CAPÍTULO II: MARCO TEÓRICO
2.3. MARCO CONCEPTUAL
2.3.2. Diseño del Relleno Sanitario:
The formulation of Messiaen’s own musical techniques was partly influenced by a variety of established theories. Information about these sources is present in a number of the writings discussed in Chapter 2, but it is the Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie which sheds the most light on Messiaen’s preferred writers and ideas. In order wholly to understand and evaluate the formation of Messiaen’s unique technical language and fully to comprehend its employment in the various stages of his career, it is imperative to examine how he was influenced and borrowed (often quite heavily) from a range of sources. Volumes 1, 4 and 7 of his Traité contain extremely detailed information on the topic; however, there are scant specific details regarding precisely where Messiaen obtained his information. It is the aim of this chapter to clarify and make better sense of Messiaen’s writings on plainchant, Mozart and other theories by examining how they relate to his chosen models.
3.1: Plainchant1
Chapter 1 [Tr4/5]
Messiaen’s first contemplation of plainchant (Article 1: Neumes) is heavily reliant on Le nombre musical grégorien by Dom André Mocquereau.2 The monastery
at Solesmes played a vital role in the field of plainchant during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Mocquereau (1849–1930) was central to the musical activities of this period. He developed the (primarily rhythmic) ideas of Joseph Pothier, his predecessor as the choirmaster of Solesmes, before passing on his musical notions to his successor Dom Joseph Gajard.
To place the material of this first section in context, Table 3.1 presents a breakdown of Messiaen’s organisation alongside the corresponding sections with page numbers in Mocquereau’s work. The table also provides concordances with two well-known monographs on plainchant and a comprehensive study of neumatic notation (a Neume Key is given facing Table 3.1):
1 See Tr4/5–80 and Tr7/32–35.
Table 3.1 Comparative table of sources for Messiaen’s Article 1
Messiaen (Tr4/7–17) Mocquereau Apela Hileyb Cardinec
[Staves/clefs] N/A 118–19 N/A N/A
Neumes simples a) neumes de 2 sons b) neumes de 3 sons A. Notes simples 137 B. Neumes de 2 notes 138 C. Neumes de 3 notes 139 120 342–3, 346–56 17–34,59–67 2) Principe de la broderie: Neumes composés – Flexus Resupinus Sub-punctis Prae-punctis D. Neumes de 4 notes et plus a) Flexus 141 b) Resupinus 141 c) Sub-punctis 141–2 100, 120 As above 68–9, 72–8 Neumes d’expression et d’ornement: a) Le Strophicus
b) Le Pressus 2. Strophicus 147–93. Pressus 149–51 106–108112–13 As above 92–107124–43 Vertu attractive des
Pressus entre euxd Vertu attractive des pressus entre eux 327–8 N/A N/A N/A
c) Oriscus d) Salicus e) Quilisma 4. Oriscus 151 5. Salicus 152–3 Article 4. Quilisma 153–4 111–12 110–11 113–15 359–60 360–61 358 163–83199–212 Le Quilisma a un effet
rétroactif…e Effets rétroactifs du quilisma 399 N/A N/A N/A
Notes: a. Willi Apel, Gregorian Chant (London, 1958); b. David Hiley, Western Plainchant: A Handbook (Oxford, 1993); c. Eugène Cardine, Godehard Joppich and Rupert Fischer, Gregorian Semiology, trans. Robert Fowels (Sablé-sur-Sarthe, 1982); d. This refers to occasions when a number of pressus are employed in a series, giving the effect of pillars on which the rhythm is built; 7. The ‘retroactive effect’ indicates that whenever a quilisma occurs within a phrase it has an effect of retardation on the neumes immediately prior to it.
Neume key
Flexus A downward turn at the end of a neume, e.g. scandicus flexus
Resupinus An upward turn at the end of a neume, e.g. torculus resupinus
Subpunctis The addition of two following notes in descending motion, e.g. porrectus subbipunctis
Praepunctis The addition of two preceding notes in ascending motion, e.g. porrectus praebipunctis
Strophicus General term comprising the stropha, distropha and tristropha, e.g. tristropha
Pressus A punctum added before a neume which shares a common pitch, e.g. pressus porrectus
Oriscus A single-note neume added to another neume as an auxiliary note e.g. torculus oriscus
Salicus An ascending group of 3–5 notes with a vertical episema, e.g. 3-note salicus
Quilisma Always appears at the centre of a rising movement, e.g. torculus plus quilisma-torculus
While information on the content and style of the Messiaen classes in Paris are available from a number of sources, this direct comparison with Mocquereau reveals how, in certain cases, Messiaen reused his models in his own work. While such a close relationship is in many ways rather surprising, it is entirely feasible that Messiaen saw his teaching as an extension of the Solesmes tradition to which he so firmly aligned himself. Respect for the preeminent school of French plainchant and an unwillingness or inability to improve on Mocquereau and others are probable and understandable motivating impulses.
