose
its
has
is
fact,
further
In
tempo
this
own
song
each
marking:
a
that
element
song.
species'
besides
from
the
birdsongs
another,
one
articulation,comparativedynamics
the
divides
birdsong,
in
Moreover,
has
its
the
each
whole
movement
own
styles.
specific
motivic
and
first
in
the
section:
appear
three
of
which
registration,
144
blackbird
PresqueVif (et
Fantaisiste)14
nightingale
Tr6sMod6rd,Tendre
song thrush
robin
Bien Mod6r6,Auto
Vif
is
in
lengthY
blackbird's
bar.
It canbe dividedinto rive
first
the
written
songs
one
The
of
five derniserniquavers
built
is
first
high
that
The
A
of
up
end
on
a
accented
natural,
parts.
it
high
the
that
B
same
vein,
except
concludes
in
third
written
is
with
the
a
natural.
and
high
fourth
with
conclude
a
accentedpitch, but they are not marked
parts
The secondand
fifth
The
is
F#
'interruption
cell
staccato
sign.
two
a
an
and
only
calls,
with an accent,
have
frequently
Ornithologists
dactylic
cell.
mentionedthat the blackbird
forrringa
high-pitched
'chuckled'
declamatory
Ilese
a
very
with
concludes
sonority.
two
regularlY
E naturals(with precedinggracenotes)typify this uniquequality, as they are
higherthanthe precedingpitches:the naza d2 2/3andthe tierce 13/5
comparatively
bar
be
described
'call'. Only the two notes
The
can
only
this.
nightingale's
as
a
exaggerate
demiserniquaver
forming
74
thirteen
'alternator'
"o,
a
B
major
staccato
used,
are
and
is
far
The
sound
than
more
calm
overall
and
tiotio'.
that
reserved
tiotio,
of the
tiotio,
in
itself
(f-pp).
dramatic
is
The
dynamic
in
be
contrast
a
to
the
nightingale
seems
blackbird:
its
fortissimo
The
thrush
It
an
exciting
entrance
makes
with
distance.
song
marking.
the
'call'
it
is
described
than
be
both
rather
song,
as
as
a
made
two
of
up
motives,
also
should
of
bar
few
first
the
The
'interruption
and
entire
only
makes
calls',
use
of
a
notes.
which are
flat-F#
G-A
an
accompanying
with
grace
the
note,
and
the
second
notes
uses
Inotive
145
high-pitch
derniserniquaver
the
and
use
a
rapid
displacement),
endon
patternwith widely.
blackbird's
fourth
The
the
in
intervals.
'conversations'
of
phrase
second
the
song
spaced
A
(G
'reference
double
The
first
natural)
which
four
and
act
as
notes
points'.
uses
also
interval:
first
the
two
the
augmented
down
same
transposed
notes
are
use
also
a
notes
leap
from
huge
bottom
C
in
bass
The
a
a
the
with
natural
ends
fifth.
song
clefto a highflat.
B
pitched
described
be
[exVI/5]
birdsong
may
as
a
section
blackbird's
of
cadenza
which uses
The
islands'.
Paul
Griffiths
'continuous
motivic
originaUy
the
coined
of
expression
the principle
15
frequently
that
islands'
short
phrases
of
music
summarising
when
usemanyof
dmotivic
This
this
theory,
the
epitornises
with
section
additional
useof
pitches.
the same
intervalfic
incorporate
the
The
of
same
many
relationships.
which
cadenza
transpositions
be
into
the
into
since
music
cannot
parts;
segmented
divided
several
be
phrases
as
may
'chirps'.
However,
it
is
isolated
importance
single-note
to
of
paramount
many
so
are
there
146
built
it
is
birdsong
The
be
up
of
one
note
or
many
more.
whether
cannot
restsor pauses,
in
however,
bars
two
it
into
the
there
only
are
whole
as
section;
brokenup
maybe
by thetwo barlines.The'motivicislands"effiect
delineate
two
separations
to
reasonable
if
'alternator'
few
in
the
to
only
be
a
notes
are
used
a
similar
section
of music:the
very
can
be
four
included.
three
is
Examples
repeated
and
may
or
that
a
pitch
notes
difference
of
in
Part
be
I
the
A
flat,
the
D
of
parts.
most
seen
uses
notes
can
technique
naturaland
this
have
interval
flat-D
A
the
tritone
beginning
the
end
and
natural.Out of the
G: boththe
C#,
is
Ab
G
the
before
twice,
the
the
sounded
unexpected
natural
once,
and
notes
eight
These
in
five
3;
the
pitches
same
times.
are
only
notes
used
D
part
onceagain
the natural
Part
7
G
a
staccato
serniquaver.
the
with
two
concludes
uses
notes
pitches
of
the group
'alternator',
C4
is
is
before
to
the
an
only
repeated
similar
the
C#:
once
the
effect
and
For
for
immediate
the
time.
the
this
is
second
purpose
of
the
study,
sounded
note
other
is
be
labelled
Ab
G
that
they
Y.
D,
There
so
regular
will
motive
and
are
the
notes
of
use
Y
is
the
third
be
the
of
are
used
and
notes
missing:
two
of
examples
can
where
occasions
147
durations.
Part
displays
include
15
features
of
repetitions
two groups of three
Rhythmic
be
divided
into
24
identical
two
can
part
groups(two
while
demisemiquavers,
in
These
repeated
scandicus
a
semiquaver
melodic
shape).
a
and
groups
demisemiquavers
"reference
finish
three-note
by
a
pattern
and
note,
while
the
grace
broken
a
note'
up
are
part.
148
Pitches
part
x
x+ C#, C
3-
4-
A
B,
C#.
x+
x+ CW,B
--
E
x(n-dssingG)+Eb.
x+ C#
G and C#
B)
Eb
(and
C#,
x+
x+ Eb, C#
7
8
9
x
-A natural_
11 notesof Chromaticscale
10
II
12
i
F21
II
'Reference Note'
low C#
low D
D
Ab
3x (paeon M, 4
6 (like an altemator)
9.5. x. 5
3x (paeon.IV), 5x, 4, Sx (altemator at
end)
G
co
Ab
C#
7x
Ab
A
Eb
single note
C#
D natural
Eb. E, D
Eb. E. D
UF
Lpnatural (Eb gracenote)
x+B natural
9
notesof
(total
of
x
chromaticscale
I.3
14
5
15
16
17
is
19
20
2- 4x
3,4 (paeon IV), 2
(ends urith scandicus)
3x (paeon IV). 4-- 3-- 4.6x
3 (torculus resupinus). S. 4
Final
extendedphrase6,7,3 (climacus
resupinus),6
referencenote:D natural
singlenote
sinde note
2 tribachic cells + crctic cell
2+ cretic cell
single note
single note
5
extendedphrase5x (incl. Climacus
resupinus),7, iamb, 3x (climacus
resupim)
singlenote
co
D
D
D
C#
D
D
D
Eb
149
22
23
24
x+B natural
x+ Eb. C. F# and C#
x (total of sevennotesof
chromaticscale)
25
26
27
28
29
x+B and C#
x+B and C#
C nawral
x (missing G)
D and C#
30
- 31
32
'
x+ Eb, D, Ab
5.4+1
3 (torculus resupinusy
(climacusresupinus).5+1
2x (scandicus), 2 (porrcctus).
2x (Scandicus), 2 (porrcctus).
3x (climacus resupinus)
4
4
single note
iambic interruption call
iambic interruption call
extended phrase: 3 (climacus rcsupinus).
3 (climacus rcsupinus), 5x, 3 (climacus
resupinus). 4
C natural
C
F#,
Bb,
x+E,
D
C#
D
Ab
G
C
Ab
C#
C#
(p16)
involves
soundsof the songthrush,nightingale
The secondconversationalpassage
follows:
is
The
blackbird.
as
order
and
blackbird
thrush
black-bird
thrush
song
song
nightingale
song,thrush- songthrushblackbird.
nightingaleintrinsically
The
first
is four barsin
are
repetitive.
thrush's
vocalisations,
excerpt
The sono,
0
both
is
bar
the
same,
melodicallyandrhythmically,and the tritone is
exactly
length. each
The
first
bar
The
begins
two
interval.
uses
excerpt
motives.
final
second
with the
the
in
bars
the
three-note
anapaestic
cell,
F
while
remaining
a
use the rhythm
tritone sharp/C
different
The
third
first
pitches.
only
with
appearance
usesa short
vocalisation,
the
of
is
final
involves
twice,
the
repeated
while
two motives,the
which
call
dramaticanapaestic
G/A
'alternator'
'touhitte'.
'iambic'
The
is
has
brief
an
nightingale
two
which
secondof
first is a shortandrapid pianissimo'alternator' call, the secondis a group of
The
extracts.
fade
into the distance.The blackbird's
F#
that
demiseniquavers
an
gradually
on
successive
ISO
be
described
they
as
songs
or
phrases
as
can
are slightly morevaried. Its first
vocalisations
first
The
two
three
motives.
usea smallcell and are repeatedexactly(two
uses
appearance
but
like
IV
two
the
third
anapaestic
cells),
sounds
the characteristic
and
cells
paeon
is
The
phrase
second
reminiscentof its own cadenza:the useof
4chuckledending'.
followed
by
higher-pitched
demisemiquavers
'rcrcrence
which
are
staccato
of
groups
The
blackbird's
Eb/D
this
in
the
make
note
clear.
grace
third
the
song
and
notes'
lively
is
immediately
than
the
and
vibrant
more
antecedentphrases.
conversations much
is
flourishes
taken
and
Eb/D
repeated,
up
more
cell
note
The
are usedwith higher
grace
far
includes
before.
Huge
leaps
Messiaen
than
found:
a
wider
range
the
are
and
pitches,
had
been
bird
if
The
is
the
is
is
startled.
phrase
there
as
continuous
scattered
only
Inusic
[see
p16-17j.
one rest
is
built
dernisemiquavers,
is
continuous
and
also
up
of
very occasional
The robin's cadenza
interruptions
[ex
VU6].
These
high-pitched
semiquaver
note
three
single
and
grace notes
break
the textureandact aspauses:the notesusedare F
up
again
once
serniquavers
is
in
Variety
found
flat,
in
E
Messiaen's
that
order.
also
E
and
use
natural
of
natural,
have
There
that
two
If
groupings
successive
many
are
pitches.
the
section
notes.
repeated
durations
following
(a
together),
be
then
the
grouped
into
of
number
can
divided
sets
is
found:
set 3: A natural 6 times
set 5: F# twice
set 8: Ab twice
151
set 9: E naturaltwice
set 10: E naturaltwice, D naturaltwice
set 11: Eb four times
set 15: A naturalthreetimes
set 18: Bb twice
set 21: A natural twice
Moreover, the A naturalgracenote andthe G appearlater in set 12, but as two regular
dernisemiquavers,immediatelyfollowed by a shorttritone 'alternator' in set 13. The same
incorporated
in
is
6
12
19:
in
two
sets
and
set
notesremainconstant,while
seen
principle
[see
p171.
change
the other pitches
begins
with exactlythe samemajor 7"' 'alternator' as its first
The nightingale'scadenza
in this movement[ex VI/71. This is straightawayfollowed by the minor 9Ih
vocalisation
F
displayed
in
as
sharps,
the nightingale'ssecond
previously
repeated
interval andrapid
Other
this
of
movement.
conversation
successive
the
repeated
second
of
call
into
incorporated
different
this
section
on
are
pitches(sets 17 and14),
derniserniquavers
but
(sets
5
10).
