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. Known as graphic
5Ibid., 16. 6 notation, this method reflects more accurately the "motion" of sounds through musical space, and the resulting shape formed by this motion. Recently, theorists too have been aided with the use of such graphs in studies of musical 6 form. By transcribing compositions into a graphic notation, the aural design is more effectively displayed; the shape defined by the upper and lower registral boundaries as well as the density within these limits can be observed. Such a notational approach can be described as "descriptive" nota tion, as opposed to the "prescriptive" notational system of the past.
Still, such graphic reductions do not reflect the sound jualities--the timbres of each new sound--which directly influence texture. Although the importance of timbre in the structure of music has been discussed by great composers of the past, including Berlioz, Debussy,
Schoenberg, Webern, and Varese (see Chapter 2), the study of timbre has, until recently, involved little more than the study of instrumentation and orchestration.
First, what are the f actors which characterize the specific sound quality of a musical tone or combination of tones? Over 100 years ago Hermann von Helmholtz suggested that "the differences of musical quality be reduced to the
6See Ibid., 20. 7 combination of different partial tones with different intensities." With Helmholtz, the study of tone-color was introduced with the theory that number and intensity of partials define a specific sound. According to this theory, the addition or deletion of a partial or the change in intensity of a partial subsequently changes the quality of that sound.
An important addition to this theory was made in 1961 by psychophysicist Harvey Fletcher. In discussing the color of tones on the piano, he wrote:
It is true that the quality (of tones) depends upon the wave form (determined by differing partials and intensities). But it also depends upon the pitch, the loudness, the decay and attack time, the variation with time of the intensity of the partials, the impact noise of the damping pedal, and also the characteristic ending of the tone by the damp ing felt, etc.8
Fletcher realized the importance of attack and decay and interference noise as well as pitch and dynamic level in the determination of a specific tone color. Other researchers in the field of musical acoustics, including
Dayton Miller, Carl Seashore, and Melville Clark, have contributed significantly to the present knowledge of factors influencing sound quality in musical instruments.
7 0n the Sensations of Tone, trans. from the 4th German~ed. of 1877 by Alexander Ellis (New York: Dover, 1954), 65.
8 Fletcher, Blackham, and Stratton, "Quality of Piano Tones," JASA 34 (1962), 749-761. $
Not only does each instrument have a unique color; each
one is also capable of many different tone colors through
the modification of register, dynamics, and attack as well
as through mechanical means (i.e., with mutes, alternate
fingerings, different bow positions, etc.). Now one can
begin to realize the complexity of factors which contribute
to a specific sound quality, and the resulting difficulty
involved in attempting to define and study timbre.
Just as there exists a progression of voices in any
musical texture, so too is there a progression of timbres
resulting from the combined sounds of those voices. This '9 "color progression" can be observed somewhat through
analysis of pitch combinations, registral arrangements, and
dynamic levels of specific textures, as well as instru mental combinations (including any special effects) of each
texture. It is the interaction of each of these factors
that results in a composite sound color, so that these
aspects cannot be studied in isolation.
The problem of dealing with some form of timbral nota
tion for purposes of analytical study has been approached
by Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot in the final chapter of
Sonic Design, entitled "The Color of Sound." 1 0 In this
chapter the authors have introduced a graphic reduction of
9Cogan, op. cit., 396.
1 0 Cogan, 327-401. 9 musical sounds, one which orders vertically the specific partials and approximate relative intensities of each combination of tones, from highest to lowest partial.
Significant changes in timbre are called "stages," which are ordered horizontally. An example of this type of graph
(as found in Chapter 4 of Sonic Desin) is illustrated in
Graph I along with a graph depicting registral motion.1 1
These graphs are part of a revealing analysis of Debussy's
"Nuages," the first of the Three Nocturnes for orchestra, which represents a significant achievement in an effort to approach timbre analytically. Even though the timbral reduction does not adequately reflect dynamic changes, a fluctuation in dynamic level will alter the number and intensity of partials. Also, such a reduction cannot indi cate fluctuation of partials within decay time nor the degree of interference noise. However, it does give the observer some idea of the ordering and progression of timbres within a musical composition.
An effective study of textural design in music, there fore, should specify in some manner the "color progression" formed by the succession of changing timbres. With the aid of graphic illustrations, this progression can be observed; relevant conclusions about the shape formed by the ordering
1 1Cogan, 390; 392. 10
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1l F, 04 11 and development of this progression can then be made. As timbre is an important aspect in much contemporary music
(see Chapter 2), analysis of textural design is vital in determining the structure of such works. This study is, in essence, an investigation of timbre in the structural design of musical composition; in particular, it offers a textural analysis of a late orchestral work by Olivier Messiaen as evidence of the importance of timbre in musical design.
Couleurs de la Cite Celeste demands a textural approach to -analysis, for the composer himself has emphasized the important role of timbre in this composition. With the analysis of textural/timbral design in Couleurs, a new appreciation of the work may be gained. The approach intro duced in this analysis should also be effective when applied to other contemporary works in which changing timbres are emphasized. CHAPTER II
TIMBRE AS A STRUCTURAL PARAMETER IN
MUSICAL FORMS, PAST AND PRESENT
In the search for new sounds, many recent composers have concerned themselves primarily with the progression of timbres in their compositions. Timbre has assumed a much more significant role in the structuring of a work, as can be seen in the compositions of many prominent contemporary composers--Stockhausen, Boulez, Cage, Feldman, Nono, Berio,
Xenakis, Ligeti, Pousseur. The ordering or progression of pitch and rhythm in these works has, as a result, a second ary importance--a factor which markedly distinguishes the sound of timbre-oriented music from previous predominantly pitch-oriented music.
The importance of timbre in musical structure, as opposed to its purely ornamental value, has been the point of departure since the early nineteenth century. With the emergence of the modern orchestra, composers were able to work with a greater variety of timbral combinations in expressing their ideas. Berlioz is recognized as one of the first composers to fully realize the importance of timbre in musical structure. In Chapter one of his
12 13
Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration, 1
Berlioz mentions the need for the study of timbre in stating his objectives for the text:
The objective of this work is, first--the indication of the extent, and certain essential parts of the mechanism of instruments; next, the study (hitherto much neglected) of the quality of tone (timbre), particular character, and powers of expression, pertaining to each of them; and lastly, the best known methods of proceeding in order to group them appropriately.
Most of his symphonic works reveal a highly refined organi zation of timbres within textures that are structurally dependent on them. The work of Sister Susan Marie Nowalis reveals the importance of timbre in Berlioz' major symphonic works.2 In her dissertation, Sister Nowalis analyzed various ways in which timbre supports hierarchical levels of organization in Symphonie Fantastique, Harold en Italie,
Romeo et Juliette, and Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale.
The analyses show that Berlioz used varying timbres to support structures that are defined in more traditional ways, such as tonal and thematic contrasts. Varying timbres also provided variety when the tonal-thematic material became static. And, although infrequent, Berlioz occasionally used timbre as an independent structural element devoid of melodic or harmonic development.
trans. Mary Cowden Clarke, rev., ed. Joseph Bennett (London: Novello, 1882), 4.
2Timbre as a Structural Device in Berlioz' Symphonies (Case Western Reserve University, 1975), DA XXXVI-7, 4098-A. 14
By the end of the nineteenth century Wagner, Mahler,
Strauss, Debussy, and Ravel were using timbre as an increasingly significant element in the design of their compositions. The orchestration of Mahler's symphonies, for example, reveals an ingenious handling of thematic coloration. Each symphony reveals detailed orchestrating that supports the overall design of the work, hence making the orchestration an integral part of structure. In his
Fourth Symphony, Mahler colors the first movement with an unforgettable opening thematic texture (flutes, clarinets, strings, and sleighbells) that sets the stage for the entire movement. This theme returns three times during the course of the movement, each time with significant but subtle alterations that support the thematic development. In the scherzo movement, the violin part requires a re-tuning- each string sounding a whole step higher--resulting in a different sound quality. The ordering of timbres throughout the movement supports this altered sound of the violin-for instance, with the use of mutes on strings and woodwinds, with strings occasionally playing on the lowest string when the pitches are normally playable above this string, and with clarinets often playing with their bells in the air.