The varied types of Messiaen’s borrowing from Mocquereau may be demonstrated by extracts taken verbatim from the second volume of Le nombre musical grégorien. As Table 3.1 shows, two of Messiaen’s sections are not found in Apel, Hiley or Cardine, and a close examination reveals the reason:
1: Messiaen’s discussion of the ‘Vertu attractive des Pressus entre eux’ is entirely reliant on a quotation from Mocquereau:
Très souvent deux, trois ou quatre pressus, ou même davantage, séparés par quelques notes, se succèdent dans la même mélodie. Ces accents-pressus s’attirent réciproquement dans l’exécution; cette attraction mutuelle ne permet aucun arrêt sur les notes qui les relient. C’est ici surtout que les pressus peuvent être comparés à des colonnes solides sur lesquelles repose la construction rythmique. Les notes intermédiaires sont comme les arceaux qui les réunissent; elles doivent être émises d’une seule volée, pour ainsi dire, naturellement, sans aucune prolongation, mais aussi sans précipitation, en laissant à chacune la valeur légère d’un temps simple.
[Very often two, three, four or even more pressus, separated by a number of notes, follow each other in the same melody. These accents-pressus reciprocally attract each other in performance; this mutual attraction does not permit any pausing on the notes that connect them. It is in this respect, above all, that the pressus may be compared to solid columns on which the rhythmic construction is based. The intermediary notes are like the arches that connect them; they must be performed so to speak in a single flight – naturally, without any prolongation, but also without any haste, allowing for each note the gentle value of a single beat]. This passage appears on pp. 327–8 in Mocquereau, and is reproduced at Tr4/13.
2: Messiaen’s discussion of the two main aspects of the quilisma are unacknowledged quotations from Mocquereau:
Le Quilisma est toujours au centre d’un mouvement ascensionnel.
Le quilisma latin a un effet rétroactif de retard ou même de prolongement sur la note ou le groupe qui le précèdent.
[The quilisma is always at the centre of a rising movement.
The latin quilisma has a retroactive effect of delay or even prolongation on the note or group of notes that precedes it.]
These comments are given on pp. 153 and 399 respectively in Mocquereau, and Messiaen reproduces them at Tr4/16.
The larger-scale structures of plainchant are described in the second article ‘The Forms of Plainchant’, whose sources are not revealed. Comparable passages are again indicated in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Comparative table of sources for the second article
Messiaen (Tr4/17–25) Mocquereau Apel Hiley Cardine
Psalm N/A 6–32 [Psalm
tones 208–226] 58–64 N/A
Antiphon N/A 6–32 88–108 N/A
Tract N/A 6–32 82–5 N/A
Hymn N/A 6–32 140–148 N/A
Litanies N/A 6–32 148–56,
165–8 N/A
The source for the next section of Messiaen’s survey of plainchant ‘Résumé of the opinions of A le Guennant’ is the Précis de rythmique grégorienne, d’après les principes de Solesmes of Auguste le Guennant (1881–1972).3 The connection
between the material at Tr4/26–32 and Le Guennant is illustrated in Table 3.3 (below). Messiaen’s practice of mixing quotes (which are often slightly altered by replacing or omitting words) and fairly free paraphrase is evident here again. The example of plainchant analysis at Tr4/26–7 (‘Analyse neumatique de quelques passages…’) appears to be entirely Messiaen’s own.
The table of the modes of plainchant is directly related to Mocquereau, as shown in Table 3.4 (below), with only slight differences in presentation. The list of the modes of plainchant given in Volume 7 (p. 33) is the same as in Volume 4, and Messiaen adds little commentary.4
The premise behind the concluding part of this discussion of plainchant, ‘Neumes which inspired the Great Musicians’, is highly questionable. Messiaen supplies a series of short melodic quotations from a variety of composers in which he observes many types of neume. There appears to be an element of self-justification in this process: an attempt to prove that, for hundreds of years, composers have been routinely employing ‘neumatic’ melodies, irrespective of their theoretical premises, and that Messiaen’s conscious application of the device has an unbroken pedigree. The only real value of this section is to highlight the composers in which Messiaen was interested; those only mentioned in the context of neumes are Rossini, Overture to William Tell; Ravel, Alborada del gracioso; Musorgsky, Khovanshchina; Borodin, Steppes of Central Asia and Prokofiev, Chout.
