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Messiaen's Forgotten MESSIAEN’S FORGOTTEN MIE Rediscovering the Organ Music of Claire Delbos N ICHOLAS J AMES C APOZZOLI Organ Area, Department of Performance Schulich School of Music McGill University, Montreal March 2020 A paper submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of D.Mus. Performance Studies © Nicholas Capozzoli 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract/Résumé ................................................................................................................................. i List of Tables, Figures, and Musical Examples .............................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. vi Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Towards a Biography of Claire Delbos ......................................................................... 7 1.1 Early Years and Marriage ................................................................................................ 7 1.2 Claire Delbos the Violinist ............................................................................................... 9 1.3 Claire Delbos the Composer .......................................................................................... 11 1.4 The War Years .................................................................................................................. 18 1.5 Later Years and Death .................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2: Deux Pièces ....................................................................................................................... 25 2.1 Genesis and Reception ................................................................................................... 25 2.2 Content and Context ....................................................................................................... 26 2.3 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 28 2.3.1 “L’homme, né de la femme, vit peu de jours…” ......................................... 29 2.3.2 “La Vierge berce l’Enfant…” .......................................................................... 31 2.4 Messiaen as Interpreter .................................................................................................. 33 Chapter 3: Paraphrase ......................................................................................................................... 38 3.1 Genesis and Reception ................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Content and Context ....................................................................................................... 40 3.3 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 42 3.3.1 “La résurrection des morts” ........................................................................... 43 3.3.2 “Marie, toute puissance suppliante” ............................................................ 45 3.3.3 “Foi en la médiation de Marie” ..................................................................... 47 3.3.4 “Cantique à l’Agneau” .................................................................................... 48 3.4.1 Messiaen as Interpreter ............................................................................................... 51 3.4.2 Messiaen as Transcriber .............................................................................................. 54 Chapter 4: Parce, Domine (Pardonnez, Seigneur, à votre peuple…) ................................................. 57 4.1 Genesis and Reception ................................................................................................... 57 4.2 Content and Context ....................................................................................................... 59 4.3 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 60 4.4 Messiaen as Interpreter and Editor .............................................................................. 63 Chapter 5: L’Offrande à Marie ............................................................................................................ 68 5.1 Genesis and Reception ................................................................................................... 68 5.2 Content and Context ....................................................................................................... 74 5.3 Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 77 5.3.1 “Voici la servante du Seigneur” .................................................................... 77 5.3.2 “Vierge digne de louanges” ........................................................................... 79 5.3.3 “Mère des Pauvres” ......................................................................................... 84 5.3.4 “Mère toute joyeuse” ....................................................................................... 85 5.3.5 “Debout, la Mère des Douleurs” ................................................................... 89 5.3.6 “Secours des Chrétiens, Reine de la Paix” ................................................... 91 5.4 Messiaen as Interpreter and Editor .............................................................................. 97 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 108 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................... 113 1: Student Prizes of Claire Delbos, 1923-1932 ................................................................. 113 2: Repertoire Performed by Claire Delbos at La Trinité Masses, 1932-1946 ............... 114 3: Delbos Works Performed by Olivier Messiaen at La Trinité Masses, 1935-1948 ... 116 4: Concert Performances of Claire Delbos’s Music ........................................................ 117 5: Selected Reviews of Claire Delbos’s Paraphrase .......................................................... 118 6: Comprehensive Catalogue of Claire Delbos Manuscripts and Scores .................... 121 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 124 i ABSTRACT While Olivier Messiaen is an increasingly popular figure in music research, the life and works of his first wife Claire Delbos (1906-1959) are still shrouded in obscurity. Her compositional career spanned just over 10 years, blossoming alongside yet remaining independent from technical developments in Messiaen’s own music. Delbos wrote at least four works for organ, all of which her husband supervised and performed: Deux Pièces (H. Hérelle & Cie, 1935), Paraphrase (Lemoine, 1949), Parce, Domine (Rouart-Lerolle, 1952), and L’Offrande à Marie (unpublished, 1938-1941). This study—the first devoted solely to her life and music—will define and contextualize Delbos’s compositional language. Using these four works as case studies, I outline her unique approaches to melodic construction, harmony, rhythm, counterpoint, and quotation. Newly available material such as correspondence, diaries, and manuscripts will also offer a more complete narrative of her career than previous scholarship. Although these documents shed light on Delbos’s compositional process, they also reveal the extent to which Messiaen played a role in it. Copious annotations and revisions for the La Trinité instrument become new perspectives on his organ career during the 1930s and ‘40s. Through this combination of musical analysis and archival research, I untangle the story behind Messiaen’s forgotten “Mie,” an artist who lived and collaborated with one of the twentieth century’s most influential composers. RÉSUMÉ Bien que Messiaen soit une figure à la popularité croissante dans le domaine de la recherche musicale, la vie et les œuvres de sa première épouse, Claire Delbos (1906-1959), sont demeurées dans l’ombre. Sa carrière en tant que compositrice s’est étalée sur un peu plus de 10 ans, prospérant aux côtés de celle de son mari tout en restant indépendante des développements techniques de sa musique. Delbos a écrit au moins quatre œuvres pour orgue que son époux a supervisées et interprétées : Deux Pièces (H. Hérelle & Cie, 1935), Paraphrase (Lemoine, 1949), Parce, Domine (Rouart-Lerolle, 1952) et L’Offrande à Marie (non- publiée, 1938-1941). Cette recherche, la première dédiée uniquement à sa vie et à sa musique, définira et mettra en contexte le langage de composition de Delbos. En utilisant ces quatre œuvres comme études de cas, je souligne son approche unique envers la construction mélodique, l’harmonie, le rythme, le contrepoint et la citation. Des matériels récemment disponibles tels que des correspondances, des agendas et des manuscrits offriront également un récit plus complet de sa carrière que de précédentes études. Ces documents démontrent non seulement le processus de composition
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