Such timbral exploitation contributes significantly to the development of the Scherzo movement, and to the other move ments as well. 15
By the turn of the twentieth century, timbre was given an increasingly significant role in the music of the
American composer Charles Ives. Lives' father led him to experiment with a wide variety of sounds to "stretch the ears," to expand his aural experien es. Sounds such as church bells, tone-clusters, quarter -tones, and unorthodox scales reflect this experimentation in Ives' music. compositions incorporating various new sounds in his music include the chamber ensemble works Tone Roads 1, 2, and 3,
From the Steeples and the Mountains (scored for 4 sets of bells, trumpet, and trombone), and the famous Unanswered
Question (scored for strings, four flutes, .and trumpet playing offstage). His use of quotations from preexisting music, both classical and popular, expresses his desire to relate to the past; but in recasting previous material,
Ives built a new textural framework which employs more complex harmonies and rhythms as well.
Edgard Varese stands in the forefront of the trend toward timbral development. Born in Paris, he settled in
America by 1915 where he became a pioneer in the area of timbre by introducing sirens and roars as well as many other new percussive sounds. Representative of Varese's experi mentation are Ionization (scored for 34 percussion instru ments) and the large orchestral works Ameriques and Arcana.
In Ame'riques the alto flute and orchestra develop separate 16 strands of material successively; only in the final section do all the players join together for an extended synthesis.
The structure of Ameriques seems to be organized somewhat like many of Messiaen's works in that it unfolds groups of musical material against one another. Such a multi-layered work is characteristic of later developments in the music of Xenakis, Stockhausen, and Boulez, where even more complex multi-layered structures are evident.
Varese wrote and lectured often about his ideas con cerning new music. In a representative lecture given in
1936 entitled "New Instruments and New Music," Varese expresses his "musical vision":3
When new instruments will allow me to write music as I conceive it, taking the place of linear counterpoint, the movement of sound-masses, of shifting planes, will be clearly perceived. When these sound-masses collide, the phenomena of penetration or repulsion will seem to occur. Certain transmutations taking place on certain planes will seem to be projected into other planes moving at different speeds and at different angles. There will no longer be the old concep tion of melody or interplay of melodies. The entire work will be a melodic totality.
He continues by describing how these different sound-masses can be heard by the listener:
.0.*..the differentiation of the various masses and different planes . . . could be made discernible to the listener by means of certain
3 The following quotes are taken from a collection of excerpts from lectures entitled "The Liberation of Sound," ed. Chou Wen-Chung, Perspectives on American Composers (New York: Norton, 1971), 25-26. 17
acoustical arrangements . . . (which) would permit the delimitation (fixed limits) of . & . "Zones of Intensities." These zones would be differentiated by various timbres or colors and different loudnesses. Through such a physical process these zones would appear of different colors and of different magnitude in different perspectives for our perception. The role of color or timbre would be completely changed from being incidental, anecdotal, sensual or picturesque; it would become an agent of delineation like the different colors on a map separating different areas, and an integral part of form.
The works of Ives and Varese demonstrate a new trend in the compositional process, where sound combinations and qualities are given a markedly significant role in the structural design. The breakdown of tonality as a system atic language led Ives and Varese to find new ways of organizing musical ideas. The search for alternate means to achieve musical continuity within a new system led these composers to establish different orientations in their music. Although Ives often used traditional musical content, he developed new structures for it, In searching for new structures, Varese elevated timbre to a level never before achieved in Western music. As Robert Erickson wrote of
.4 Varese's music:
These highly individual sound-blocks are images, ikons, in their own right. They exist as entities in the same way as a melody can be felt to be an entity.
4 "Varse: 1924-1937: Sound-Ikon," The Composer, I, 3 (December 1969) , 144. 18
Timbre--the quality of sound--defines the structure of
Varese 's "new music" just as tonality had defined centuries of tonal music.
In Europe, the twentieth century brought the rise of the Viennese school led by Arnold Schoenberg. In his
Harmonielehre5 Schoenberg discusses the properties of musi cal sound as having three distinguishable characteristics: pitch, color, and intensity. He emphasizes the fact that the properties of color and intensity have hardly been explored in music of the past. In discussing pitch,
Schoenberg defines it as a dimension of timbre: "Pitch is in fact simply tone-color measured in one direction."6
From these ideas Schoenberg derived his concept of
Klangf arbenmelodien, a "melody of timbres." He felt that a progression of timbres should be subject to analysis just as a progression of pitches or harmonies is analyzed. In the third movement of his Five Pieces for Orchestra (1909),
Schoenberg experimented with just such an idea. Entitled
"Summer Morning by a Lake (Colours) ," the movement consists of a five-part chordal sonority that is orchestrated with various instrumental combinations. This sonority is
5 Arnold Schoenberg, Harmonielehre (Theory of Harmony), trans. Robert Adams (New York: Philosophical Library, 1948).
6H. H. Stuckenschmidt, Twentieth Century Music, trans. Richard Deveson (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969), 53-54. 19
enhanced by rhythmic shifts and dynamic contrasts along
with added ornamental chords and melodic fragments.
The Five Pieces initially encountered a negative
response in musical circles due to a lack in understanding of
the sonorous design. Schoenberg's new ideas about structu e
fell upon deaf ears--ears accustomed to traditional order
ings of pitch, rhythm, and harmony. But his ideas did
reach the mind of his most brilliant pupil, Anton Webern.
Just a few years later--by 1911--Webern began working on
his own Five Pieces for Orchestra which is directly related
to Schoenberg's work in terms of organization. The work i
essentially Webern's interpretation of the criteria for
structural order proposed by Schoenberg. Webern's Five
Pieces are striking for their incredibly delicate textures
and subtle articulations. The texture of the third piece,
"RUckkehr," is built around the hum of a mandolin, guitar,
celeste, harp, and bell, and encompasses the dynamic range
of a mere piano to a scarcely audible sound.
Contemporary composers, in their search for new sounds,
have endeavored to find new ways of organizing traditional
timbres as well as invent new timbres, as Vare'se had done.
The American composer Henry Cowell, a highly influential
teacher and author as well, pioneered new music through the development of timbre in harmony, counterpoint, and rhythm.
In his widely read book New Musical Resources (written in 20
1910,; published in 1930 by Alfred Knopf, Inc.), Cowell attempted to relate music of all ages to the influence of the overtone series. He suggests that scales are related to the series in its upper reaches; harmony is related in its lower reaches, and rhythm is an outcome of the coordina tion of these areas. Thus melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements of music, according to Cowell, are fundamentally related to the natural tone quality found in any musical sound, of which the overtone series is a direct function.
He continues to discuss new developments in composition, which always seem to be based on some new aspect of the overtone series that has yet to be explored.
One important new sound which became widely used in a variety of ways is the chord cluster, which is related to the uppermost tones in the overtone series. A group of 7 closely spaced pitches sounding simultaneously constitutes a cluster. In the music of Cowell and Ives these sounds first became recognized (i.e., the piano works Manaunaun,
1911, of Cowell, and Ives' Majority, 1921). When a cluster includes all twelve tones of a chromatic scale, it is called a panchromatic chord. When these twelve tones are widely
usually no more than a whole step between pitches 21 spaced and thus no longer in a cluster, the effect is similar but is more appropriately termed a sound-mass. 8
The cluster or sound-mass has been increasingly incorporated in the music of many contemporary composers.
Varese had already encountered the sound-mass idea in his huge sound complexes written during the twenties and thirties, such as Integrales (1925).. This work is a poly phony of contrasting sound-blocks which are repeated in constant variation so that the piece undergoes continuous transformation. John Becker, little-known but noteworthy experimentalist active during the same period, used large sound clusters in many of his orchestral works. The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki produced a highly successful work entitled Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960), in which masses of sound expand and contract via glissandi.
Clusters in this work include quarter-tones and sounds produced by various nontraditional techniques (e.g., placing finger on the string right next to the bowing point).
The Hungarian-born composer Gyrgy Ligeti provided a unique sound-cluster structure in Atmospheres (1961) by using strings, woodwinds, and percussion in a widely-spaced texture that includes rich overtones and resultant tones to fill in the remaining registral spaces. In his Lux Aeterna
8 Information on sound-mass in compositional design is taken from: David Cope,, New Directions in Music (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown, 1971),, 15-19. 22
(1968) and Requiem (1963-65) he uses choral cluster effects
in which instruments and voices are practically undifferen
tiated. The choral works Il Canto Sospeso (1957) and La
Terra e La Campagna (1959) of Luigi Nono use twelve-note
aggregate clusters to achieve a choral "white" sound effect.9
Karlheinz Stockhausen produced huge sound-masses in his work
entitled Mixtur (1960). The notation is approximate so that
performers are left to make more choices concerning pitch
level and coloration, resulting in a complex semi-aleatoric
sound-mass structure.