F
The
tempo
much
slower
at
a
the
sharp,
and
slurred
on
minor
again
and
developed
is
into
3
Vh
beginning
is
15:
a
of
set
compound
the
major
this
leap
at
set
at
9'
'alternators',
here
displaced.
in
the
The
following
only
of
octavely
most
interval
used
the
ftom
The
divided;
deduced
the
be
nightingale's
cadenza.
sets
are
the
general
may
table
however,
degree
to;
sets
are
adhered
and
phrases
a
of
subjectivity
separating
of
principles
is inevitable.
152
TheNightingale's
-Cadenza
Features
'alternator'
major7"
Set
I
4
_6 7
8
9
10
II
12
13
14
15
16
_ 17
19
19
20
21
22
23
24_
pp
single F#
2
3
Dynamics
mp
mf
>PEE
Mr
Mf>P22
mf
DO
pp
f>ppp
pp
- Mf
f
P
f
-anapaest
Th
C
B-C
+
repeated naturals major
two spondaiccells
6alternator'(as 1)
flats
(as
3)
A
repeated
C# + threeBbs
E natural 'chirp'
threerepeatedRs
2 anapaesticcells + porrectus
repeatedA naturals
torculusresupinus
F#
(as_
3)
+
repeated
spondee,
pp
inn
(pp)
(P2)
mf/pp
f>
pp
fsee p181
'Soixante-Quatre
Dur6es',
Messiaen
final
movement,
takessixty-fourchromatic
the
into
them
groupsof four, forming the effect of a 'closed fan'. This
durationsand arranges
by
is simultaneouslycounterbalanced a retrogradeorder which is like the openingof a fan.
bars:
displays
the
following
opening
The
61,62,63,64,4,3,2,
Manuals)
line,
(top
Fan
Closed
6,3
2,3
0,3
1,3
5,34,3.3
29,3
(Pedal)
fan
...
Open
Is
L.
153
for
the
the whole movement;therefore,the most
same
The -tempomarkingremains
is
to
the
certain
aspects
to
of
referring
of
section
provide pagenumbers.
method
practical
interversion
in
the
33-37
aforementioned
of
the top line and the
systems
consist
pages
it becomesimmediatelyapparentthat the middle line hasa distinct
however,
pedal;
it
'style
includeswitbin
oiseau'characteristics.Although much of the writing
freedom, and
it
includes
lower
than
expect,
nevertheless
would
one
repetitiveserniquavers
pitch
is at a
'alternator',
flourishes,
between
an
grace
notes
and
contrasts
pitch,
staccato
on the same
it
is
discrete
in
time
the
same
at
nature
and
lcgato,
yet
rhythmically
and
clearly
and
interversions.
On
34,
from
line
the
the
concurrent
page
takesover the
middle
distinguished
fine:
becomes
from
'freer'
for
this
few
top
bars.
the
In fact,
fan'
part
a
series
sclosed
there
two
'fan'
are
predominantly
to
the
the
parts
adhering
movement
throughout
is
distinct.
messiaen's
introduction
the
part
wholly
remaining
wIdle
series,
of
interversion
is
helpful
in
discriminating
bird
between
extremely
for
vocalisation
the
each
brackets
calls.
and
songs
var-ious
in
Messiaen's
first
its
38
lei
VI/8a].
This
music
appearance
on
page
t1t
makes
The great
identical
be
three
as
anapaestic
characterised
calls:
each
the
may
cell
uses
excerpt
succinct
tritone
flat,
demiserniquavers
the
two
followed
D
and
rhythm
consists
of
interval natural-A
brief
its
The
woodpecker
also
makes
spotted
a
appearance
great
with
by a semiquaver.
154
lex
VI/8b].
U
The
three
semiquavers
tritone calls of the greattit are soon
repetitive
slow
heard again,which prefacea short-livedtritone 'alternator' comprisingstaccatotriplets,
VU8c]
lex
labelled
the
nightingale
and
bird
texture
stylechangesat page41. Shortly after four high-pitchcd
of
The single-line
&chirps'with precedinggracenotes,the songthrushcontinueswith two 'interruption calls'
has
line
label
bird
'oiseaux
divers"Narious
that
the
birds.
style
The
subsequent
a
with
the
torculus
Although
is
Messiaendoesnot
second
a
and
resupinus.
a
porrectus
first call
in
is
he
line,
it
is
birds
this
important
middle
representing
nevertheless
an
specify which
birdsong.
Two
birdsongs,
his
in
heard
of
or
use
possibly
more,
are
development
at once:
VI/9].
individual
[ex
The
'various
birds'
is
bird
the
continue
entirely
until
named
eachpart
has
blackbird
The
one
concise
has
call
which
somewhat
concluded.
overshadowsthe
style
is
it
7h
'alternator'
for
final
birds'
F
a
major
moment:
split
a
with
a
sharp,
cvarious
blackcap
is
The
brief
also
the
swift
and
sextuplet.
a
excerpt
vvithin
consistsof
contained
first
The
D.
E
four
A,
is
G
and
group
of
notes
sharp,
practicallyorganisedinto
four notes:
retrograde
four.
The
begins
for
the
nightingale
second
with the characteristiclong
order
9"
is
falls
to
like
a
pitch
minor
which
a
repeated
a
which
machine-gun,
note,
only
seamless
in
interpretations.
is
The
it
than
previous
slower
much
repeated
notes
are
occasion
this
on
demisemiquavers
found
in
the
than
fourth
usual
the
rather
written assemiquavers
'Chantd'Oiseaux'.Thenightingale's
vocalisations
conclude
with
a
sextuplet
rnovernent,
durations(interversionseries)drawthepieceto
flourish,
the
chromatic
as
derniserriquaver
[see
p40431.
its close
133
Le
for
final
flute
'concours' at the Paris
to
the
write
a
piece
commissioned
Messiaenwas
first
is
Messiaen's
This
the
1952.
of
works that most musicologists
Conservatoireof
based
birdsong.
It
be
being
on
may
to
plausible
exclusively
suggestthat
as
regard
the uniquesoundsof the naturalworld - specifically,
Messiaenwas heresubstituting-,
into
for
musiqueconcr6teandelectronicmusicwith which he
the explorations
birdsong This
heralds
been
work
a substantialepochwherebirds
experimenting.
had previously
in
important
the
for
cases,
many
single
most
and,
concern
nucleus
chief
becomeof
musical
felt
dominated
by
Messiaen
devices,
that
Perhaps
a
world
mechanical
science
inspiration.
and
intellectual
to
discipline,
too
music
as
a
clinical
regard
and
eager
only
rather
war, was
been
decision
have
Messiaen's
It
a
conscious
on
may
to
part
emotion.
move
of
one
than
andrelatedcompositionaltheories,andwrite a pieceof
from
concr&te
musique
away
156
based
on phrasesandother characteristicvocalisationsof the ubiquitous
solely
music
blackbird, a bird that Messiaenhadusedto an increasingdegreein recentworks. Le Merle
Noir hasbeenkept in the 'ExperimentalPeriod' first becauseit was written in the same
it
includes
d'Orgue,
Livre
still
and
second,
as
elementsof a quasi-tone-row,on
year as
in
the
twelve
the octave.Moreover,
of
eleven
possible
sernitones
employing
occasions
from
dramatic
is
this solo pieceto the chorusof thirty-eight birds in the
shift
there a
following work, Riveil desOiseaux(1953), which is to be discussedin the follo%%ing
is
Merle
Noir
Le
his
Nevertheless,
the
apogee
and
synthesis
of
early approachto
chapter.
if
blackbird,
he
loquacious
the
the
even
sounds
createdweremoreinspired
the soundsof
by memorythanactualtranscriptions.
into
divided
be
The movementcan
subsections:the tablebelow hasbeenadaptedfrom
basic
form
The
Nichols'
Roger
of the pieceaccordingto Roger Nichols
originalanalysis.
is 'bar form' (A - A' - B); however,it may alsobe describedasA- A' - Coda Form. The
forrn of the pieceis shownbelow:
SUBDPASION
I
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
A
F-7
TEXTURE
BAR NOS.
I
rumbling' piano (sustained)
blackbird's cadenza
pianolflute conversation
octaves
chromaticchords& silent bar
'rumbling'piano,
trills (staccatoon flute)
Irumbling'piano
blackbird's cadenza
piano/fluteconcurrentcanonicconversation
octaves(eachpart 1 quaverapart)
colour chords& silent bar
eight semiquavcrs(higher than I and not sustained)
trills (staccatoon flute)
'Vif" section
1-2
3-8
9-26
27-28
29-35
36
37-43
4445
46-53
54-71
72-74
75-82
93
94-90
91-125
A'
CODA
157
N. B. Sectionsmarkedin bold are idiomaticrenditionsorthe blackbird's song.
The first cadenza,from bars3-8. maybe analysedin a slightly different way lei VVIO]. In
birdsongs,
the entire sectionhasbeendividedinto
representations
of
structural
previous
however,
if
bars;
birdsong
has
been
the
and
calls
transposeddown severaloctaves
phrases,
frequent
is
the
therefore
slower,
significantly
useof quaverrestsmay symbolise
and
breaths
Moreover,
if
the
than
or
end
of
a
pfirase.
rather
a phraseof the blackbird
pauses
high-pitched
"chuckle',
concludes
with
a
thenthemusicalnotationthat
occasions
most
on
the
For
this
signify
may
effect
end
of
the sakeof clarity, eachof the
a
phrase.
creates
blackbird'scadenzas
mustbedividedinto bars,but thisfirst songin addition%illbe
in relationto the'chuckledending',asshownbelow.
described
138
bc
final
five
into
the
chromatic
sen-dquavcrs
cannot
Taking this principle
consideration,
in
blackbird
distance
blackbird's
these
the
resemble
a
Nvith
notes
perhaps
song:
this
of
part
is
inaudible
in
life.
'chuckled
On
that
dynarnic,
the other
ending'
real
its ppp,
andpossibly
have
blackbird's
cometo a conclusion.
necessarily
may
not
hand, the
phrase
first
flutter-tongue
by
the
two
effects,
on aC sharp2
The 'chuckled' endingsare signified
by
flute
harshness,
flat2.
