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COULEURS DE LA CITE CELESTE Presented to the Graduate Council 37V9 /(B THE ROLE OF TEXTURAL DESIGN IN THE MUSIC OF OLIVIER MESSIAEN: A STUDY OF #0 / COULEURS DE LA CITE CELESTE THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fullf illment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF MUSIC by Paulette Sue Wallendorf, B.M. Denton, Texas August, 1981 Wallendorf, Paulette S., The Role of Textural Desin in the Music of Olivier Messiaen: A%Studyof Couleurs de la Cite Celeste. Master of Music (Theory), August, 1981, 76 Pp., 5 graphs, 11 illus trations, bibliography. This study first traces the evolution of a new musical design, one which emphasizes textural elements in the structural foundation. It follows with an account of the life and musical style of Olivier Messiaen, a contemporary composer who has emphasized timbre as a structural parameter in his music--most notably in several works of the sixties. An analysis of his Couleurs de la Cite Celeste (1963) is offered in the final chapter, indicating in particular the impor tant role that timbre, as well as other textural elements, plays in forming the large-scale design. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF GRAPHS ........................ .. ..iv . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .. 0.0 . 0 . .0 . 0 V Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . 1 II. TIMBRE AS A STRUCTURAL PARAMETER IN MUSICAL FORMS, PAST AND PRESENT . 12 III. MESSIAEN--HIS BACKGROUND, EDUCATION, INFLUENCES, AND CAREER . , . 25 IV. THE MUSICAL LANGUAGE OF MESSIAEN . 33 Melody Rhythm Harmony The Modes of Limited Transposition V. THE TREATMENT OF TIMBRE IN MESSIAEN'S MUSIC . .. 42 / / VI. COULEURS DE LA CITE CELESTE: A TEXTURALANALYSIS . .. 0. ...... 0. .49 BIBLIOGRAPHY .P.H.Y... .&..a.0.... &.... .75 iii LIST OF GRAPHS Graph Page I. Cogan and Escot's Timbral Graph Showing Distribution of Partials in Each Stage, and Their Graph Summarizing Registral Areas.. .. ** - . 10 II. Registral Expansion in the "Color Chords" of the First Section . 53 III. Instrumentation of the Chant Blocks in Section Two, Appearing in Temporal Proportions .. ... ...... 59 IV. Rhythmic Activity in the Chant Blocks of Section Two ........ 60 V. Instrumentation and Registral Color Throughout Couleurs . 71 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration Page 1. The "Perfect Chord" of Messiaen . .& .0 .a 36 2. The Modes of Limited Transposition. 39 3. The First Chant Block, Fig. 8 . 51 4. Birdsong Blocks at Their Climax . 55 5. An Alleluia Orchestrated as a Timbre-Melody.W....... .. 56 6. A Sample Score at Fig. 65 Depicting Texture in the Rhythm Blocks . 4 58 7. The Chant Block at Beginning of Section Two and a Chant Block Later in the Section . ... 61 8. The Color-Chords at the Beginning of the Color-Chord Climax . .. 0.0 . .. & 64 9. The Chant Block and "Abyss" Material at the End of Section Two . .. 0. 66 10. The Combination Block at the Beginning of the Third Section . W.. .0 .0 .W 67 11. The End of the First Section and the End of the Third and Final Section . 68 V CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Musical analysis of the past has. traditionally been concerned with the ordering of pitch in its vertical and linear dimensions. The interaction of melodies, harmonies, and rhythms has been used to define structure in musical composition. But many of these analytic investigations have, as a result, overlooked or avoided other aspects which contribute also to the definition of structure. Referring to this problem, Jan La Rue discusses the importance of other musical aspects in his book Guidelines for Style Analysis: The effects of timbres, dynamics, and tex tures on Movement (La Rue states that music is essentially movement) are usually less immediately apparent than the contribution of other elements. In general, the function of sound (encompassing texture, timbre, and dynamics) seems to be secondary; the acoustical clothing of melodies, harmonies, and rhythms underlines but does not influence their Movement; the refreshment of new colors and different intensities sharpens but does not direct the action of other elements. We must not overlook, however, the possibility of a more fundamental if elusive contribution by sound: changes of tone colors or dynamic levels . can produce waves of varying activity that pro foundly affect the rhythmic infrastructure (foundation). Masked by more obvious foreground action in other elements, this background activity often escapes notice, particularly in the broader dimensions. Yet it seems likely that the large scale pulsations of sound, precisely because of 1 2 their primitive, less defined character, may significantly activate our deepest consciousness of Movement, responses which we often feel but can rarely explain. 