In the continuous search for ever newer sonorities,
factors such as spacing and placement of the performers have
also been considered. Among composers employing space as an
essential compositional element are Henry Brant, Elliot
Schwartz, and Stockhausen. The spatial factor seems to have
been pioneered by Ives as evidenced in his Unanswered Ques
tion (1908), in which the trumpet is played offstage. In
attempting to find new sound resources, Harry Partch created
new instruments instead of altering the sound of existing
ones. Since he divided the octave into 43 tones (microtones)
instead of 12, traditional instruments were inadequate to
perform his music. It was necessary for him to build his
9White sound theoretically contains all of the audible frequencies at random amplitudes (Leon Dallin, Twentieth Century Composition, 3rd ed. (Dubuque, Iowa: Win. C. Brown, 1957), 251). It is electronically produced but can be imitated somewhat by voices and/or instruments. 23
own stringed and percussive instruments, which he con
structed in such a way as to produce timbres that reflected
nature. To do this he used raw materials such as bones,
animal hides, and wooden sticks of all shapes and sizes so
that his music was for him actually a part of nature instead
of an imitation of it. In a collection of duets entitled
And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma (1964),
Partch explored microtones in various harmonic and melodic
settings based on his tonal and polytonal intonation
theories (cf. his Genesis of a New Music, University of
Wisconsin Press, 1949).10
New instrumental and compositional techniques as well
as the creation of new instruments have consequently resulted from the modern search for new sounds. However,
these developments have brought new implications and problems concerning the roles of listener, performer, and composer.
The new sound designs require systems for explanation and analysis other than those traditionally used. Philosophies about music must be modified and expanded. One such system of analysis is utilized in Chapter Six of this text, which is essentially a textural/timbral analysis of the orchestral work Couleurs de Ia Cite Celeste (1963) of Olivier Messiaen, designed to illustrate and clarify the color-structure
10 Cope, 2p. cit., 31. 24 intended by the composer. This system is used to dis tinguish a new order in recent music, making that music more understandable to both listener and performer. CHAPTER III
MESSIAEN--HIS BACKGROUND, EDUCATION,
INFLUENCES, AND CAREER
Olivier Messiaen was born on December 10, 1908, in
Avignon, France. His mother was the poetess C6 cile Sauvage, and his f ather Pierre was a teacher and Shakespearean scholar. From them he acquired a love for poetry and classi cal literature. Messiaen claims to have been particularly influenced by a book of poems entitled The Flowering Soul which his mother wrote while she was pregnant with him.
During the First World War, young Messiaen lived with his mother and grandmother in Grenoble (his father was in the army). The nearby mountains of Dauphiny were an early source of inspiration for him; even as a child he showed his love for nature, and took to exploring new sights and sounds wherever he was taken. He also began to study piano on his own, and in 1917 when he was only nine, Messiaen wrote his first composition. His musical interests grew when he received as gifts the scores to Berlioz's La
Damnation de Faust and Mozart's Don Giovanni at Christmas in 1916.
After the War, in 1918, the family moved to Nantes.
The young composer now began to study harmony privately
25 26
with Jehan de Gibon, from whom he received the score of
Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande. This work is claimed by
Messiaen to have been the single most decisive musical
influence in his life, for it confirmed his decision to
pursue a musical career.
The following year the Messiaen family moved back to
Grenoble, where the father was appointed to an army post;
there Messiaen was again able to enjoy the surrounding
Dauphiny mountains. That year he also entered the Paris
Conservatoire, where for the following eleven years he
studied with such well-known teachers and composers as
Marcel Dupre, Maurice Emmanuel, and Paul Dukas. During those years Messiaen won several first prizes at the
Conservatoire: fugue in 1926; accompanying, improvisation and organ in 1929; and composition in 1930. There he also learned about Greek music from Emmanuel and DuprS, and
A discovered the table of 120 Indian "deci-talas" (rhythms) listed by Sharngadeva in the Encyclopdie de Ia Musique of
Lavignac'. This knowledge of .Greek and Indian music enabled him to utilize elements of each in later compositions.
Besides a love for nature and non-Western musics, religion has always been a prominent influence in Messiaen's life. With deep roots in Catholicism since early childhood,
Messiaen has maintained close adherence to the faith. The music of Masses and other Roman rites has remained familiar, 27
giving him continuous spiritual meaning and inspiration.
Gregorian chant in particular attracted his interest at an
early age; he has since used many different chants in a
variety of compositions throughout the years. In 1931 he
acquired the position of organist at the church of La Sainte
Trinite. Here he has continued to be actively involved in
composing music for the Liturgy.
In the years following World War I, French music moved
away from the impressionistic influence of Debussy and
toward the new sounds introduced by Erik Satie and "Les
Six." This group represented a new aesthetic that was
expounded in the writings of Jean Cocteau. This aesthetic
is essentially an attitude of breaking away from Impres
sionism (and all Romantic music as well), which was con sidered "tiresomely provincial and pedantic," 1 and valuing
instead the simple, sincere and direct statement in art
(including music). The music of "Les Six" was meant to reflect a more realistic state of life, "A Music of
Everyday."2
In opposition to this new aesthetic climate, Messiaen and three others (Andre Jolivet, Yves Baudrier, and Daniel
Lesur) formed a group in 1936, known as "La Jeune France."
Satie's description; taken from William W. Austin, Music in the Twentieth Century (New York: W. W. Norton, 1966), 166.
2The words of Cocteau; taken from Austin, Ibid., 166. 28
They viewed the music of Satie and his followers as being
too harsh and impersonal, and unrealistic from the stand
point of an individual. The articles and music written
during their joint effort reflected their desire to restore
the human and spiritual qualities in all art, as well as
their sincere intent to revive the eloquence in French
music.
In 1936 Messiaen also married violinist Claire Delbos,
to whom he dedicated his first song cycle, Poemes pour Mi.
Another song cycle entitled Chants de terre et de ciel
(1938) followed after the birth of their son, Pascal. Both
works were inspired by the occasions that preceded them- marriage and parenthood--and are concerned with the
spiritual aspects of these significant events.
During these years Messiaen began teaching at l'Ecole
Normale (specifically ensemble and sight-reading) and at the Schola Cantorum (organ) in Paris. But when World War II broke out, he enlisted in the army and was later taken prisoner, spending two years in a German prison camp.
Quatuor pour_ I Fin du Tems was written during his imprison ment there, a work musically depicting his sense of the end of the world. Written for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano--the only instruments available to him--this work was actually performed at the camp in January of 1941. 29
The following year Messiaen was allowed to return to
France, where he was appointed Professor of Harmony at the
Paris Conservatoire. He also began teaching private compo sition lessons in the home of a friend. There he first came into contact with his most talented and ambitious students:
Yvonne Loriod, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
For the benefit of all his students, Messiaen wrote his theoretical treatise Technijue de mon language musical (1942), explaining in detail his musical ideas and processes of composition. He discontinued the private lessons in 1947 upon his appointment as Professor of Analysis, Aesthetics, and Rhythm at the Conservatoire. Although these areas were not designated classes in composition, Messiaen nevertheless expounded his own ideas for compositional design through class discussions.
Many important compositions were written during these years, including the piano works Visions de L'Amen (1943), the lengthy ing Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus (1944), and
Harawi (for soprano and piano, 1945), and the orchestral works Trois petites Liturgies d la Presence divine (women's voices and orchestra, 1944) and the gigantic Turalila
Symphonie (1946-48). The latter work was written following a commission from Serge Koussevitzky, and was followed by teaching invitations to various European countries and in
America. 30
With his success secured, Messiaen immersed himself in teaching and composing, free to express his personal views on all aspects of the musical scene. Most notably, he felt the need to expand the pitch serialism of Schoenberg, and proceeded to serialize duration, intensity, and articulation as well as pitch (although not exactly in the same serial process as that of Schoenberg's Viennese School) in the piano composition Mode de valeurs et d'intensites (1949).
The principles introduced in this work were developed more
A A systematically in Ie de Feu I and le de Feu II (piano,
1950)., namely the principle of symmetrical permutation (see
Chapter 5).