This
E
the
effect
creates
a
special
produced
and secondlyon an
Nichols
Roger
in
As
high
in
the
the
mentions
aforementioned
register.
article,
a
especially
Gg arethe mainpitchesused.The 'motivic islands' effect canbe
flat,
D
E
A,
and
notes
form,
dividing
in
tied
together,
table
each
of
group
notes
a
and
relatingall
again
once
seen
The
four
flat,
D
be
A,
E
G9
labelled
Y.
these
notes.
notes
to
and
will
the pitches
BAR
3
4
5
6_
7
8
[see
GROUPS
3x (scandicus),7x + C# & B, D and
neighbour note alternator
iamb,
5x
Sx,
D,
+C
sinizienote
OTHER FEATURES
includes final B
includes final B
4x, x, flutter-tongue, 7x + 'chirp'
5x, iamb (minor 9' 'call'), 5 (staccato),
2 longer durations
5x, 4, iamb, 8x + C# & C, iamb, 3,
flutter-tongue, five chromatic
derniserniquavers
repeated F natural
repeated F natural
159
The iambic cell occurson four occasions:it becomesa featurebecauseon the penultimate
in
immediately
F
it
the
this
version
preceding
rhythmic
appearance usesa tied natural,and
2'
become
Features
the
of
coherent
with
use
the
generally
note.
same
uses
augmentation
found
be
An
in
this
of
can
small cells that appear the sameorderwhile expanding. example
in
first
in
D
the sameorder,
Eb
A,
the
bar:
first
again
set areutilised
the
in the
and used
in
is
F
bar
four
fortissimo
G
high
The
and
natural
natural
very
but with additionalpitches.
bar.
be
in
As
G
the
clearly seen,the methodsof
can
sixth
diminishedto a single natural
in
frequent
the
traits
diminution
movement.
very
are
and
expansion
in
bars
37
41
to
that
also circle arounda
occur
The twenty-eightcontinuousserniquavers
bar
four
bars
first
The
the
].
1
VI/I
an
ostinato:
each
uses
[ex
are
practically
few pitches
between
interchanges
Bb
from
the
third
a
and
a
note
which
apart
pitches,
and
samerhythm
The
first
bar
2nd
final
transposed
alternately.
a
up major
two notesare
B natural, andthe
first
The
beat,
the
the
two
of
series.
out
notes
missing
begins on the third serniquaver
bar
the
other
slur,
are
with
a
while
notes
always
marked
are
each
third
of
notes
secondand
below:
displayed
bars
four
the
are
The
of
pitches
staccato.
bar 37
bar 38
bar 39
bar 40
Bb
F#
Gg
GN
A#
Bb
Fhl
Gil
(i)
A1
B1
A1
Gig
1 A
1(ii)
160
The fifth bar (41) employsthe four notesof Ix' (D, A, Eb and GO),followed by an F
D
bird
long
The
Eb
sustained
natural.
style qualitiesare enhancedby the trills
anda
sharp,
but it canonly be realizedif one imaginesthe phrases
in the piano accompaniment,
higher
least
faster.
therefore
three
times
and
octaves
several
at
recreated
[see P31
in
(b46-53)
blackbird
the A' sectionis conceivedin a similar fashionto its
The
cadenza
from
Apart
VI/121.
lex
'motivic
islands'
the
continuous
the
use
of
earlier counterpart
follows:
features
as
the
are
special
effect,
iamb
in
(also
retrograde:trochee)
a)
b) flutter-tongue
c) scandicus
d) 'altemator'
(cretic)
'rhythmic
palindrome'
e)
f) high-pitched'chirps" (usiWly repeatediambs)
be
in
A'
blackbird's
(the
the same way as before, as
46-53
can
structured
cadenza)
Bars
in
instance,
letters
However,
initially
following
this
in
table.
six
other
are
the
shown
0
birdsong
features
the
the
of
which are not relatedto the 'motivic
included,signifying
designated
in
letters
first
The
the
to theseother motivic
alphabet
are
islands'effect.
for
letters
later
the
are reserved Messiaen'spreoccupationwith certain
features,while
from eachother in the table:
Generally,
two
the
groups
symbols
are
separated
of
pitches.
is,
however,
in
found
The
the
also
subsequent
the
pitches
music.
music
same
the useof
161
is
(a-f)
large
in
list
is
the
always
a
above
group of slurreddernisemiquavers
that not
in
In
figure
Y
the
be
table,
the
to
a
set.
next
notes
nine
again
up
can
uscdto
sometimes
describethe notesD, A, G# andE flat, andthe groups of pitcheswhich containthree.
'y.
These
labelled
three-note
repetitionsonly occur on two
are
repetitions
note-cell
is altered.An additionalcell maybe labelled
instance
first
in
the
third
the
note
occasions:
The
it
includes
describcd
the
three
pitches
repeated
within
4z'
group.
approach
when
.
'motivic
The
black-bird's
be
in
the
A'
to
classification.
as
cadenza
referred
will
abovewill
however,
bar
bars;
into
in
left
hand
divided
be
the
the
numbers
columnreferto
onceagain
The
follows:
in
the
pitch
characteristics
as
a
whole.
are
as
piece
their position
x: D, A, G9, E flat
y: includesrepeatedthree-notecells
z: threerepeatedpitches
[see pp341
is
blackbird's
A"
in
the
the table below.
cadenza
shown
of
The overall structure
Bar No.
Groupings/Features
46
-------- 47
---------48
-------- 49
162
50
f, f, f, a (gracenotes,iamb)
51
9. c, f, f, f, f (flourish, scandicus,gracenotes)
52
a, f, a, f (4 iambic cells)
53
8,8$ b, descendingchromaticscale,2
(2 flourishes,fluttertongue,extendedclimacus,and spondee)
[see VI/121
in
in the flute,
the pianoandstaccatosen-quavers
trills
The secondsection,which uses
identical
is
It
90.
bars
84
between
to
the
exactly
Previousversionexceptthat
and
occurs
dynamics
4
is
durations
the
transposed
articulation,
up
a
perfect
and
section
the whole
remainingthe same.
be
last
is
'Vif
the
final
can
realistically
componentwhich
regardedas
The
section
is
last
five
bars
the
The
continuous
until
birdsong.
wherethe
pianoaccompaniment
discrete
The
texture.
to
a
pianotakeson a strict
interlocking andoverlappinggive way
from
The
flute
bars
91
121.
to
thirty
the
part consistsentirelyof
twelve-noterow over
The
and
sextuplet
serniquavers.
quavers
entire
syncopated
song
sen-quavers,
staccato
G
high
G
Bars
A
91-96
natural
and
sharp.
the
a
natural,
notes
only use
oscillatesaround
includes
D
The
first
97
the
commonly
most
employed
next
pitch,
sharp.
threenotes,while
its
form.
in
displays
in
(bar
9
1)
As
'Vif
the
motive
original
bar of the
previous
section
163
however,
is
from
Y
by
D#
the
Gg
the
phrase
separated
added;
are
numerous
and
notes
thatdifferentiate
'double'gracenotes.Thesegracenotesarethemainauralconstituents
flute
in
'Vif
'motivic
The
the
'x'.
the
from
of
classification'
part
sectionis as follows:
'z'
164
G#
(see
bar
G
91)
A
natural,
x: natural,
Us
descending
flourish
syncopated
sextuplet
y: serniquavers
A
G
'double'
notes
with
many
naturals
grace
and
naturals
z:
Bars
91-94
95-96
97
98-100
101
102
103
104
Features
X. X. x
retrograde version of four note cell in Y
ice)
(t%-,
x+D#
v
z
double-iamb.fragmentof z
four unidentifiedsen-tiquavus
doublenote z+ gracenotesand trochee
165
105
106
z
z. doublenote z+ G#
107
108
109-113
z. + D# and G#
porrectus. z fragment
use of notes G, D#, C#. G# iith and z
fragments
'high-chirp'. x
114
115-116
117-121
122-123
124-125
. X. X.
extendedversionof v +! %mcopation
rests
-I
flourish
in
but
(as
+
y.
ascending)
sextuplet
t wo high-pitched'chirps'
The wide rangegivento the flute part also enablesit to displaya significantcontrastin its
described
be
'chuckled
final
The
as
a
may
ending', especiallyvdth
phrase
timbral effects.
'un-pitched'
harsh
The
birdsong
in the
ff
dynamic
and
even
a
quality.
produces
which
the
'Vif sectionis mademoreidiomaticwith its repetitivelanguage;however,with the piano
it
is
hard
decipher
in
to
the
this
the
pitches,
and
style
rhythms
comparisonto
overlapping
its counterpartsin the two earliercadenzas.
Messiaen's
it
abandonmentof electronicmuicand many
However surprising may seem,
deeply
11is
inevitable.
and
forms of serialismwas
aesthetic
religiousphilosophieswere
interconnected.
inextricably
Where
both
Messiaenmight
life
his
integralto
andmusic:
instead
he favoursglissandiand the
indeterminate
rhythms,
haveusedmicrotonesand
its
fundamental
the
with
sernitone
as
augmentation:
unit, the
processof proportionate
durationsandpitchesof the bird's originalvocalisationsaretransposed,makingthe music
in
desired
instrument.As Messiaenhas
the
the
rangeof
,to scale',aurallyperceptibleand
proudly pointedout:
166
167
Notes to ChapterVI
The 'interversion'systemis a form of permutation:by addition or subtraction,rhythmic
decrease.
increase
Examples
be
found
in
this
or
'Regard
of
method
gradually
can
values
des Proh&tes,desBergers,et desMages' and in 'Regardde I'Onction Terrible' from the
Ving Regardsmir I'Dfiant-J67is (1944). This systemcan be usedin retrogradeorder or
durations
into
dividing
the
total
subsets.The 'intervcrsion' system,using
of
by
group
Re
is
de
Fett
I
11
throughout
the
experimental
present
work,
rhythms,
and
chromatic
in
de
Mode
Maleurs
the
twelve
of
the
note
permutations
series
systematic
et
where
d'Intensilis are extendedto the durationsin what Johnsoncalls a 'wedge' shape.This
d'Orgue,
in
Livre
but
is
on this occasionit is describedas a
&wedge'shape alsoemployed
fan'.
'open
permutationof an
2 Antoine Gol6a,Renc6ntresavecOlivier Messiaen,(Paris,Julliard, 1960).
3 SeePierreBoulez'sarticle, 'The Threshold'.takenfrom Die Reihe.Vol. 11(1955), p40.
Boulez," Perspectivesof Ne
Fano/Stockhausen,
" Richard Toop, 'Messiaen/Goeyvaerts,
13,No. I (1974)pp141-169.
_Music,
5 There is anotherrninor piece,Timbres-Duries(1952).
1 For more informationaboutthe improvisatoryquality ofMesse de la Penfecdlesee
Color:
Conversations
Music
Claude
Samuel,
Messiaen:
Olivier
Samuel,
!
and
Claude
_%vith
Oregon,
Press,
(Portland,
Amadeus
1986),
Glasow,
Thomas
E.
p2s.
trans.
beingusedinsteadof the gracenotes.
7 Derivative of 2, derniserniquavers
0
8Moreover, Messiaenincludesthe markings"pocorubato', 'rall. ', and 'A Tempo'.
9 The pitchesusedsignifythe sameforwardsandbackwards,just as a 'rhythmic
durations
is
in
the
a
of
group
used
samemanner.
palindrome'
10The sixth chordsandresolutionsarevery reminiscentof the love themesin the
Turangaffla Symphony.
" This bar of musicincorporatesthe 'agrandissement
asymdtrique'systemto the pitches,
be
'alternator'
to
the
unrecognisable.
thereby causing
12The 'alternator' Bb-Ab is derivedfrom c, the Ab-Bb gracenotes.