1 Textural design reflects the overall shape of a musical composition, the large-scale design within which melodies, harmonies, and rhythms occur. Although it demands a comprehensive analysis of many different factors, texture is generally relegated to a secondary mention, if any at all, in theoretical studies of the past. Often, general descriptions of texture can be found; the terms homophony and polyphony are used to define basically chordal or contrapuntal textures. Other terms used--which apply only to a specific style era--simply define the general textural fabric of a work, such as the term "monody" for the two part early Baroque recitative/chordal accompaniment, or the phrase "melody with accompaniment" for the two-part song textures of much Classical and Romantic music. The organization of texture and its significance in the structure of music, then, has not been adequately treated; in fact, it has hardly been explored. This may be due in part to an incomplete understanding of the definition of texture as well as its subjection to generalities in the past. The Harvard Dictionary of Music defines texture in the following words: 1 (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), 28. 3 Much like woven fabric, music consists of horizontal and vertical elements. The former are the successive sounds forming melodies, the latter the simultaneous sounds forming harmonies. It is these elements that make up the texture. Another point concerning textural definition is expressed as follows: One may also distinguish between light and heavy texture. Light texture results from the use of few instruments, or instruments of light color, or both. This and other similar definitions fail to recognize the specific characteristics that determine texture, although the above definition does refer to a relationship between texture and timbre. The Dictionary of Contemporary Music gives a more accurate definition: The term texture . refers) to the quality of a sound or series of sounds . from a musical composition. The texture of a sound is a product of the sound's component parts: pitch, timbre, and loudness. The texture of a succession of sounds also describes the way in which these elements are connected in time.3 Here is a definition of texture that specifies its determi nant elements--pitch, timbre, and loudness. Pitch, the first element, involves relationships between both simul taneous pitch combinations and pitch successions. The relative positions of i simultaneities as well as the number of pitches involved determines density, while the 2 2nd ed., rev. Willi Apel (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1944), 842. 3ed. John Vinton (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1974), 741-753. 4 particular development of two or more pitch successions (melodic lines) produces a specific linear counterpoint. Density is an important facet of texture that has also been neglected in musical analysis of the past. Texture in musical composition is therefore determined by several aspects: the number and kinds (timbres) of instruments; the spacing of these instruments within the pitch limits of the work (density); and the dynamic levels of each instrument and the composite sounds. These aspects significantly influence one another. For instance, when the number of instruments increases, the spacing is altered. And when timbre changes (either by a change in sound pro duction of an instrument, or simply by use of another instrument), the dynamic level is usually affected. In examining the textural design of a composition,, the analyst must first study the general progression of voices through the musical dimensions of sound and time. The "sound dimension" explored by music has been referred to as "musical space" by Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot in their 4 book entitled Sonic Design. They defend this expression (which subtitles Chapter 1) at the beginning of the first chapter: Just as space conceptions in the visual arts may be expressed in such different media as paint ing, sculpture, and architecture, and in such 4(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976). 5 varying qualities as points, lines, planes, and masses, so too may musical designs be conceived in diverse media and forms. Special properties of vision and light, such as perspective and the physical nature of color, have affected visual arts profoundly. Equally, certain properties 5 of sound and hearing affect music and its designs. The discussion continues with a brief narration of the history of Western music in its expansion of musical space, "from the single voice . to many voices . to instruments . to electronic sound production." The authors also point out the lack of theoretical investigation into the use of space as explored by music. In order to examine the progression of sounds through musical space, a notational method must be adopted that will further aid in revealing the shape or design formed by these sounds. Traditional notation prescribes specific details for producing musical sounds (degree of specificity increases throughout the history of this notational system). However, the actual sound design is reflected only to a limited extent. In an attempt to depart from the limited prescribed detail of traditional notation, many contemporary composers have experimented with new notational methods. One such method that has gained a considerable degree of recognition is a graphic approach to notation, one which assigns increments of pitch and duration to the vertical and horizontal dimensions of a graph.
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