The following years brought two major works for organ-
A Messe de la Pentecote (1950) and Livre d'Orgue (1951)--as well as numerous works for piano. With the pianist Yvonne
Loriod as an ideal interpreter of his music, Messiaen found composing for this instrument particularly rewarding. The monumental seven-volume Catalogqe d'Oiseaux (1956-58) resulted, a work which derives its basic material entirely from birdsong and sounds surrounding them in nature. Other works which incorporate birdsong as basic melodic material include the ensemble works Le Merle Noir (1951) for flute 31
and piano, and Reveil des Oiseaux (1953) and Oiseaux
exotiques (1956) for piano and orchestra.3
The compositions of the sixties bring the orchestra
as a whole to the foreground of structural importance as
Messiaen became involved with the development of orchestral
color (timbre) in the compositional design. The idea of a
collage structure with a variety of different musical ideas
had been introduced earlier, notably in Cant6yodjaya (piano,
1949); the idea now became central to these orchestral
works, where contrasting textures and timbres are combined
in succession and in juxtaposition. Works of this period
include Chronochromie (1960),, Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1964), Sept Haikai (1962) for piano and orchestra,
and Couleurs de la Cite Celeste (piano, clarinets, brass,
and percussion ensemble, 1963--see Chapter 5). Another work of this decade, one of the largest Messiaen has written,
is La Transfiguration de NotrE Seigneur Jesus-Christ (1963
69) for mixed chorus, soloists, and large orchestra. His strong religious leanings are reflected in this work not only in the text, but also in the use of a chorale texture at the end of each large section. The overall design of
La Transfiguration is similar to the form of the Passions of J. S. Bach as well, while the relationship between
3 Much of the above biographical information is taken from Robert Sherlaw Johnson's Messiaen (Berkeley: Univer sity of California Press, 1975), 9-12. 32
soloists, chorus, and orchestra is reminiscent of a Bach
cantata, It is nonetheless a representative work in its
inclusion of plainchant, birdsong material, and Greek and
Indian rhythms, as well as orchestral color-blocks (see 4 Chapter 5).
In recent years Messiaen has traveled widely, lecturing
and attending performances of his works in Japan, Canada,
and the United States, as well as in various parts of
Europe., His influence as a teacher has already been of
great consequence; his music, although at times of great
length and complexity, reveals a wealth of new and exciting
sounds. The basis of all Messiaen's music is, however,
simple and straightforward: it always begins with his belief in God, the Creator, and his love of Nature, God's creation.
4 Johnson, Ibid., 172. CHAPTER IV
THE MUSICAL LANGUAGE OF MESSIAEN
With the publication of his Technique de mon langage 1 musical in 1942, Messiaen made available to the public the general principles he has employed to produce the many compositions of his oeuvre. The text is relatively concise and straightforward, with six chapters devoted to rhythm, four chapters to melody, one to form, and seven to harmony, tonality, and the modes which he uses to create his melodies and harmonies. Each chapter is abundantly provided with musical examples collected in a separate volume, most of which are excerpts from his own works.
In order to review the fundamental techniques of
Messiaen's style, a brief summary of the melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, and composite musical procedures as discussed in this text will be given below. Messiaen proclaims in the opening chapter that melody is the supreme parameter in music, with rhythm and harmony obeying melody "as faithful servants." However, he devotes the next six chapters to rhythm before discussing melody. This is necessary, it appears, so that the reader will understand the rhythmic aspects involved in the construction of melodic lines.
1To be referred to as T.L.M.
33 34
Harmonic considerations follow the chapters on melody;
harmony is "wanted by the melody and the outcome of it.02
Melody
In the chapters concerning melodic aspects (Chapters
8-11), Messiaen first discusses the elements of his
melodies: the intervals essential to his style--the tritone
and major sixth--and melodic contours incorporating these
intervals; also, the use of preexisting melodic material
such as folk songs, plainchant, Hindu ragas, and especially
birdsong. A brief discussion on melodic development follows,
in which Messiaen mentions three basic procedures for melodic alteration, namely elimination (fragmentation),
interversion (rearrangement of notes), and change of register. The following chapter defines melodic forms, which Messiaen calls "musical sentences." A musical sentence
is defined as a succession of periods, its theme having derived from a synthesis of elements found throughout the sentence. 3 Three such sentences exemplifying his melodic style are discussed: the song-sentence, the binary sentence, and the ternary sentence. Messiaen refers to the "commen tary" at this point, which is simply a melodic development of the theme. The binary and ternary sentences alternate
2TL.M., 31.
3 T.L.M., 37. 35
a theme with its commentaries, while a song-sentence is a
simple ABA form.
Rhythm
In discussing rhythmic elements in his music, Messiaen
begins with a discourse on "ametrical music" (music with
irregular metric accents but with precise rhythms) and its
occurrence in the music of ancient Greece and in plainchant.
A A The Hindu rhythm called RAgavardhana (the 93rd deci-tala
of Sharngadeva, a 13th-century theorist) is presented also,
since it exemplifies the three basic rhythmic concepts that
are pursued in detail in the following chapters (3, 4, and
5). These basic concepts are: (1) rhythms with added
values; (2) augmented or diminished rhythms; and (3) non
retrogradable rhythms. Polyrhythms, rhythmic canons, and
rhythmic pedals (ostinatos) are also discussed (Chapter 6).
These procedures provide the basis for large-scale rhythmic
structures (formal structural designs) as well as surface
level rhythmic progressions in Messiaen 's music.
Harmony
The harmonic style of Messiaen has its foundation in
the added note chord principle. The most significant added notes for Messiaen are the added sixth (usually major) and augmented fourth. The sixth had already been incorporated
in the harmonies of Rameau, Chopin, Wagner, Ravel and
Debussy. The augmented fourth or tritone , however,, has 36
its precedence in a peculiar notion of Messiaen which is
based on the harmonic series. He claims that "in the
resonance of a low C, a very fine ear perceives an F
sharp. "4 This F# is the 11th partial of the fundamental C,
acoustically a very faint overtone. Yet this is the source
of Messiaen's tritone addition. He further reasons that
Therefore, we are authorized to treat this F* as an
added note in the perfect chord, already provided with an 11 added sixth. Then our perfect chord will be c-g-e -a-F
(see Illustration 1) and there will be an attraction between
the F* and the C, the former tending to resolve itself upon
the latter." 5
Ill. 1--The "perfect chord" of Messiaen
A major triad with an added tritone and major sixth, the
"perfect chord" as illustrated above, is representative of the 2nd mode of limited transposition (see following section).
4TL.M., 47.47
5T.L.M., 47. 37
Messiaen reminds the reader that added notes can be
found both harmonically--with the added sixth and tritone-
and rhythmically, with added note values. The use of these
additive notes provides a "charm . . . which makes the
rhythms limp deliciously . . . (and) which insidiously trans
forms the tint of the chord." 6
Other chord types listed (Chapter 14) that are
especially important in Messiaen's later works are the
'chord on the dominant," the "chord of resonance," the
"chord in fourths," and chord clusters. The "chord on the
dominant" is one that contains all the notes of a major
scale and that resolves by stepwise movement to a chord with
less harmonic tension (i.e., usually resolving the 7th, 9th,
11th, and/or 13th of the chord). The "chord of resonance,"
found in the 3rd mode of limited transposition (see following
section), was named after its derivation from the harmonic
series. It is comprised of a fundamental note and all the
odd-numbered harmonics up to the fifteenth. This chord is
found in much of Messiaen's music, and is especially effec
tive in later works where the resonance notes act more as
timbral modifications to the principal note or notes--just
as occurs naturally in the harmonic series--instead of
acting as distinct harmonic pitches (see Neumes rhythmiques,
Catalogue d'Oiseaux, and Couleurs de la Cite Celeste).
6T.L.M., 48. 38
The "chord in fourths" is simply a chord comprised of augmented and perfect fourths, and is found in the 5th mode of limited transposition (see following section). Chord clusters are, for Messiaen, juxtapositions and/or successions of two or more of the chord types mentioned above, with the chords generally occurring in a relatively close position.
Included also (at the end of Chapter 14) is an exten sive list of musical examples illustrating chord connections suitable in Messiaen's harmonic style. The list provides specific subdivisions in order to aid the reader: (1) pro gressions of harmony; (2) harmonic "litanies"; (3) various connections; (4) superpositions of fourths and fifths;
(5) examples of longer duration; and (6) more refined examples.
In the following chapter Messiaen discusses "foreign" notes within his harmonic style. The "foreign" or non harmonic tones of the common practice period are expanded by becoming chords--and even groups of chords--instead of single notes. A pedal note (pedal point) becomes a "pedal group"; a passing note, a "passing group"; an embellishment, an "embellishment group"; and an appoggiatura, an "upbeat accent-termination group." Each of these dissonant pro cedures provide additional melodic and harmonic coloration, just as non-harmonic tones had provided for the classical style. The same procedures can also produce polymodal textures; this will be discussed in the following section. 39
The Modes of Limited Transposition
The "modes of limited transposition" are a group of artificially constructed modes based on symmetrical pitch groups (2, 3, or 4) within each mode. Messiaen uses these modes both melodically and harmonically, thereby creating the unique musical language of his works. Illustration 2 depicts these modes in order.
i x 1AA mob.,
MOO z AO% IL
3 w 1010, low Ll k
'I. A
WO 1400-0
LF A S. 1AA r %Mir
I't v
0-00 7 r MA
r
2--The modes of limited transposition 40
The peculiar intervallic constructions in the modes often produce polytonal tendencies in Messiaen's music.