13The nightingale'ssongis particularlybeautifuland drawn-outin the early evening,but it
during
the
afternoon.
vocalises
still
14On two occasionsthe '.. et fantaisiste'is omittedfrom the tempomarking.
1:5Paul Griffiths, Olivier Messiaenandthe Music of Time, (London/Boston,Faber, 1985),
p147.
16The Y that appearsin the characteristics
colurnndenotesa phraseor group of notes
this
three
the
of
motive.
notes
use
that only
17This simplescandicusmotive producesa 'swooping' effect.
11The informationhereis only relevantfor the first pageof musicin 'SoixanteQuatre
from
interversion
system
moves
the
one staveto anotherlater in this movement.
Dur6es':
I" Each intervalfrom the Y ceUis augmentedby a semitone,while the whole group of
is
transposed.
notes
20When the iambicrhythmdoesnot usethe samepitch, major 7h and minor 9h intervals
are employed.
168
11 Motive Y is built up of two four-note cells, followed by a final note: this bar can be
being
first
four-note
'inside-out',
the
the
retrograde
or
of
as
cell.
classified
See Messiaen Cg=anion, ed. Peter Hill, (London, Faber, 1995), p260.
This quotation is taken from Almut R6131er's
compilation of various discussions on
topical issues in Messiaenresearch,Contributions to the-Spiritual World of Olivier
Messiaen, (Duisburg, Gilles und Francke, 1986).
169
170
There
in
homophony'
two
are
emphasiscd
equally.
voices
is
'two-voiced
which
Type two
depiction
The
F-roliques.
Oiseaux
in
device
the
of
olive.
this
frequent
of
examples
are
homophonic
in
both
demonstrates
two-voiced
for
effect,
a
which
backed thrush, example,
[ex
VJIU2
Oiscalix
synchronously
hands
left
serniquavers
triplet
staccato
play
and
r-ight
is
Of
the
bl].
W&
orchestra
employed,more parts
when
course,
F_xotiquesp25,
p26,
homophony.
in
be
rnay used
is
homophony,
but
two-voiced
type,
third
the
also
which
differentiation
creates
Dynamic
where
There
in
Nveil
des
dominant.
true
is
this
no
examples
are
of
only onevoice or part
be
found
in
following
Exotiques
the
Oiseaux
though
may
examples
many
Oiseauxor
In VAlouette Calandrelle'(eighthpiece),the representation
dDiseaux.
Catalogve
work,
instances
lark'
'short-toed
contains
numerous
this
bird
type
texture
the
of
of
title
the
of
b3l.
Calandrelle'
sl,
p7.,
IL"Alouette
[ex VIEW-
171
The fourth type ariseswhenchordsare usedand all the voices are givcn cqual wcight,
This type is named'chordal' or 'homorhythmic'. An illustration of this can be seenin
Oiseaux Exotiques,wherethe composerdepictsthe sonoritiesof the Indian shama.The
is
in
block
isolation,
in
taken
written
chordsclearly exemplifyingthis type of
part,
piano
Himalyan
Messiaen
the
white-crestedlaughingthrush and the
texture.
alsorepresents
but
lex
VII/4a,
b, c- Oiscawc
this
texture,
orchestral
using
ensembles
sharpawith
Exotiques p40, p3l, p161.'Harmonicostinato' and 'harmoniclitany' are usedto grcat
(see
glossary).
effect
The fifth group is exactlythe sameasthe previoustype, exceptthat one voice or part is
Once
differentiation.
dynamic
importance
again,thereare no suchexamples
through
given
it
is
dealt
in
found
this
be
chapter
not until the ensuing
two
the
within
works
to
Catalogue d'Oiseaux (1958) that the use of dynamic differentiation in birdsong is
in
be
Te
Courlis
Cendrd'
(tMrteenth
An
tls
seen
can
piece),,where
employed. exampleof
left
hand's
[ex
V11/5
to
the
ILe
single
note
prominence
give
chords
the redshank's.
be
found
in
Ca'llgYOdjajYl
TMs
b1l.
technique
CendrP
(1949).
can
also
Courlis
P9, sl,
birdsong.
depict
intended
it
is
here
to
not
although
forms
in
the
is
hybrid
above
of
texture which any
may manifestthemselvesin
Type six a
juxtapositionwith a chord of resonance,commonlyusedto depictnon-birdsongmaterial.
dDiscalor,
Catalogue
however,
in
frequently
is
the Americanwood thrush
the
This
used
is depictedby resonanceeffectsin the first pianocadenzaOf OiscauxEx0liques.Hcre, a
172
insistent
by
(chordaYhomorhythmic:
followed
is
chords
six
all voices
resonance set up and
Oiseaux
Evotiques
VW6
in
[ex
this
p5, s4l.
example
equal)
-
173
Single-voicetexture(monophony)
0
(2) Homophonictexture:coequalemphasis
(3) Homophonictexture:one voice dominant
(4) Homorhythmic/chordaltexture: coequalin partsor voices
(5) Homorhythmic/chordaltexture: onevoice or part dominant
(6) Hybrid texture:juxtapositionof 1-5 or 7 with a chord of resonance
7
(7) Polyphoniceffect:counterpoint/conversation
Rived desOiseaux
174
intervention.
Revell
des
the
together
reveal
compositional
transposition
proportional
Oiseaux (7heAwakeningof the Birds) describes,in twenty minutes,a cycle from midnight
Ta
Mer'
Debussy's
first
Similarly,
also representsthe passing
the
of
movement
till noon.
follows:
divides
Messiaen
the
as
piece
of time.
Midnight
Four o'clock in the Morning
Dawn Chorus
Morning Songs
Noon
lead
andorchestralensemble
Thereis anoverridingarchform.Alternatingpianocadenzas
from
is
Robcrt
following
in
The
table
dawn
adaptation
tutti.
an
chorus
up to thegrand
Oiscaux,
des
Rived
basic
interpretation
using
structureof
SherlawJohnson's
of the
than
timings9:
rather
points
rehearsal
i1
16-17
Cadenza:Robin
28-29
Cadenza:Black-cap
7-16
Earlv Morning
6-7
Cadenza:Whitethroat
29-34
I-Ite Morning
34-35
Cadenza:Blick-bird
3-6
Early Morning
3542
Late Morning
O2
Cadenza:Nightingales
42-End
Cadenza
Fading
175
There are two profoundsilencesin the work: the first occursafter the dawn chorus,while
before
immediately
the secondappears
noon. The importancethat the composerattributes
to birdsongis nowheremoreapparentthan in the list printed at the headof the score,
in
birds
birds
The
in
the
the
thirty-eight
music.
used
are
catalogued
all
gives
ordcr
which
different
in
five
languages.
listed
their
names
of appearance,and
being,thateachinstrument
a closeapproximation
chosenshouldrepresent
of a certain
birdsong,while remainingsafelywithin its range.Furthermore,the characteristic
in
is
in
birdsong
interval
the
expanded
order to conform with
structureof
vrild
microtonal
frequent
impression
the
the
while
tempered
often
gives
system,
of
grace
notes
use
the
of
less
intervals
is
focused
Since
than
this
a
sernitone.
so
closely
on the
work
and
glissandi
depictionof a Frenchforest andits birdsong,it achievesgreaterrealism,in certain
176
but
Exotiques;
Oiseaux
later
the
to
suit a
with
all
compronses
than
the
made
respects,
interpretative
is
inevitably
duration,
than purely realistic.
the
more
piece
twenty minute
Respighi's 'The Pinesof Rome'usesan actualrecordingof a nightingale'ssong:this was
in
had
Messiaen
that
mind.
the
of
realism
sort
not
in
The
birds.
the
are
cadenzas
written
of
piano's
majority
The piano representsmany
birdsong
instances
i.
being
than
more
one
s
where
octaves, with the exceptionof certain
is
but
is
latter
superimposed
song
the
In
one
monophonic,
upon
still
song
this
case,
played.
is
distinct
has
and
often
characteristics,
one
and
rhythrnic
melodic
another: eachsong
Sherlaw
Robert
Johnson
There
two
which
examples
the
are
played more softly than other.
inflection
harmonic
in
birdsong
this
being
added
with
the only usesof
( 1995) citesas
harmonised
homorhythmic
harsh
is
first
chords
and
climacus
crackling
cells
the
the
piece:
its
is
delicate
high.
b141
the
[p58,
the
serin,
with
second
and
s3,
of the carrion crow
bl].
It
be
homorhythmic)
(also
sl,
could
that
p57,
argued
complexes
chordal
pitched
In
before
be
the
the
to
this
same
part
of
ffirther
work,
to
pair.
added
examples
there are
(A,
D,
Ab,
Db)
in
the
chord
same
the
groupsof
final
repeats
pianocadenza, starling
the
homorhythmic
the
cries
of
nuthatchrepeatanother
the
similarly
twos,
and
threesand
the
Bb),
A,
addition
of
separate
F,
chordal
with
(C,
and
rhythms
varied
using
chord
blue
in
In
tit
the
jp57,
also
the
are
represented
and
s5l. addition, greenfinch
complexes
hand
left
in
having
fourths
former
the
the
part,
giving
piano
the
open
chord clusters,
[pS6,
'pi-pe-rr6-re'
b3-4].
Furthermore,
the
s2,
exclamationsof
impressionof a glissando
in
bl-21
dawn
ionic
(UU-),
fpl2,
the
preceding
an
s2,
minor metre
the songthrush
177
by
in
lightly
the
trumpet
cor
anglais,
clarinet
octaves
and
played
are
and
chorus,
lex
VII/7a,
b,
by
d,
the
strings
on
chords
elaborate
c,
el.
accompanied
I I' nightingale'ssong(octaves)
2 Counterpoint:2nd& Yd nightingales(short phrases)
(two-voicedhomorhythmic)
3 1' nightingale'ssong(octaves)
frequently.
G#
The
R
in
features
first
the
occur
grace
note
and
In the
appear
several
part,
formula
fine,
iambic
but
four
the
third
this
this
recurs
on
on
occasionthe
of
a group
A
Ab
is
D,
A
The
is
the
the
and
are
anchor
points:
natural
notes
usefulto the
tritone used.
interval
it
tritone
the
andproducesan atonal effectwith the
composer,as splitsup
following Ab. The referencepoint F# appearsfrequentlyin the first passagein the
that, by this stageof Messiaen'scareer,are
gmachine-gun'repetitivedemiserniquavers
definitely associatedwith his depictionof the nightingale.Amongstintermittent'machine(Ab-G),
D-Ab-A
(often
flourish
7th
the
motive
as
a
short
alternators
gun' effectsaremajor
length
The
is
of
each
notes.
phrase
slightly varied.
to end a phrase)andnumerousgrace
begins
(figwe
1)
with the secondnightingale.The secondand
The counterpointsection
in
both
have
they
the
of
a
conversation:
each
other
with
manner
overlap
third nightingales
178
long and short breaks(rests),giving the counterpointa varied fluidity. The third
its
by
dotted
from
beats
is
the
that slo%v
use
of
semiquavcr
second
nightingale separated
F
frequently
Bb.