3 Auguste Le Guennant, Précis de rythmique grégorienne, d’après les principes de
Solesmes (Paris, 1948).
4 For further details of Messiaen’s interest in plainchant see: Dieter Buwen,
Table 3.3 The connection between Messiaen and Le Guennant
Messiaen (Tr4/26–32) Le Guennant (Volume number/ chapter/page number(s)/ section or example
La Période: contient… 1/ I / 7–8 (paraphrased) L’indice de la separation… 1/ I/ 8/ No.14
L’incise contient… 1/ I/ 10/ No.19
Tous les temps… 1/ II/ 12 (paraphrased) Analyse neumatique de quelques
passages… N/A
Il arrive que la quilisma… 2/ X/ 77/ No.207 Il y en de nombreux… 2/ X/ 77/ No.207, n.1 Ordre, rythme et phonétique 1/ VI/ 32/ Nos.89–90 Rythme et ordre mélodique 1/ VI/ 33/ No.95
Rythme et ordre dynamique 1/ VI/ 34/ No.98 (including Ex.15) Le rythme et l’ordre quantitative 1/ VI/ 43/ No.124
[Fragment of the Agnus] 3/ XXI/ 145/ Ex.82
Le rythme incise… 3/ XXI/ 145/ No.411
On entend par… 3/ XXI/ 147/ No.419
Le rythme-incise est fait… 3/ XXI/ 150/ No.429
[Alleluia] 3/ XXI/ 150/ Ex.85
[Sanctus, Mass VI] 3/ XXI/ 156/ Ex.92
[Sanctus, Mass XI] 3/ XXI/ 154/ Ex.89
[Alleluia of the Blessed Sacrament] 3/ XXI/ 156/ Ex.93 L’attraction du pole… 3/ XXI/ 156/ No.444
Table 3.4 Comparative table of sources for the modes
Messiaen (Tr4/33–5) Mocquereau Apel Hiley Cardine Tableau des modes du
plain-chant 2. Fragmentation de l’échelle en huit modes 204–209
Chapter 2 [Tr4/41]
Messiaen returns to Dom Mocquereau for his contemplation of arsis and thesis. A comparison is again given in Table 3.5. Messiaen utilises Dom Joseph Gajard’s Notions sur la rythmique grégorienne, especially the second chapter ‘Le processus de la synthèse rythmique’. ‘La formation de l’incise’ (pp. 20–39),5 for his
‘Simplified theory of Gregorian rhythm’. A very close connection exists between the layout of material in the Traité and Notions sur la rythmique grégorienne, as Messiaen quotes, paraphrases and reproduces Gajard’s musical examples. Table 3.6 illustrates the comparison.
Table 3.5 Comparative table of sources for arsis and thesis
Messiaen (Tr4/43–51) Mocquereau
Dom Mocquereau et ‘Le nombre
musical grégorien’ Prèmiere partie: l’origine durythme 25–131 Table 3.6 Comparison between Messiaen and Gajard
Messiaen (Tr4/52–5) Gajard
Le rythme est une synthèse… 5–19 (paraphrase)
[Illustrations on 52] 20–21
La brève, parce que brève… 21
Le rythme élémentaire… 22
[First illustration on 53] 24
Prenez une balle de caoutchouc… 26–8 (paraphrase) [Second illustration on 53] 29
Le rythme compose ou incise… 32 (paraphrase) Je lance une balle de caoutchouc… 32–3
Chironomie: gestes manuels… 33
[Illustration on 54] 34
[First illustration on 55] 34–5
[Second (large) illustration on 55] 35 (the plainchant is given in modern notation)
5 Dom Joseph Gajard, Notions sur la rythmique grégorienne (Solesmes, 1972). As with
Messiaen ends his discussion with an explanation of the arm movements (chironomy) utilised in plainchant. Again, Dom Mocquereau is the model (Table 3.7). Table 3.7 Comparative table of sources for chironomy
Messiaen (Tr4/56–61) Mocquereau
La Chironomie (d’après
Dom Mocquereau) Expression plastique ou chironomie du movement rythmique (Part 1, Chapter 9) 103–117
3.2: Mozart and accentuation6
Messiaen held Mozart in the highest regard, believing him to be ‘the musician of musicians’. Such admiration has its roots in Mozart’s mastery of accentuation, melodic writing (‘so personal and poetic’), harmony (‘always light, suave when tonal, anguished when chromatic’), form (‘perfect and always renewed’), orchestration (‘has a power of truth, with a sense for the specific timbre’) and the theatre (‘a man of the theatre whose final acts are scenic masterpieces’).7
Accentuation in the music of Mozart especially interested Messiaen, and had a direct influence on his own work, mediated by the theory presented in the first two chapters of Vincent d’Indy’s Cours de composition musicale.8
D’Indy argues that two equal durations within a rhythmic unit are inherently different with regard to certain parameters, such as intensity. This results in an elevation (élévation) and a fall (chute). The first value is designated (according to the terminology of Hugo Riemann) as a ‘light beat’ (temps léger), and the second as a ‘heavy beat’ (temps lourd).9 These terms are analogous to Dom Mocquereau’s
‘arsis’ and ‘thesis’.