Note, for instance, that the second mode contains the major
triads on C, EW, F#, and A (spelling Bi and DW enharmoni
cally as A* and C#); hence four different tonalities might
be suggested. Messiaen explains: "the modes of limited
transposition are in the atmosphere of several tonalities
at once, without polytonality, the composer being free to give predominance to one of the tonalities or to leave the
tonal impression unsettled." 7 These modes have a limited number of transpositional possibilities due to their scalar
symmetry, as the label given to them implies. The first mode, commonly known as the whole-tone scale, has only two transpositions; the second mode has three transpositions, the third mode has four, and the fourth, etc., modes all have six transpositions. Based on the chromatic scale of equal temperament, all modes except the first divide the octave into two, three, or four identical pitch sets (i.e., each set is subdivided into the same order of tones, semi tones, and/or thirds). Note that modes four and five appear to be derived from mode seven; however, they are made distinguishable in the particular harmonies unique to each.
The initial note of each mode is not intended to be a
"tonic"; there is no hierarchy of pitch order in these scales
7 T.Li.M.g, 58. 41 as is implied in classical scalar patterns. Each mode can be transposed to a different tonal level or permutated into another mode. A mode can also be superposed upon another mode (two or even three different modes at a time are possible); modes can be transposed or permutated in such superpositions as well.
Messiaen states specifically that these modes re not to be confused with the three great modal systems of India,
China, and ancient Greece, or with the modes of plainchant.
He adds that the modes of limited transposition can, how ever, be combined with any of these systems. The modes can also be combined with atonality to create a much more dissonant sound effect. 8
8TL.M., 67. CHAPTER V
THE TREATMENT OF TIMBRE IN
MESSIAEN'S MUSIC
The harmonies employed by Messiaen in his compositions
are made unique primarily through the use of the modes of
limited transposition, added note chords, and the chord of
resonance. Built upon the wealth of harmonic possibilities
in the seven modes, Messiaen's harmonies are enriched with
added notes and interspersed with various forms of the chord of resonance. The added note principle was used
previously by Debussy as well to achieve a thicker, more colorful harmony, without any change in harmonic function.
The chord of resonance--based on an essential aspect of
timbre, the harmonic series--also provides a quite colorful chord or sonority. The juxtaposition of two or more chords or chord types produces a polymodal texture, consequently a more complex timbre. The juxtaposed chords constitute a sound complex, which is heard more as a unit due to its pitch complexity. The combined harmonies create new com posite colors, adding to the already colorful spectrum of
Messiaen's harmonic vocabulary. Harmony, then, is a function of timbre in the music of Messiaen; the harmonic procedures
42 43 mentioned above are utilized so that a progression of new
sounds--new timbres--results.
These harmonic structures, or "color-chords," as
Messiaen calls them, have been used in some later works to create progressions that provide growth and development in ways quite unlike those of earlier compositions. The emphasis on timbres and their progression and transformation puts the harmonic system in a new framework, one that builds harmonies as sound-blocks representing specific colors. But
it is not only the harmonies that reflect colors; the entire musical texture "with its melodies, chords, rhythms, and complexes of sounds and complexes of durations" contribute to shaping the colors and ultimately the overall timbral design.
The first three orchestral works of the sixties are concerned with the structural significance of color:
Chronochromie (1960),, Sept Haikai (1962), and Couleurs de
la Cite Celeste (1963). The title of the first work is derived from the Greek words khronos, or time, and khroma, or color; the title then translates as "The Color of Time."
The second and fourth movements are based on thirty-two durational units, three of which are superimposed and colored in three different ways. Rhythmic coloration in the form of birdsong, based primarily on the unit value of a
Claude Samuel, Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen (Pierre Belfond, 1967), 38. 44 sixteenth note, provides the first coloration. Timbral contrast among metal percussion instruments provides the second coloration; each permutation is given to different
instrumental groups (i.e., three gongs; bells; cymbals and tam-tam) who are to perform at varying dynamic levels
(pianissimo, forte, and pianissimo respectively). The third coloration is provided by the harmonies or "color-chords" of the strings. Coloration of the rhythmic permutations in the other movements is supplied by either birdsong material or timbral contrast.2
Sept Haikai, for piano and orchestra, resulted from a visit to Japan in 1962, where Messiaen became familiar with
Japanese music, musicians, and birdsong as well. Haikai or
Haiku represents a three-line poem having 5, 7, and 5
syllables to each line respectively; hence the title of the work can be translated as "Seven Short Poems." The seven
pieces of Sept Haikai, although short, have highly complex
rhythmic structures that employ many Hindu and Greek rhythms
in various permutations.
The second and fifth pieces are intended to be musical
paintings of Japanese temples. "Le parc de Nara et les
lanternes de pierre" is a musical impression of the four
Buddhist temples of Nara and the 3,000 stone lanterns there;
"Miyajima et le torii dans la mer" supposedly depicts the
2 Robert S. Johnson, Messiaen, 159-160. 45
colors of the red and white Shinto temple of Miyajima with
its large red gateway half-submerged into the sea. Behind
these temples is a mountain covered with dark green Japanese
pines and maple trees. Messiaen has written in the names of colors he associates with the sounds at specific points throughout the score.
The fourth piece, "Gagaku"--central to the work both
in position and content--derives its form from the style and sonorities of ancient Japanese Imperial court music.
Traditional Japanese instruments are replaced by Western "equivalents": the hichiriki is imitated by a trumpet, two oboes, and English horn playing in unison; the Aoteki becomes
A a piccolo and Eh clarinet; the sho is reflected in the violins playing sul ponticello.3 The description of
Japanese Gagaku court music as "a mosaic, every piece of which (allows) separate inspection: (of) melody, rhythm, and harmony" by ethno-musicologist Eta Harich-Schneider4 could well be applied to all seven pieces of t Haikai.
In Couleurs de Ia Cite C6leste, color itself is the primary element forming its structure. As Messiaen explains in a note prefacing the score:
3 Information on Sept Haikai taken from Ibid., 161-163.
4 The Rhythmical Patterns in Gagaku and Bagaku, Ethno-Musicologica III (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1954), 2. 46
The form of the piece depends entirely on colours. The themes, melodic or rhythmic, the complexes of sounds and timbres evolve like colours. In their perpetually renewed variations can be found (by analogy) colours that are warm and cold, complementary colours that influence their neighbours, shading down to white, and toned down by black. These transformations can be compared to the superimposition of plays enacted on several stages, the simultaneous unfolding of several different stories.5
In Couleurs Messiaen has again inserted names of colors in
the score where they are meant to be reflected in the sounds.
The structure of this work seems to consist of a collage of
several diverse musical ideas which interact with each other
as well as change within themselves as the work unfolds.
Its specific shape is the outcome of the successions, trans
formations, and eventual merging of these musical materials: birdsong imitations (specifically those of South America,
New Zealand, and North America), "color-chords" (no pre existing material), plainchant melodies, and Hindu and
Greek rhythms.
Messiaen 's primary source of inspiration for Couleurs was the Book of Revelation in The Bible. The words of specific verses in this book reflect his love for mystery and enchantment, for it is these verses which are meant to be depicted in the music: "There was a rainbow around the throne . . ." (chapter 4, verse 3); "The star was entrusted with the key to the pits of the abyss . . ." (chapter 9,
5 Translation taken from the notes of Erato-CBS 3 21 10048. 47 verse 1); "The foundations of the city walls were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst . . ." (chapter
21, verses 19 & 20); and others. This religious source for the conception of Couleurs is extended in the work itself with the considerable use of plainchant. The four alleluias incorporated within its structure are chosen from the Eighth
Sunday after Pentecost ("Magnus Dominus . . ."), the Fourth
Sunday after Easter ("Christus resurgens * *"), the
Feast of Corpus Christi ("Caro mea . . ."), and the Feast of the Dedication of a Church ("Adorabo . . ."). The texts of these particular alleluias relate to the symbolic representation in the Book of Revelation as well: "Christus resurgens" and "caro mea" refer to the redemption of Man through Christ's death and resurrection; "Magnus Dominus" and "Adorabo" speak of the "Holy City of the Apocalypse."
Textures containing abundant Hindu and Greek rhythms as well as birdsong textures provide contrast to the plain chant and "color-chord" textures. Although each of these aspects contributes to the formation of the work, the most important concern in Couleurs is Messiaen's intense pre occupation with colors and their relation to sound. He claims to be able to associate certain sound complexes with specific shades of color, and in this work Messiaen has 48 used certain sound-colors as a means of structural organization. The colors reflected in the verses of
Revelation are transformed into specific timbres within the musical design.