Both
havegrace
down
the
the
and
natural
the music
parts
andaccentuate
G
'tikotikotiko'
Ab
The
the
natural
with
and
sonority.
an
on
sccond
alternators
and
notes
first,
is
in
dramatic
the
there
the
as
when
suddenly
vein
same
a
continues
unison passage
from
birds:
little
(solo
figure
At
3,
the
separate
there
owl
passages
short
are
violin)
pause.
70'
based
(piano)
has
tritone,
the
the
and
major
three
on
wryneck
cells
scandicus
a
sings
harmonic ostinatopatternfinishingwith two staccatochordsin the bass,and the little
from
Cetti's
by
followed
(Eb
the
short
phrase
a
warbler
clarinct).
reappears,
owl's motive
high
in
that
(piccolo)
twos. The
pitches
grouped
are
Next, the woodlark
playsextremely
found
later
in
in
is
the
the
that
to
chiffchaff
piece
of
and
sinilar
woodlark's sonority very
Te Loriot' from Catalogued'Oiseaux. I'Le Loriot' p8l. The ensuingfew barsintroduce
blackbirds
4,
three
(played
first
blackbird
the
where
celeste),
until
sing,
on
the
Birdsong
is
by
trills.
tam-tams
continuous
playing
and
gradually
accompanied strings
introducedto the polyphonictexture:eachsonghasentirelyuniquequalities.Often the
the
the
chiffchaff
and
use
exactly
that
woodlark
samerhythmsand
represent
calls
short
in
VII/8
is
bl-3.
the
The
as
shown
xylophone,
ex
on
played
p4,
chiffchaff
sI,
pitches.
179
rhythmic
(6-di-di)
are followed by the 'tioto, tioto, tioto tou-hitte' figUration f previous ex V1117c].
ISO
Phrase
1
2
Bb, E, A, Eb (double-iamb)
4-
II
51
6
7
1
2
2
9
9-
2
I2
lead-up
beginning
The
Dawn
Chorusrnaybe
to
the
the
in an extensive
of
vocabulary.
follows:
simplifiedas
181
Figure
9
10
II
12
13
14
15
Information
blackbird
counterpoint
whitethroatand
(extensive
song).
robin
nightingale,
robin - extensivecontinuoussongwith celesteeffects
(and
fl
timbral effects)
cl
and
nightingaleimitativemelodiouswarbler sings
five-parthomorhythraiccall of hoopoe,counterpointrobin (3/4-voiccd
polyphonic),two dunnocks,and severalsparrows
'pi-pe-rre-re'
thrush
song
authoritativechordal ID
The introductionto the Dawn Chorusis strikingly confident,using the high anchorpoints
E natural andthe lower F natural.The robin redbreastis representedin octavesby the
intermittent
is
bar
lines:
There
the
serniquaver
music mostlycontinuous,with
areno
piano.
is
by
The
The
the
this
created
partly
repeated
pitchcs.
song
authority
of
immense
rests.
fast tempo givesonethe impressionthat thereis no hesitationand, therefore,the robin is
in
is,
he
Circadian
he
this
the
timenew
period
singing,
as
presenting,
proud of what is
fbHows,
dividing
from
be
The
each
cadenza
as
phrase
may
categorised
one
robin's
scale.
VIIU10[ex
to
p14].
another
rest
Phrase Groups
4,116
1
3
2
4,1113,6
Ifi, 1,1
231,1,5,
4
3jlt5,1,3,1,1,8
374v6t4vlt5,,
5
6
_
7
_
9
9
2,2,3
6,1,2,2,4,4,3,1
5,,3?1j3j.1,4,
)1,4,1,5,1,5,1,2
4,2
51.4,5,2?
Characteristics
E anchor,maj
_7'
porrectus
E andF anchors+ alternator
E anchor,aug octave+ interruptioncall
E
anapaest,cfimacus anchor,alternator,
dotted senquavers,
machine-guneffect
double-i=b,, tribach
double-iamb
Ws and G#'s, repeatedE andD's
Ionizergroups
182
One can quite easilyseethat manyof the longer groups are divided by a solitary staccato
semiquaver:thesetake the placeof, or add variety to, the manyinterruption calls and
had
been
break
the
predominant
musical
to
material
serving
which
previously
notes
grace
up continuousnote values.
The blackbird,representedby the first violin, joins the texture at figure 17. The violin
is
This
to
the
particularlyexpressiveand creativecomparedto
world.
sound
gives contrast
first
displayed
figure
4:
blackbirds"
the
on the celeste,and the
three
was
the
songsat
blackbird
has
Although
the
third
the
two
slurredand
pianostaves.
secondandthird on
different
figure
is
in
Perhaps
17,
its
style.
at
a
quite
counterpart,
staccatomotives,
Messiaenis introducinga greaterfluidity as opposedto the more tentative,uneasysongs
before;
however,
first,
At
tentative
the
sound
as
as
phrases
cach
and calls of midnight.
between
loudly
is
the
excl=atory and the softly
phrase meticulouslymarked,alternating
is
different
2)
(phrase
from
The
the
of
violin
very
that of the
staccato
sound
exploratory.
in
found
incidentally,
be
Phrase
the violin part of the first
three,
almost
exactly
can
piano.
Quatuor
its
du
Pour
la
Fbi
Temps
Phrase
4
the
scandicus
motive.
of
with
movement
displaysa glissandoeffect,which possiblymimicsthe chatteringat the endof many
blackbirds'songsin thewild.
183
together. The pianois extremelyimportant:it imposesa unity on the music at this point,
both rhythmically- dueto the simplecontinuoussemiquavers- and in terms of pitch, with
In
its many reference/anchor
points. addition,the song of the golden oriole (after fig 20)
horns
it
like
(four
times
the
the
on
and
cellos:
theme
several
strings
recurs
a
cyclic
as
acts
dense
harmonic
its
distinctively
The
four
&
to
sound.
add
calls of
violas)
second violins
.
(seconds
the
trumpet,
and
thrush,
strings
violas)
and
wood%ind,
the song
playedon
also
0
Chorus
Dawn
This
the
the
throughout
section
and
whole
piece.
regularly
occur
demisemiquavercanapaestic'rhythm is normallysemiquaver-semiquaver-quaver
or
but
hoopoe,
in
the
derniserniquaver-semiquaver,
the
without the additionalgrace
cry
of
as
it
is
The
the
201.
figure
[see
14
the
same
rhythm:
exactly
of
uses
oriole
song
and
notes
dense,
harmonic
this
but
the
trumpet
accents
rhythm with
second
rather
while
and
quiet
hear
down
Bb
listener
interval
[p191Intermittently,
E
to
the
the
tritone
might
the
is
bird
in
the
the
the
great
of
of
a
spotted
effect
semiquavers
woodpecker,
sextuplet
distanceamongstlouder, higherandmore obtrusivebirds singingat peaktime. In fact,
lost
in
if
here
birds'
the
texture:
are
yet, one or two were
sounds
overall polyphonic
many
be
bird
Moreover,
is
hcard
the
changed
quite
would
every
sound
considerably.
missing
brought
higher
the
throughout
piece
times
as
certain
are
pitches
phrases
or
out of
several
intervals.
Messiaen
he
has
the
texture
stage
where
marksall
at regular
not yet reached
the
(equivalent
that
out,
to the Hauptstinune/'chiefvoice' and
stand
should
the phrases
in
Nebenstimme/'under
markings
voice'
a serialcomposition),but manyimportant
forte.
momentsare marked
184
The fourth bar of figure 20 displaysthe songof the chiffchafr. The first bar consistsor BbA-Bb and Ab, if the gracenotesare excluded.The use of grace notesand high-pitched
depiction
in
Catalogue
identical
is
the
to
the
composer's
of
chiffchaff
semitones almost
dlOiseazix. In this version,however,restsare included.MessiaenaccuratelYportraysthe
densely-scored
More
decidedly
chords,producing cascadesof
song.
restricted
chiffichafrs
den
(hom
in
2)
found
the
the
section,
while
gol
oriole
string
plays
numerous
are
colour,
0
is
held
The
by
flexus
together
the
polyphony
occasional
shapes.
melodic
porrectus
dense
horns
the
the
and
chords.
and
strings
on
rhythms
anapaestic
labelled
birds
figure
fifth
21:
fourth
the
bars
are
all of
already
of
and
The busiest
are the
forte
is
interesting
It
higher
is
that
there
of
markings.
proportion
time,
a
this
and
singing at
invented
in
(divisi)
but
incorporate
the
chords
strings
with a
to
complex
Messiaenchooses
is
At the
The
dynamic.
than
subtle
and
obtrusive.
strikingly
rich
rather
effect
pianissimo
(14)
(1
figure
22,
bar
the
play
second
violins
and
violas
complex
third
the
of
-4)
of
end
is
follows:
bottom,
G#,
A#,
B#,
From
the
VH/111.
the
[ex
chord
as
chordal complexes
form
"gfissandos'
to
G.
This
E,
then
D,
a chordalcomplexalmost
Bb,
chord
D#;, F#, Mow
divisi
that
The
2.
consist
of
separate
partsthat
complexchords
built from mode
forming
down)
that
the
(up
complement
chordal
sonorities
exciting
or
rnove step-by-step
features
instruments.
harmony
here
The
the
many
other
linear horizontalmovementof all
includes
intervals
instance,
for
A-D
bar
22),
(fourth
first
the
The
fourths.
of
chord
perfect
(5-8)
B-E
Bb-Eb.
(5-8),
the
violas
play
and
the
Ab-Db
second
violins
while
on
played
and
distinctive
'quartal'
the
by
although
sound
chords,
This is followed a sequenceof shnilarly
between
fourths
intervals
by
is
two
the
pairs
of
reduced
partly
of
chords
such
of
quality
185
being tritones [see4" bar of rig 221.Hannoniesbuilt on fourths are also found in the calls
is
based
(p
four
19),
chord
where
each
the
oriole
golden
on
setsof perfect fourths I ex
of
NrIl/12a, b]. The characteristicsonority of the violin and viola parts is createdby blocks of
in
thus:
two
groups,
arranged
sound
.
nd
2 violins 5-8
violas 5-8
violas 1-4
four
in
below.
however,
first
staves
as
set
out
shown
The
are
vioas,
II violins 1& 2
robin
demisemiquavers,
occasionaladdednote values
11 violins 3&4
blackbird
11 violins 5&6
chaffinch
I' vioHns7&8
chiffchaff
Chinese
blocks
high-pitched
and
snares
The
give the overall sounda
celeste,xylophone,
has
high
listener
The
that
the
such
a
metallic
resonance
celeste
often feels
tingling quality.
beyond
The
flute
far
piccolo
reach.
and
contributeto this combined
that the pitchesare
dawn
Each
to
instrument
the
the
overall
collage
quality
of
chorus.
silvery
a
adding
effect,
birdsongs
become
fhantic,
in
the
the
some
of
vein:
more
same
while otherstake
continues
0
in
fourth
bar
For
23,
(5-8)
the
the
example,
less
of
second
role.
violins
and
prominent
a
into
two
(5-8)
split
each
groups
playinggracenoteswith semiquams
predominate,
violas
186
JP291.
found
just
is
before
its
dawn
the
chorus
completion(p4 1). At this
The secondclimaxof
basses
2"d
double
the
around
revolving
aD
semiquavers
natural,
the
play
point,
fourths,
based
2d
(5-8)
the
violins/violas
on
perfect
play modal
chords
play
violins/violas
first
in
the
their
while
violins
are
all
playing
specific
syncopation,
complexes
chordal
has
At
[see
break
time,
the
the
same
woodblock
relentless
p4l].
a
rnotivesurithout
instruments
bassoons
the
triplet
the
chords,
while
all
other
are
and
sextuplet semiquavers
ff.
playing
introducing
in
texture,
Messiaen
the
the morning
figure
28,
a
pause
creates
Suddenly at
in
than
The
the
its
two
much
shorter
a
cadenza
previous
plays
piano
songs.