In order to reveal the structure of Couleurs, the organization of these timbres--as well as elements related to timbre--will be carefully examined (in the following chapter). Instrumentation, pitch, rhythmic activity, register, dynamics, and duration will be observed in each of the sections comprising the work. Messiaen's own words will be considered also, as he has spoken extensively about the meanings he intended to express in Couleurs. 6
6 As found in Claude Samuel, Conversations with Olivier Messiaen, trans. Felix Aprahamian (London: Stainer & Bell, 1976) , 94-96). CHAPTER VI
/l/ COULEURS DE LA CITE CELESTE:
A TEXTURAL ANALYSIS
Upon a request from Dr. Heinrich Strobel for a compo sition using three trombones and three xylophones, Couleurs de la Cite Celeste was written. Messiaen, however, added many other instruments in order to realize his ideas for the piece. The instrumentation includes three clarinets, a full brass section (petite trumpet in D, three trumpets, two horns, three trombones, and bass trombone), piano, xylophone, xylorimba, marimba, bells, cencerros, four gongs, and two tam-tams. The many ways in which Messiaen combines these instruments provide for the unique color-structure of the work.
Couleurs is basically divided into three main sections which are separated by piano solo interludes employing birdsong material. Each section develops texturally--that is, through changes in pitch, instrumentation, orchestration, registral limits and density, rhythmic activity, and/or time span of each block of musical material. The central develop mental feature, however, is the interaction of the blocks
49 50 of material--namely birdsong, plainchant, "color-chords," and Hindu and Greek rhythms--as well as the development within each of the four blocks.
In the first section of the work, the birdsong instru mentation is adapted for the chant material (the clarinets are left out--see figs. 12, 17, 19, 25) after the chant was introduced originally in its own brass instrumentation at fig. 8 (see Illustration 3 and compare instrumentation of chant and birdsong blocks). At fig. 13, tala rhythms are applied to the second appearance of the "color-chords."
These chord blocks occur regularly throughout the first section, with some textural development via changes in pitch, rhythmic activity, registral span, dynamics, and length. See GraphII reflecting registral shape and propor tional lengths of the color-chord blocks of section one.
Note in this graph that the registral expansion in fig. 13 is continued in fig. 24, beginning with the highest pitches 4 3 of fig. 13 (b4 in the resonance chords and g in the fundamental color-chords). Figure 26 repeats to an extent the ending chords of fig. 24, which form a downward motion in register to signal the end of the section. Note also a close relationship between the upper boundaries of the color-chords and their corresponding resonance chords. The
fig. (figs.) = figure (figures); this refers to the rehearsal numbers which recur throughout the score. 51
Alleluia du 8. dim Modere (:s) apres Pentecte - .40 P Trp.
les 7 Anges aux 7 trompettes _-, I'" Trp.
Trp.
-A~ 3r Trp. - gz fy tr Cor
-- + -- - - + - - - 2e Cor
3 Trba. if y + Trb. bas sJ7 _ __ _ Alleluia du 82 dim. apres Pentecote-~1~4~ Cene.
. I Hir Gangs
10Z1000,
lullpeu vif ( =126) Trp
r5 ( - (p. T r
Trp
( a a 7 ~ I J ilT tT 111' Cor e ~~ ~ %: IF T - - T T
Cor A
3 Trihn
At Trh. ha T 7 7 T
Cene. otE E
Gungs
Ill. 3--The first chant block, fig. 8 52
Ire Clar rill~i
3Clar. -- I 4 Oiseau-cloche
Piano
9bdor------
------Xylorim.
wA II - - e.., 4 -.e Mar. 32 3 n 223n 32 n ,/n n Innt 3r%2 nn ------2-- 32 Scene. Cloches i I - --
s 2j JUn peu vir(.K 20)
(I v I40 Piano - -f ! I
Alleluia du 8' dim. apros Pentec8te _ _ _ _- - - - _------
lylo.
Xyorim] ) _.
Mar.
2 ~ 2 3 4 g4 7 d 2 grn i 8 2 1 ' , cc..
Cloches
21.: Mr Gongs _ _IN7 lJE
Ill. 3 (cont.)--A representative birdsong block, fig. 9; the second chant block, fig. 12. 53
mommopm
*44. *.
*4 '4 *OPP* 0 H 0
0
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------WNPWMNNO 4*4* *4 4 -H4 o tY'$4 *4 *4*44*'4* ~7 *4 \4*4* 4
*4 ~ *44' 0 4(0 .4.4 4*4% 4*4* *4 *44% 4* $-4 4r 4. 4' \*4 ~*4 *44% ~4**4 .4*44*4% 4% HPS0 4 o P4 .44.4*4% 4%
- mmmmmmlww le ; a, aw-, % A, % -. - 40
00
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c C) 0 c) 54
two boundaries are often either nearly symmetrical or parallel, suggesting a careful planning of those resonance chords.
The alleluia chant blocks also develop similarly, with marked changes in pitch, register, timbre, and density at
fig. 12 (see Illustration 3). In the following chant block, expansion has occurred in pitch, register, and length, and again in the next chant block (see figs. 17 and 19). In the last chant block of section one (fig. 25), the texture is reduced back to the level at fig. 12 (it is, in fact, a repeat of fig. 12).
Many points of interaction and development can be found in the middle section. When the birdsong blocks appear, they are now supplemented with the brass (see figs. 33, 47).
These instruments also form the basic instrumentation of the slower chant blocks, so that the primary coloration of the chant blocks is now combined with the original birdsong coloration of the first section. This textural expansion is supplemented by other means, such as greater pitch and rhythmic complexity. The birdsong blocks occur only twice in this section, nonetheless with a substantial swelling of pitches, registers, rhythmic activity and dynamics that reaches a climax at the end of the second block (see figs.
47-54; Illustration 4 shows score at figs. 53-54). 55
A A-A A*I44 El A 4 4J A' A14 )) Il IA A E 0 Ft 0
CI CD0 -H
1( ) K} ( iLCYC
-1:4 )~~ to
LO I) I
:k 'c 4J 4-
- Dii A S A ~ i;6 ===LL TTI 4 Al C ALA 4 l: CAW C1 A LA :C C
L AA41 * E RIp 7 A Alp hA E CA A A E A'4 MC too 'A hi- II IA7 ,4- V cq
CD
AHt OF4 A 4 Aq tj LA A'I C
K&fil '1 AI4-TAIL E ~IV E Il ILI A T
0 C6 .-11-ilrl-I ZA au 6m 6m;- , ;r_-- 0 C a L:L 46 G CC cis * ~ C 56
Soon to follow, an alleluia is transformed into a
"timbre-melody,',2 reflecting in miniature the timbral
significance of the color-chords and the entire work (see figs. 41, 58, 61; Illustration 5 shows score at fig. 61) .
61 Bien moddre )=184) 1 3 * 8-A, =---
24 fV
Alleluia du 4' dim. apris Piqpes* Clar1.
Pi ano ~/
. Ce
CIO( c*eis
Gor
*Les cors et les clarinettes attaqueront qfz dans Uesprit des cloches. Le piano marqaera sa note grave, qut continue [a milodie de timbres".
Ill. 5--An alleluia orchestrated as a timbre-melody
3 The Greek and Hindu rhythms introduced in this section are also found in the chant blocks immediately following the rhythm blocks (figs. 68, 70, 72). The appearance of these Greek and Hindu rhythm blocks is vital to the textural
2Schoenberg' s express ion (see Chapter 2). 3 A Namely, the pratapajekhara, vijaya, ragavardhana, and cretique rhythms. 57
build-up in Couleurs. Along with these irregular rhythms,
Messiaen uses the 13th, 14th, and 15th interversions from
the permutation cycle of Chronochromie (see Chapter five).
And for the first time, all the instruments are engaged in playing; the texture, however, is constantly shifting and often pointillistic (see figs. 42-46, 49-66; see exemplary
score in Illustration 6).
As a result of the rhythm blocks, the chant blocks which follow are more complex than previous chant textures.
At fig. 69 the texture has again expanded to a full instru mentation, with two alleluia chants juxtaposed in a rela tively broad and dense textural design. Graph III indicates the instrumental fluctuations in the chant blocks of the middle section. An intermittent increase in instrumentation can be seen in the succession of chant blocks beginning at fig. 67 and culminating in fig. 71. Contributing also to the textural development of these chant blocks is their rhythmic densities. Rhythmic activity increases signifi cantly in the succession of chant blocks from fig. 67 through fig. 79, with the greatest degrees of complexity occurring
in the first and last blocks. Graph IV summarizes the extent of rhythmic activity in the chant blocks of the middle section by indicating the number of different rhythmic values in each block. Note, in comparing Graphs III and IV, that textural development is accomplished largely 58
ifi
ifp mf r . I
a e - - - . Ir C I1ar
fA co 3re Trp.
mf pp
A~Tbn______
mf
i Trp. az Ica -- - pp
Phalicien
11 I IU I . K I -Iwmm- P-Z 64 1 P v - . -1 %K -=q V i'd' p ~ nit ~ ~ K f I
------
XyIo. ------
I
3 Inrim.____ ~
Mar. k, -
Gene.
'Cloches 44-
Gongs 11j Gong p
T.-tam
Ill. 6--A sample score at fig. 65 depicting texture in the rhythm blocks. 59
4 -P a 11* I!;
O-H /77//7/sp~&oqo , oloc (0
0 Q) -P SC 0 H U)
B o.
3 e Ow I -H L
H IEEEE OC -Pc
a.
Y 4 rl0-PH o
0 *H0
-H Wrsi v IF rw,
H WH Li LJ L --- ILa Li -4 U.-.) Uf) 0 En U) S -P0ia 0 -P U) I-I Q) Cd ci4 ai) i)4S 0 H -P M OP -H ci) 0 0 H 0q 0 S Cro H Cd Cd -i .0 Ho C ~ HCe) H 60
0
" H 4- > O00G ~ 0 -) oo M
1 S
H - dr 4- (A 4 4-) H C -Ho o4 - 44- 4 -0 0 -H 4-)4 UX.4-,. H)4- > -H>,-c- W 0 >10 -H -H .
-H -P a) 4 00- 4-> Cd U)G o rd 4 -HU)- oQ) -H Mr -D > "H H >1 rd 1 VIa) HU) a O4-) Cd4CdU) -H 4-)04J
)) (D M I I I~~-t-----1----- 0)) C 61 by the interaction of instrumental expansion and rhythmic
activity. At fig. 67, rhythmic activity increases sharply, with only a slight instrumental addition (the tam-tam is
added as part of the "abyss" material found here). Then in
the following blocks, instrumental activity increases markedly as rhythmic activity drops back to a median level.
In the final blocks, instrumentation decreases somewhat while rhythmic complexity reaches its highest level (figs.
78-79). Compare also the score itself at fig. 32 and at
fig. 69 (Illustration 7), which clearly reveals the extensive contrast at these two points.
321Le"t (::'so) Alleluia du Saint - Sacrement JA (5aIe Ft,'Trp,
Ire Trp.
3! Trp. _ if -_ __-_ _ _
if ___AV
2 Gors
Ire, 2, Trhr. ______
Trh 8ba __ 8 288 Cefne.
Gunchs ~z~zz~zz r P
Ill. 7--The chant block at beginning of section two (fig. 32), and (on following page) a chant block later in the section (fig. 69). 62
0 Un peu vif (4 120) JA 4L :r,-0 1'1.0 Clar.
2! Clar.
3! Clar.
Alleluia de la Dtdicace
tre Trp.
Pp 2? Trp.
3? Trp. Pp
2 Cors M-~
w+w
2iTrbn 21 Abn. --
3! Trbri.__ __
Trb pp
KQ]j Alleluia du 8- dim. apris Penteeote 5 4 s
3 33353 2132 8 16 8 -- - 46-
A- - ~ylo. _ -__
Iy rim 8 -* r- P pp
Mar. 44g- 6 1. 4 p
Cenc. ~~~
cloches 1 43 Gongs PP
*On dolt entendre d'abord "Ialleluia de la Didicace" Tous lesInstruments qui le jouent sont Sur le mrnie plan d intensity: sa mdlodle dolt jaillir sponlanimeat des harmoniques. On: doit entendre aussi "l'allelula du 8' dimanche apron PentecdteI au Piano (et aux cencerros). Toat dolt passer-. y compris les notes accentues des 3 xylos- y comprise lee harmonies des trom, pettes, trombones, et trombone bass (qui joneront cependant pp). Lensemble doit donner t'impression des couleurs foison nantes d'un vitrail ensoleille. The huge color-chord block which follows the succession
of chant blocks in the middle section (figs. 67-72) signals
the climax of Couleurs in terms of color and time. Lasting
almost two minutes (longer by far than any other block),
these chords incorporate an alleluia melody in the cencerros,
and later the petite trumpet, as well as remnants of tala
rhythms in the piano and mallets (whose pitches act as
chords of resonance). Such lengthy sustained notes within
the languorously slow tempo of this block mark an end to the
previous build-up of rhythmic activity; the sudden halt in
activity draws greater attention to the harmonies of the
chord complexes, which are built from several different
modes of limited transposition (figs. 73-76; see exemplary
score in Illustration 8). Although similar to the color
chords of the first section, these chords are now much more
sustained, proceeding in steadfast rhythm throughout
(excepting the rhythm of the resonance chords) and employing
all instruments.
Another smaller but significant block of material that occurs throughout Couleurs is an instrumental portrait of
the "abyss" from the Book of Revelation (chapter 9, verse 1).
It is distinguished by a descending melodic line in the low brass and accompanied by slow, loud crashes of the gongs and tam-tams. The "abyss" material marks the ending of the first section (figs. 27-30), and also appears briefly in the 64
Infiniment lent _7_1Inftniment lent 3 (anv. 4 a =40 par e) Un peu lent ( o) extaiue 6 (env. 4 a = 40 par^.) extati u itr Clar. _------
2: Clar. Olt
3 Clar.w4 P
Tr(p.a. p (trew Orn s A(lre l )PP(tres tg) (tres Ilvig)
Itt Trp.
21 Trp.
31 Trp. PP
tr Cor
Cor
2)(rrr long) l rrbn _____ It ~ ____
Fp PP 21 Trbn pp pp 31 Trbn. IV pp pp Trb.basse LS~iem 1m oam jr pp Sardine rouge ------g 7-- rouge, tache de bleu
A -P - Piano I ~I7 77$ I I 2 * 3 22 * ------8 lylo.
lylorimn - -l Mar . Alleluia du & dim. apres Pentecte PP - , long)(tris long) Cenc. _I
Cioches (a n Ia aa)~i
Gongs ~~
*Les clarinettes au mame plan que tes cuivres.
**Ce s a sont extramement longs. Chaque ^vaut a peu prea 4 4(='40). Le gong jose sf, pour obtenor une rsonatnce suffisante. Le Piano solo tient la pidale enfonsel et laisse risonner en mme temps que le gong, dont II colored ainso les harmoniques- tous deax cessent ensemble, exactement sur l annord sulvant.
Ill. 8--The color-chords at the beginning of the color-chord climax, figs. 73-74. 65 middle section between birdsong and chant blocks. It indicates the ending of the middle section as well in combination with the final full brass chant block (figs.
78-79), so that it too interacts with the blocks of musical material (see Illustration 9 depicting the score at fig.
79). The final section begins with a complex texture of variously juxtaposed birdsong, Greek and Hindu rhythms, and an alleluia. Containing the largest combination of different materials in the entire composition, this block further distinguishes itself through the extensive use of complex rhythmic activity and dynamic contrasts (figs.
81-85; see score in Illustration 10).
A short piano solo of birdsong follows to frame the combination block in birdsong material (a piano interlude preceded the section). The "abyss" material then returns briefly once again (fig.87), and again fifteen seconds later for its final appearance. With a rapid wave of motion in the clarinets and piano, short repeated notes in the mallets, and a ringing of the gongs, the "abyss" brings the work to a close (fig. 96). A repeat of the thick, blaring chords that ended the first section is then heard over the sustained notes of the trombones. Note., however, the higher range and added length of these chords in comparison with the chords of the first section (see Illustration 11). The final fff 66
79 11 IL Pie Trp.
r5_(P. 5(p.4 ) \5(.4 ) M14Trp.
21 Trp
3! Trp. ,a
I Cor
3 Trbn_ a a F .tu-, - '00, 4F ff Trb.basse
------Cene. lit"
______Gongs }{ - 4TT taer T-tam 4 -W
P'.. TPp
P tTrp.
Ito Trp.
2! Trp.J 1
2! Cor
I I- - W-W . -- I- k I. I
3 Trbis.
ITrb.basse
Cenc.