- which
and
is
less
The
is
than
blackcap
previouscadenzas:there are
song
regimented
portrayed.
the
is
increased
by
flourish
the
tempo
moments
where
and
a
markings
rnany rallentando
first
dove
When
thrush
turtle
the
jp42,
the
song
and
appear,
three
whitethroat,
s3].
ending
latter's
harsh
flutter.
imitate
the
three-part
the
song
with
a
sounds
of
flutes creatively
bars
before
be
found
in
figure
30
this
the
two
A
of
can
version
tongue effect. gentler
by
Messiaen
is
has
dove
trills.
three-part
obviously
turtle
represented
where the second
has
bird's
be
by
to
this
song/call
created
particular
of
more
the
sonority
found that
guttural
blur
The
that
the
actual
pitches.
polyphonic
time,
effects
and
with
a
at
note
one
than
The
are
effects
muchmore noticeable
aforementioned
sparse.
this
is
point
at
texture
liveliness
The
the
of
Messiaen's
whitethroat's songat
of
orchestration.
choice
becauseof
interval
leaps,
by
the
the
the
is
the
sound
celeste,
of
particular
phrases
time
produced
this
187
dance-like
high
the
many
and
grace notes that are includedat certain
pitches,
ending on
Cetti's
lark
little
32,
At
thrush,
the
warbler,
wood
and
owl join in as beforc,
moments.
beginning
features
the
the
as
at
samemotivic
of the work (midnight to 2 am). Two
using
blackbirds andtwo robinsaddto the texture,until yet anotherbreak at 34 for the
blackbird's cadenza.The blackbird'scadenzamay be broken up into twenty-two phrases
jp51j.
Each
in
be
the
example
musical
attached
phrase
may categorisedas
as shown
follows [ex VW131: -
10
Phrase Characteristics
No.
G,
2
C#'s
high-pitched
repeated
1
quasi-altemator,
4-notegroup, singleC# andhiSh-pitchedanchor G
2
I
high
E,
A),
Ab,
(Ab,
D,
U,
5-note
single
3
porrectus'
group
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
-To
21
22
(as
scandicus triplet), porrectus
4-note group (same pitches as3), single G, porrectus flexus
7-note group: double Ab's, grace note, triplet, 6-note group, single C#
3-note group, triplet, single G, repeated Ab's, triplet, porrectus flexus
2 dotted quavers (Spondee)
high
G
D-C#,,
and staccato Ab, ending with 2G anchors
alternator
2-gro p, cretic, short flourish ending with_2 re2eated G anchors
G
flexus,
3repeated
anchors with grace note
porrectus
7-note set (note of 3), 5, single C9, alternator, 2 tribachic cells, climar-us
flourish
.
s,
resu
Bb-Ab set, grace notes E anchor
2 repeated G's
3-note flourish, single Ab
5 single quavers
2 flourishes ending with anchor G
dactyl
3-note ascendingset, preceding grace notes,high G
4-note ascendingflourish, porrectus, grace notes + trochee
188
followed
blackbird,
by
together,
35,
figure
chaffinch
and
magpiejoin
shortly
the
wren,
At
later,
blackbirds
two
further
As
garden
warblers
and
and,
a
willow
warbler.
two
a robin,
listener
this
the
drops
reacquaints
exchange
bird
the
enters:
with
many
another
of
out,
one
in the dawnchorus.The superimpositionof variousbirdsongssuddenly
found
sonorities
birds
between
into
species:
several
many
sing
a
small
section
of
convetsation
a
changes
This
lasts
before
its
has
to
in
species.
another
pattern
giving
way
say
each
which
music,
discrete
figure
In
42.
this
final
section,
several
occurrences
at
of
cadenza
the
piano
until
follows:
in
harmony.
They
are
as
birdsong arerepresented
189
190
191
listener
feature
kind
the
is
to
the
A,
enables
which
grasp
some
of
piece
of
structure
nother
-,
in
birdsong
fact
the
that
parts
of
various
work using very similar rhythmic
appears
ltlie
Moreover, particular birdsongsare often
the
same
pitches.
around
and
evolving
jpatterns
identify
is
listener
A
instrumentation.
to
the sonoritiesof a birdsongby
able
specific
_given
by
its
instrument(s)
designated
as
motivic characteristics.Sectionsare also
asmuch
its
jjnified:
birdsongs
For
calls
are
or
sometimes
associated.
of
example,the
certaingroups
followed
is
immediately
by
figure
4,
bars
before
a wood lark and blackbird.
little owl, ten
in
'un
32,
birds
the
section
together
peu
vif'
of
with the addition in
-fhese same
are put
does
duplicate
but
Messiaen
1p,
461.
instance
not
exactly,
the
short
nightingale
of
-this
intervals.
it
is
Yet
'r6le
de
birds'
in
the
at
regular
the
songs
rnotivic cells areused
diamentation'/'diamond-studdedrole' of the piano cadenzathat makessenseof the whole
for
decoration.
is
longer
focuses
form".
Birdsong
this
used
no
piece
only on
-work's arch
imagined
by
Messiaen.
forest
French
as
this
particular
the songsof
OiseauxF.rotiques -*
for
by
Pierre
Boulez
Tornaine
Musical'
the
Exotiques
oiseaur
commissioned
series
was
The
between
Marigny.
October
Th6itre
5'h
composed
Petit
piece
was
the
at
of concerts
d
,,,
1955 andJanuary2)
playedthe piano.
but
it
demonstrates
for
is
E-koliques
and
orchestra,
piano
Oiseaux
a numberof
also a piece
instrumentation
is
less
in
The
its
from
than
the
of
choice
varied
predecessor.
changes
192
earlier
in
but
the
there
orchestra,
strings
work:
manyunpitchedpercussion
areno
flute,
(in
I
Eb),
I
I
2
I
(in
Bb),
bass
I
oboe,
clarinet
piccolo,
clarinets
clarinet
,woodwind:
(in Bb), I bassoon
(in
horns
(in
F),
I
2
trumpet
brass:
pitched percussion:glockenspiel,xylophone
piano solo
blocks,
block,
drum,
3
3
temple
wood
side
percussion:
gongs,tam-tam
Unpitched
193
intended
front
important
to
they
the
the
are
play
as
most
also positionedat
r6les in the
longer
Messiaen
has
describesthe
The
two
three
and
cadenzas
short
ones:
piano
piece.
in
Rived
des
Oi.
The
like
the
of
piano
use
vealixwas
a pianoconcerto.
piece as
here
in
has
harmonies
the
octaves,
whereas
piano
and
many
predorninantl monophonic
built from complexinventedchords;there are also resonanceeffects,many supcrimposcd
in
Bb
The
lines
the
a
chief
clarinets
play
part
centraltutti,
counterpoints.
and
solo
is
instrument.
The
America
also
used
as
a
solo
xylophone
robin.
representingthe
However, in the preface,Messiaenstatesthat eachand every instrumentshouldbe
is
displays
itself
the
there
of
soloistic
role
each
part,
as
only one
audible: the orchestration
This
Bb
two
the
select
clarinets.
the
instrument to a part, with
exceptionof
instrumentationlooks like a smallchamberorchestraon the podium. The positioningof
balancing
for
is
the
instruments
of all the complexsonorities.In
conductor's
essential
the
Messiaen
the
timbres
that
and
colourations;
of
aU
to
order createan approximation
intends, the composerhelpsthe interpreterwith numerousmarkingsin the score.The
difference
but,
to
the
(for
tremendous
sound
quality,
the
a
make
more
piano)
pedal parts
dynamic
birdsong
the
and
meticulous
marldngshelp the
importantly, the characterof each
balance.
Furthermore,
footnotes
the
many
conductor to createthe correctacoustic
Each
has
be
new
to
phrase
anattached
emphasised.
describetheelements
thatneed
is
the
dynamic,while the articulationof
notes alwaysspecified.In addition,the tempo
free
birdsong
frequent
that
especially
the
seems
and
unregimcntcd.
so
are
changes
in
be
described
thisway.in the
Rived desOiseauxis theonlywork of Messiaen
whichcan
194
has
from
here
fruition.
the
to
around
world
come
research
Messiaen's own ornithological
'unrealistic'
labelled
immediately
be
as so many compositionalprocesses
The work may
birdsong;
homogenisation
to
the
in
been
nevertheless,
to
prominence
have
used order give
diverse
from
birdsongs
countries
creates
such
an
evocative
andvaried
exotic
many
so
of
collage.
here,
incorporated
birdsongs
the majority of which are taken from
forty-eight
There are
India,
Malaysia,
from
South
America,
China
America,
are
andthe
North
while others
in
fists
the prefaceto the score,putting eachone in its
them
Messiaen
all
Islands.
Canary
Nlessiaen
listener
had
have
the
birds
on
The
that
most
effect
as
a
are
origin.
of
country
importantly,
a short
listed with informationabouttheir colouration,sizeand, most
calls.
or
their
songs
of
characterisation
five
Circadian
tuttis
the
with
piano
solos
time-scale
form
six
The
of the piececomprises
is redundanthereasMessiaenis not attemptingto representa time period. However,the
follows:
into
defined
divided
be
three
sectionsas
piecemay
195
Introduction
Sequence (PianoCadenzasandInstrumentalInterludes-2 long Tuttis)
Coda
SECTION
FIGURES
PAGES
(I) Introduction
1-2
pl-p3
p4-p5
(3) P Tutti
p6-pS
ps-P9
(5) 2"Tutfi
p9-p12
p13
8-23
p14-p6l
24
p62-p65
25-30
p66-pS3
31
p84
(11) Coda
32-end
p85-pS6
196
It is importantto note that severalof the sectionsare very closely related.Not only do the
first
(such
the
andsecondtuttis) use the samebirdsongsas one
as
smaller sections
instrumentation,
but
they alsoemploysimilar
rhythmic and melodicmotives,to
another,
bird's
the
songs.
representeachof
SideDrum
WoodBlock
Gongs
Tam-Tam
TempleBlocks
197
from
Messiaen
takes
theKarnaticsystemof Indianmusic.In fact, all of the
also
rhythms
fornis,
Hindu
in
the
that
the
their
exception
with
onesaresubjectedto
are
original
rhythms
The exotic rhythms(GreekandHindu)in thispiecearelistedbelow:
dirninution.
OnLu2by-thim-g
system:
(1)Ded-Tilas from the Shamgadeva
Candrakala,
Gajahampa
Caccad,
Dherd,
Gajalila,
Lakskrrqa,
prlhgankalna,
(2)KamaticTheory.