Gongs aZ~ V Gong S 1 4 * T.-taw
1~T-m 0 Cette des 3 trombones et du trombone basso ne passera que si elle est . Par contra, ]a mame au ll't-tam doit Atre p pour no pas nuire aila resonance du 2" t.- tam
Ill. 9--The chant block and "abyss" material at the end of section two (fig. 79). 67
tn peu vi (:120) Troglodyte i long bee M8attre) Y7 19Clar Nestor de Nouv. Z lande s 2eClar
3t, Clar~ Casitique Cela-f F
S --- -- , * 1 5 I 2 -51 2 .5122 121-1 4a1- 2
0 0) '-- -y R i F . - , 8 r1,e entre roux .5
ano Alleu do 8. dint. pree Pentecte
Cloches- -
pp a 24s 4 4 51E
1!'e Clar ______
22 Clar B ?7- ~Kk7
3 )Clar -~ rt
(p 2
I S ~ E I-A- 2 m g etesss 1 2 mr Fiano ii of- e Iv
Troglodyte 1c -- i long bec ~ : ~ e~l 1(ped sompre)
Rale Takahd6 * Xylo. A Xylorim .- - :-I
d d Mar. nr 4r pratapaqekhara
Cone. A k ClochesG ti
FR66 exclu: on doit entendre lea 3 olarlnettes (la 2! et 1a 3? autant que Ia 1e!). On dolt entendre ausal to Piano solo.- et, par places, les 3 xylophones.
Ill. 10--The combination block at the beginning of the third section (figs. 81-82).0 68
__Tres vt(f 176) (comm mema eclair q(i silIonne le cie 1)
.S * Clar
2! Clar J _ g (poar 3! Clar
All----- k----
Piano
(c eme Cr leir fl qoi i/oanne le i I ---- 'ylo. 6 p & 661 Xylorim ______A
Mar. 1;-0--1 -0
p4p -
Gongs
t-tam 4--z
IAmv 4@'IF Tres lent Up peu lent ( - i ) Clear. -- _
r
Trp.
Trp. - - t-h-- -
3? T irp.f
* 2C Drs
3 Tr
Trb. h,oasse
Gan
Jr I er T tam *2f T tlam r-ti am - - -
"(coo'p formidable! }(reson(vice'proonrgee) * Coup do tam-tam f: formidno/e/ pour assurer la persistance du son. -Petle, la density, et a prolongation da la resonance. * Le 2 cor continue le trombone bass.
Ill . 1--The end of the f irst section (f ig. 30), and (on following page) the end of the third and final section (fig. 96). 69
r*"+Omvom i I1,I FT717 Fill F MFI 1111V T----Trrrr- I i~if r~ ( 'if "if -if na~ if S S I
I 22. if ( 2
~ h I
( L] ) : '~if K9 ~if
C, *.A ~I(~ ~IL 'if if Si
( o 11111 ( 12222 ~'~2 ) 11 Ifi~ ' if fill lb 11111 ~' ( if 72 f, ~if .72 ~11 if: ) I 1 11111 lilt] I I 157 ) Oj I K -- j ---4A if if 6 h if 1 . co if. 0~ 4 Of: IA..if. f' 5if if 'if ifjA 44' I
2$ Ii i 'N
I* xj ~ ttLL '1~~K.if22$! 114 Al IL g gf I, A v A A 41 Ilk ii 21 ~Ito ii, I: AA, q (. 4 ifZ }if
A. A Aft 2 A 1: lop
A, 1;$ A taft it 21 2]
0=0--- I_= wwwm-*W= o7 --- 4 I"W.- - r il 1-0001%0110- if bf. i ct A; f iIi A an IT if if if if' - ~ if'if - '~ 70
blast of the French horn and bass trombone on B4 provides a
half-step resolution of the C4 that ended both the first
and second sections of Couleurs (see Illustrations 9 and 11
for the scores at figs. 30, 79, and 96).
The work ends with a chant block "coda" that is a
continuation or extension of the slow and stately alleluia
chant block that began the middle section (fig. 32). A
very subtle added value is incorporated in the otherwise
steady rhythm of the chant (see fifth measure from the end)
to recall the many rhythmic nuances in the work. The coda,
then, brings the chant back to its original texture of
brass instruments, steady rhythm, and the familiar harmonies
of Messiaen's modes. It also seems to emphasize his
religious belief in the strength of God--exemplified in the
chant--over the darkness of death, the "abyss." Hence it
provides for Messiaen an ending statement of faith reflected
in music 4 as well as a final reiteration of the primary
source of melody in the composition. 5
Graph V is an abstraction of the entire work,
summarizing instrumental coloration and general registral patterns throughout each section. Note in particular the
increased lengths of most of the blocks in section two, especially the extended color-chord block near the end.
4This meaning is central to many of Messiaen's works.
5 As Messiaen stated in his T.L.M.: "Melody is the supreme parameter in music." 71
to C)
0 0 4 -P o 0 C4)rj 4 -4 0 0
4 0 44
0(0 c o U 0
0 4oUM
c 4J -H 0 r-i o n-k4 3 t o ,.Q4 -)m( 0 O H (1) -J H a)0 6
000-d Crd 1 to -4 (A mo U -dQ) Cd 0O 0 to H 0 0 I rd 0 o (0 0 ri 0 ~O E-H 0 r-i Q) -P > H 4 (13d Cd 0 6...... 1u L~a 4-) #
U 4-) -) 0C o o a M O
I I 0to L-...J L..I Li
-) to to 0 .p -) 0 0) 0) -, 04 0 Q)~ E-'rd -(D H C-) -H 0 E-4 U 72
4I %.* 101
L.. L.4. J L .J ......
C- 2
0 4- 3) (
- CC i --- I L l tJ G 1.r-8 ~ p-- L
(dC 0
EU 73
*;d
0
rO
(n ) o -C
4J 4- 4-) LJ LaL J i
a) 4 ad) 01) 4 I rHq - 0a 0 0 0
Cd 0 0) rH (9 (9 - 74
The length of section two compares with the combined
lengths of the first and last sections, so that the work
has an overall arch structure supported by instrumental
expansion and contraction as well. Although not represented
in Graph V, the rhythmic development in Couleurs also
contributes to this arch design. Significant increases in
rhythmic density (number of attacks per time unit) and
complexity (number of different rhythmic values) occur in
section two, which culminate in the combination block at
the beginning of section three (figs. 81-85) and then
decrease again to levels comparable to the first section.
The "abyss" material supports the overall design by occurring
twice in the first and last sections and four times in the
middle section.
In concluding, Couleurs de la Cite Celeste offers a
specific textural development in each section which is dependent upon the specific succession and interaction of various birdsongs, chant melodies, Hindu and Greek rhythms, and specific chordal structures or "color-chords." But there is also a continuous transformation in each of these blocks of sound--that is, a separate development within each of the four blocks of musical material. Consequently, the work has a unique abundance of musical colors--due to all aspects of texture as well as timbre itself--which form its special structure exemplifying a new order in musical design. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Berlioz, Hector. Upon Modern Instrumentation and Orchestra tion, trans. M. C. Clarke. Lon: Nove~I, 1958.
Boulez, Pierre. Boulez on Music Today. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1971.
Cogan, Robert & Pozzi Escot. Sonic Design: The Nature of Sound and Music. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1976.
Cope, David. New Directions in Music. Dubuque, Iowa, Wm. C. Brown Co., 1971.
Delone, Kliewer, Reisberg, Wennerstrom, & Winold. Aspects ofTwentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975.
Helmholtz, Hermann von. On the Sensations of Tone, trans. (from 4th ed., 1877)~Alexander Ellis., New York: Dover, 1954.
Holloway, Clyde. The Organ Works of Olivier Messiaen and Their Importance in his Total~0euvre. S.M.D., Musicology, Union Theological Seminary, 1974. University Microfilm 74-20, 075. DA XXXV. 3, pp. 1686 7-A.
Johnson, Robert Sherlaw. Messiaen. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1975.
Leibowitz, Rene. Schoenberg and His School. New York: Philosophical Library, 1949.
Messiaen, Olivier. Couleurs de la Cite Celeste. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1966.
Messiaen, Olivier. The Technique of y Musical Language, 2 vols., trans. John Satterfield. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1956.
Nichols, Roger. Messiaen. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1975.
75 76
Samuel, Claude. Conversations 4ith Olivier Messiaen, trans,. Felix Aprahamian. London: Stainer and Bell, 1976.
Stuckenschmidt, H. H. Twentiet h Century Music, trans. Richard Deveson. New York, McGraw--Hill Book Co., 1969.
Vallas, Leon. The Theories of Laudee Debussy, trans. Marie O'Brien. New York: Dover, 1967.
Varese, Edgard. "The Liberatio of Sound," Perspectives on American Composers,, eds. BE mnjamin Boretz and Edward Cone. New York: Norton, I 971, 25-33.