Matsya-Tishra,
Atatila-Cundh
Triputa-NEshra,
Matsya-Sankima,
CgeA3jWLbms-
is
four
by
(figures
10-22)
framework
Tutti's
Main
provided
rhythmicstrophes.Each
The
in
Greek
I-Endu
format:
in
is
identical
thirteen
the
the
and
rhythms
appear
same
strophe
in
Rythmique'
following
I,
II,
III
IV
'Strophe
four
the
and
times.
are
order
order
198
(Logoaedic)
I Ascl6piade
(Logoaedic)
2 Saphique
Nihgankallia
(Tfilas)
(Logoaedic)
4 Glyconique
3 Adorque
6 Gajarila
7 Lakskmica(Talas)
Metre)
(Line of Composed
Iamb6legiaque
(Logoaedic)
AristoPhanien
(Kamatic)
10Matsya-Sankima
(TWas)
II Caccan^
14
Groups
I Is
of serrquavers
12Candrakali(Tilas)
13Dactylo-tptitrite (ComposedFeetor Metre)
diminution)
to gradual/chromatic
(Notethat the Indian rhyflunsaresubjected
instrumentslistedabove.The
Theserhythmsare all playedon theunpitchedpercussion
its
form,
four
the
tutti
series
central
provides
with
rhythmic
successive
of
appearance
birdsongs
throughout.
occur
randoHy
wMe
0
A few of the GreekandHindu rhythmsfoundin the centraltutti recurin the final tutti;
The mostcommon
however,other rhythmsaremostlyemployedin this later ensemble.
hereis thewoodblock,
in thecentraltutti wasgiven
instrument
whereas
eachinstrument
199
equal
while
(I)
drum
trills, gongs
side
Vhenld, Gajahampa,Dhenk!
C31yconiqueandsidedrumtrills
generalensemble.
200
in
homs
In
glissando
molto cresc. woodwind(2) short interruption call - two derniserniquavers(2cl, b cl, cls, bsn)
(3) piano & glockenspiel grace notes (homorhythmic)
(4) repetition of I
in
by
(descending
seinitone) clannets& bassoon(homorhYthrnic)
(5) syncopatedpitches
(6) piccolos, flute andoboes
(woodwind
brass)
interruption
+
call
and
(7) chordal repeatedpitches
(8) powerful semiquaversof 11imalayanwhite crested laughing thrush, ending with
[see
&p3l
(homorhythmic)
pl
repeated pitches
Other
in
for
the
this
ending.
cluster
chord
exact
repetitions
gravelling
way
make
chords
(bar
6),
(7
the
triplet
the
chords
and
cluster
grace
notes
and
chords
preceding
are
cadenza
The
bars
flourishes
(bar
12)
four
thirty-one
this
8),
and
others.
many
of
the
sequential
follows
VIEUIS
be
[ex
&
51:
therefore,
simplified
as
pp4
cadenzacan,
201
bar
characteristics
7&8
triplet + chord
17
2 spreadchords flourish
"
10
quasi-glissando,grace notes
12
ri _3
14
15
16
low bassnotes
17
widely-spread chords
18 & 19
20
iamb,
2
iarnbs
3
scandicus
cells,
mesia:
red-billed
21
descendingflourish
22 &23
202
24*
25*
final
but
24
repeated chords (B, E, G#, D#, G, A) (hybrid)
with
as
26*
27*
like 25 (hybrid)
28*
final
(hybrid)
but
8
24
chords
as
29*
bars
as
previous
samerhythms
30
(5
5
triplet
tribachic cells)
chordal
clusters
of
groups
veery:
31
[ex VII/151
introduces
American
threerepeated
in
thrush's
song,
bar, the
wood
chordsthatendthe
18
The
bars
26
this
the
extend
with
more
of
same
chord.
and
veery'ssong
phrase,while
triplet demisemiquavers
(fromNorth America)is madeup of repeated
andchords,ordy
five
its
first
is
bar.
last
It
is
left
in
the
that,
the
groups
the
of
of
notable
not
only
changing
from
lower
in
the
away
hand'spitcha sernitone
part the righthand,but also,in eachof the
in
left
hand
below
two
the
the
two
or
notes
the
one
a
sentone
are
of
groups,
preceding
To
flexus
in
in
the
principal
the
employ
melodic
shapes,
such
as
porrcctus
right.
notes
innovation.
important
an
harmoniesrepresents
203
piccolo
flute
oboe
2 clarinets(in Bb)
glockenspiel
xylophone
high-pitched
twittering calls of the lessergreenleafbird from
the
The piccolo represents
19
imalaysia;the 'Chinesewood-block sonorities' of the red-billedmesia(China)are played
lower
Californian
in
is
the
at
and
pitch;
thrasher
altissimo
the
glockenspiel
playedon
on
joyful
Baltimore
by
the
oriole's
songs
are
represented
a
the xylophone;while
flute,
comprising
one
one oboeand two clarinetsin Bb.
hornorhythmicwoodwind quartet
in
block
the
again
woodwind
of this section;only, in
The scandicusmelodicshapeappears
is
harmony
throughout.
instance,
used
this
is
leafbird
lesser
listener
The
hastwo
the
feature
the
green
repeated
pitches.
The main
of
the
several
scandicus
pitches
and
repeated
many
melodiccells of the
reference:
of
points
In fact, the Baltimoreoriole (p6) only hasthe
(Baltimore
block
oriole).
woodwind
following characteristics:iambs[bl], quavernoteswith semiquavers[b2l, slurred
flourish
Both
the
this
semiquaver
quintuplet
a
the
and
at
end
of
section.
cells
scandicuso
204
Californian
(xylophone)
(glockenspiel)
between
the
thrasher
and
mesia
alternate
red-billed
The
l6ve
loco
pitch.
xylophonealso employsthe scandicusshapewith
at
and
phrasesat
[see
in
its
the
the
while
glockenspiel
p7j,
uses
grace
notes
slurs
everyoneof
and without
bass
bar
bassoon
At
the
this
the
section,
clarinet
and
of
sixth
are addedto the
phrases.
instruments
These
two
only appearwhen the clarinetsare playing,SiNing a
rich
quartet.
depth to the sonority.
203
No. in
Features
Strophe
Part I
2+ triplet
5
nd
(using
from
2
bi)
E
+
cell
major
major
alternator:
two-part (atonal)
PgZI 2
bar
1
as
2+ triplet
9
b
I)
(extended
bar
2
of
version
as
cquartal'chords
descendingflourishes
(extended
five
climacus)
of
groups
206
The secondtutti (at figure 6) takesthe sameform asthe heterophonicfirst tutti of figure
4. However,this is extendedevenfurther, althoughall the samefeaturesappearhere.The
Baltimore oriole (playedby the flute, oboe andclarinetsin Bb) gives the effect of greater
introduced:
it
is
before,
than
rests
are
as
only later that the more insistent
more
timidity
The
follows,
the
very
shrill'call
regularity.
of
recur
with
cardinal
rhythms
using
scandicus
(3d
Piano
Cadenza)
This
before.
section
also openswith two
the samemotivesas
loud
gracenotes- anda suddencrescendo
chordswith preceding
accented
repetitionsThe
in
follows:
dinnuendo
the
chordal
alternator.
groups
of
strophes
ensuing
are
as
and
527272925235
Apart from the oneexception(at the endof the abovelist), eachstrophe,in prime
identical
[pl3].
by
is
followed
*
two
calls
numbers,
(page
figure
8
14 of the score).As alreadymentioned,the
begins
Tutti
Central
at
The
instruments
divided
into
the
are
percussion
strophesand put
unpitched
rhythmsplayedon
i nto four sections,wherethe rhythmsareplayedin the sameorder. This centralmovement
in
four
thus:
divided
be
sections,
analysed
and
may
207
Central Tutti
Figure
Section
8-10
10-13
.
StropheRythmique1
13-16
StropheRythmiqueII
16-3 before19
StropheRythmiqueIII
3 before 19-22
StropheRythmiqueIV
22-24
208
dulcet
The
B
A#'s
is
II
sporadic.
repeated
naturals,
and
and
Figure
sparse
rather
of
still
first
by
intervals
tritone
the
complemented
are
and
piccolo,
the cowbird, playedon
(from
bulbul
India),
by
from
Eb's
the
and,
subsequently,
red-whiskered
syncopated
barred
depicting
the
the
triples
triplets
owl
and
porrectus
continuous
scandicus
periodic
homophony,
In
devoted
bars
thrush.
two-voiccd
the
to
the
olive-backed
olivc.
two
the
of
indicated
in
the
the
pianoplayseachnote with
staccato
backedthrush's songrises pitch:
by
for
in
first
the
the
triplet
created
effects
are
called
pedalling
resonance
yet
articulation,
in eachset. Gradually,moreandmorespeciesare introducedinto the music.Designated
209
figuration
rhythrnicaUy percussive
210
in
four-voiced
F#
is
C
to
tritone
an
a
a
short call. On page21 or
trumpet's natural raised
bassoon
join
horns
in
bass
first
the
trumpet
the
and
and
the
clarinet
the score,
shama's
follow
in
displaying
Vivacious
triplet
cells
staccato
a
the
crescendo,
ascending
phrases.
figuration'
[see
I
b
This
1-3).
'rhythrnicaHy
above
p25,
percussive
phrasemay
shama's
be regardedasthe 'sparkling.fanfare' (6 above),whereasthe bird's 'brassytone' is creatcd
The
instrumentation.
by
generallystrong,confidentquality of the
simply the choiceof
description
'clear
justifies
The
frequently
the
the
composer's
of
music
as
and
Say'.
shama
intermittently
incorporated
bird's
throughout
this
are
maintutti
this
song
of
motives
is,
'twitch
is
'descent
it
the
to
the
tail'
However,
the
of
as
what
clear
or
where
not
section.
found23.
The
be
'disjunct
be
found
low
its
pitches'
may
on page38, where
to
register' may
demisenquavers
C
[see
natural
continuous
also
repeats
p38, bl-31. The
the xylophone
hermit thrushis reintroducedin this section,with its two-voiced homophoniccall
in
[p24,
b2l.
In
three-note
a
repeated
rhythmic
cell
pattern
addition, the
a
comprising
but
flourishes
the
an
appearance
with
short
make
calls
swift
rising
shrill
cardinal'srapid,
on the piano.
At thistimein Messiaen's
career,thechatteringandalmostunpitchedsonoritiesof the
figure
14,
by
In
American
this
the
trills.
at
case,
shown
sons
sparrowarerepresented
The
in
C
B
depicted
is
the
the
same
way.
repeated
and
naturals
of
summer
sparrow
flourishes
from
follow
the cardinal,this
shrill,
short
and
rising
amongstextremely
tanager
time playedon the xylophone.
211
212
break
in
tutti,
the musicoccursat figure 22. The second
After a prolongedpolyphonic
a
is
followed
by
introduction
tutti
this
to
quoted:
shrill
calls
main
are
the
a rapid
part of
descentin the woodwind,in an exactreplica.The far off 'hunting hom' effect of the
by
descents.
is
The
'gurgling
two
short
succeeded
calls
and
shortly
chicken
sounds'
prairie
figure
drawing
23,
figure
8
this main tutti to a
emerge
at
now
section
the
earlier
of
These
two recapitulationsclearlydefinethe section(from
close.
tentative, sparsely-scored
figures 22-24) asthe codato the maintutti.
'miaow'
from
the catbird anda WghlYcomplex
The fourth pianocadenza.
a
openswith
bobolink.
bobolink
between
The
in
catbird
and
employs
conversation counterpoint
in
features,
'brilliant' melodic
revealinga masterlypolyphonicvirtuosity its interplayvvith
in
is
IVII/181:
form
The
two
thus
this
sections,
cadenza
of
the catbird.
213
Section I
Section 2
'miaow'
catbird's
catbird's 'miaow'
counterpoint
counterpoint
'miaow'
catbird's
(continues)
counterpoint
(short
solo)
catbird
fd
because
3
2
the
of
many
close
major
and
minor
intervals
another
one
clashingwith
214
The final tutti begins at figure 25 on page 66. Simple quaver rhythms are written in
harmony, using the full resources of this orchestra. The piccolo has an ascending run,
in
B
black
trill,
the
top
two parts, plays a
to
natural
a
while
xylophone,
notes,
using mostly
dectapletglissandoin the shapeof a 'closing fan' Jp66].At this time, the rhythmic
first
by
in
figures
the
three
the
the
same
are
represented,
quavers
shama
as
of
percussive
fortissimo
After
by
three
sen-dquavers.
accented
a short and s%%ift
other parts,andsecondly
bars
first
bar
bar
in
3,
interlude
two
the
the
repeat
ensuing
almost
monophonicmartellato
identically.With the exceptionof the piccolo andthe xylophoneruns,the tonal centrc is E
E
G#
13
first
the
the
The
natural,
only
notes
and
of
units
employs
each
of
chord
major.
(a
G9,
B
D9
E,
with
the
The
chord
of
and
major
consists
notes
an
chord
second
natural.
bass
in
C,
A#
B,
F,
E,
F#
the
the
clarinets
with an
added7h), andthe third uses pitches
'E
[see
bar
be
the
to
This
bassoon.
motive
major'
referred as
p671.
characteristic will
and
From figure 26, the Indian shamais representedin the piccolo, flute, all clarinetparts and
in
include
features
The
the
pitches,
upper
woodwind
grace
many
repeated
piano.
solo
215
in
(see
first
The
however,
Bb).
cells
clarinet
piano
solo,
notes andrepetitionsof melodic
beginswith two '6clatant' chords:the,first is relatedto E major, while the secondincludes
E
in
the
the
third
chord
aforementioned
of
major motive.
many of the pitchesemployed
interval.
flourish,
heavily
based
by
followed
is
the
tritone
two-part
on
a
This striking chord
follow:
here,
is
two-part
flourish
two-part
chord
each
no more
Another
alternator
anda
homs:
by
is
The
interval.
the
two
texture of the
represented
shama
third
than a n-dnor
bassoon
frantic,
the
becomes
especiallywhen, subsequently,
moreandmore
ensemble.
in
by
drawn-out
followed
the
turn
alternators
of
wren
triplets,
winding
continuous
plays
bars'
before
'E
At
72,
Greek
two
there
FEndu
are
major
from Carolina,
rhythms. page
and
figure
the
lark,
to
a
shama
appear
homed
ensemble
and
at
vireo - newcomers
red-eyed.
a
including
birds,
introducing
is
the staccatoscmiquavcrs
Messiaen
[p73].
more
new
28
stiff
finch
high
trills
the
the
and
rapid
endings
of
purple
and
short,
the
vireo,
warbling
of
latter
horns
from
the
the
two
the
vireo
competing
with
yellow-throated
colourful phrases
in
iambic
block
The
Luzuli
'quartet
the
chords.
cells
of
the
rhythm'
andtrumpetplaying
birdsong
blue-headed
leaps
interval
the
the
other
are
only
new
vireo
bunting andthe
of
final
T
bars
before
introduced
be
the
which concludethis section.At
major'
featuresto
30,
figure
before
bar
the texturecomprisesmanyalternatorsandquick runs
fourth
the
divide,
E
30
Figure
bass
textural
as
bassoon
a
major
provides
from the
clarinet.
and
from
final
flourishes
block
by
the
two
followed
and
two
shama
chords,
motivesare
falls
interval
leaps,
distant
A
bars.
to
the
E
piano
solo,
using
virtuosic
major
subsequent
final
bar
last
E
the
to
its
piano cadenza.
givesway
depthsof range,asa
major
216
The final pianocadenza,at figure 3 1, depictsthe wood thrushand cardinal.In fact, this
first
first
is
The
the
composite
of
or
and
second
a
microcosm
piano
cadenzas.
short section
first
bars
American
bars
the
three
the
of
of
three
exact
replica
wood thrush's
an
are
'hybrid' callsin the first pianocadenza5
using a harmonicversionof a porrectusflexus
bl-31.
E
JpS,
Sifffflarly,
'liquid'
the
major
s4,
around
strophesof the
centring
shapeand
found
in
is
identical
the
this
to
those
second
piano
cadenza,
only
version
cardinalare
determines
'5'
The
the numberof repetitionsof strophesand
transposed. primenumber
the restsat the end.
The codaat figure 32 (page85) beginswith the strangecall of the Indian mynah,already
found at the openingof this work, thoughhereit is followed straightaway by the
but
staticandunrelentingstaccatoserniquaverchordsof the white crested
powerful
laughingthrush.In this last instance,the samechord - usingall 12 pitch classes- is
[ex
VEU19
The
is
dcnse
the
times
close
thirty-one
p84].
overall
effcct
until
a
sounded
immense
bird's
the
this
power
of
songand, moreover,the
climacticsoundemphasising
found
in
birdsongaroundthe world. This static
be
that
infinite timbral possibilities
can
densityof soundpre-figuresthe gigantismof later works suchasEt Ekspecto
Mortuorum.
Resurrectionem
217
OiseauxExotiquesrepresents,
' the first systematicattempton the part of Messiaento capturethe timbre of birdsong
insteadof, asin RdveildesOiseaux,contentinghimselfwith outline alone.' [Malcolm
Troup in the 'MessiaenCompanion',1995,p409].
The composer'sdevelopingmodusoperandi (in relationto birdsong)hasrcachcdits
birds
included
have
been
in bird style.
timbres
these
and
exotic
unique
apogeenow
Certainly,manybirdsongshavean almostthree-dimensional
quality, whHethe piece,
is
lavishly
in
the
tutti,
written superimpositions.
saturatedwith numerous
main
especially
With the wide variety of timbral complexity,it is inevitablethat the marriagebetween
'timbres' and 'couleurs'wasformed.In-thesetwo works, explorationsof this higWy
synaestheticandsubjectiveapproachare first developed.The Tolour of
Time'/Chronochromie(1960)marksthe next stageof the composer'sorchestra]output.
The conceptof harmony,too, is broadened:the birdsongin the upper pitchesof chordsis
heightenedand enhanced,often forming complexcolourationswhich contain'all the
including
the
red, that colour especiallyassociatedwith hot countriesrainbow,
colours,of
the colour of the Americanbird known asthe "cardinal"'. [Prefaceto the score,pagex].
helpto produceluminoussoundqualities,
Additionally,combinations
of instrumentation
brass
the
andpercussion
combinein anensemble,
notablyin the
especially
when wind,
balances
in
Messiaen
tutti.
grandeur
main
with a greatmanysubtleties thisexotic
masterpiece.
218
Notes to ChapterV11
JohnPhilips,'The Modal Languageof Olivier Messiaen;Practicesof"Technique de mon
LangageMusical" asreflectedin CataloguedDiseaur'. D.M. A. dissertation,Peabody
Conservatoryof Music, 1977.
2 Shu-WenSun,'Birdsong andPitch-ClassSetsin Messiaen'sVAlouette Calandrelle",
dissertation,Oregon,(1995).
' Robert SherlawJohnson,Messiaen,(London, Dent, 1976& revisedin 1989),pp134135.
4 As texturesdependvery muchupon their notation,Philips refersto theseas 'notationsi.
' Someof theseeffectsare so frequentin R&eil des Oiseauxand OiseauxEvotiquesthat
the terminologyis not alwaysapplied.For example,the two-voice polyphoniceffect is
increasedto eight,nine,ten etc. differentpartsand,therefore,shouldrefer to the whole
dawn chorusin RgveildesOise=..
6 The 'chord of resonance'representsnon-birdsongmaterial.
" In R&eil desOiseaux,the dawnchorusis, in effect, continuouslypolyphonic,involving
here
frequently
birdsongs;
the
polyphony
usesmore than two voices.
simultaneous
many
" Takenfrom the programmenotesto Riveil desOiseaux,conductedby Pierre Boulez
DG 453 478-2,1997.
Op. cit. (Johnson),p122.
" As melodicandrhythmicmotivesin Messiaen'sbirdsongbecomemore varied
and
frequent,it is increasinglyimportantto employ'motivic classification'tablesinsteadof
birdsong.
the
that
characteristicsof
show all
ones
11Semiquaver-semiquaver-quaver
motive, not a scandicusshape.
12This bird is representedharmonicallyto someextent,althoughthe bass-register
clusters
createa somewhatgravellyguttural soundratherthan a timbral complexity.
13ClaudeSamuel,Olivier Messiaen:Music andColor-Conversati n
trans.ThomasGlasow,(Portland,Oregon,AmadeusPress,1986).
" Thesegroupsof five serniquavers
are includedin this list asthey appearin the four
decli-tilas
In
in
five
the
the
the
same
position.
system,
exactly
strophes
rhythmic
quaver
unit is known as 'gauri'.
15As alreadymentioned,the piano cancreatea 'quasi-glissando'effect with a two-part
descendingflourish of rapid durations:the pitchesoften employblack notesin one hand
in
The
the
colourationandthe simultaneousrun of pitchesproducethis
other.
andwhite
specialsonority.
1'6Like the nightingale's`macfiine-gun'
in
but
harmonicostinato.
effect,
0
17Chordsin an extremelyopenposition: eachpart is at leasta perfectfourth away from
the next.
18The serniquaver-serniquaver-quaver
(or diminishedversion)motive found in the violin
is,
du
by
Quatuor
Fin
Temps
first
Pour
La
the
the
now, a regular
of
movement
part of
featurein its classicscandicusshape.
'9 SeePrefaceto the score.
20Demisemiquaver-den-senquaver-serniquaver
motive (anapaesticrhythm) appem
throughoutthis sectionin the woodwind block.
21Notice that 5,7 and9 are prime numbers.
219
22Its melodic
Oualuor
first
is
in
found
the
the
of
movement
shape oppositeto the original
pour La Fin du Temps.
23Perhaps
(at figure 17 and on the piano)
the very differentinterpretationof the shama.
could representthis 'twitch' with its A andB naturals(seep40, bI).
" Another exampleof this effect canbe found in the last two barsof the first songin the
'Action
PojmespourMi,
de
Qrices'.
entitled
cycle
25
Bars24-26 of the cadenza.