The basic unit of two equal values can be in either binary or ternary metre, and d’Indy employs an anatomical analogy: a man walks in binary rhythm, while the heartbeat is ternary (‘contraction of the auricles, contraction of the ventricles, and
6 See Tr4/129–99. For further comments on this topic see: Raffaele Pozzi, ‘“Le rythme
chez Mozart”: Alcune osservazioni analitiche di Olivier Messiaen sull’accentuazione ritmica in Mozart’, in Rudolph Angermüller, Ulrike Hofmann, Wolfgang Rehm, Dietrich Berke (eds), Mozart-Jahrbuch 1991 (Kassel, 1991), pp. 613–24.
7 Quotes in this paragraph from Tr4/129.
8 Vincent d’Indy, Cours de composition musicale (Paris, 1912). Further details of
Messiaen’s debt to d’Indy’s work can be found in Vincent Benitez, ‘A Creative Legacy: Messiaen as Teacher of Analysis’, College Music Symposium, 40 (2000): pp. 133–7.
an interval or rest’).10 Messiaen supports d’Indy’s belief in the governance of the
laws of accentuation over both language and music, which, as he explains, govern the principle of masculine and feminine rhythms (a concept previously proposed by d’Indy).
The following definitions (based on d’Indy’s theories) clarify the difference between masculine and feminine rhythms:
• If the heavy beat contains only one note the rhythm is masculine.
• If the heavy beat is formed of an accented principal note followed by one or many notes whose intensity decreases the rhythm is feminine.
D’Indy discusses this point in detail, and provides rhythmic schemes.11
Accentuation also employs tonic and expressive accents and when applied to whole phrases rather than the short rhythms above, the light and heavy beats become ‘light fraction’ (fraction légère) and ‘heavy fraction’ (fraction lourde). Accents
For d’Indy ‘melody is a succession of notes differentiated by their duration, intensity and pitch. The starting point of melody is the accent.’12 The two types of
accent are defined, in linguistic terminology, as follows: ‘The accent affects the words and the phrases; tonic in the first case, expressive in the second.’13
D’Indy proposes the following rules:
Dans tout groupe masculin, la place de l’accent tonique est sur la fraction légère du groupe … Dans tout groupe féminin, l’accent tonique sera naturellement placé sur la fraction lourde du groupe, qui contient la désinence.
[In every masculine group, the tonic accent is placed on the weak part of the group … In every feminine group, the tonic accent will naturally be placed on the strong part of the group, which contains the ending.]14
Feminine groups can also have an expressive accent, as shown in Mozart’s K.333 (315c) Piano Sonata (Messiaen’s example shows the melodic line from bars 23–26 of the Allegro, and the expressive and tonic accents are indicated by the letters E and T respectively in Example 3.1 below).15
10 Ibid., p. 25, n. 2–3. 11 Ibid., p. 26. 12 Ibid., p. 29. 13 Ibid., p. 30. 14 Ibid., p. 33. 15 Tr4/139.
Example 3.1 Expressive and tonic accents in Mozart
D’Indy formulates three rules to aid the understanding of accentuation: La place de l’accent tonique varie suivant la forme, masculine ou féminine, du groupe mélodique.16
Il n’est point de mélodie qui commence sur un temps lourd.17
L’accent expressif remporte toujours en intensité sur l’accent tonique.18
[The place of the tonic accent varies according to the form (masculine or feminine) of the melodic group.
A melody can never commence on a strong beat.
The expressive accent always prevails in intensity over the tonic accent.] Masculine group
One of Messiaen’s simpler examples of such a group uses the theme of ‘Treaty’ in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung (Act 1, Scene 2; Example 3.2).19 The heavy fraction
contains only one note (compare with the first of the examples above) so therefore the group is masculine, and such groups do not, according to Messiaen, contain a tonic accent.20
Example 3.2 Masculine group in Wagner
16 d’Indy, Cours, p. 33. 17 Ibid., p. 34. 18 Ibid., p. 36. 19 Tr4/135.
20 Tr4/135. Two other examples are given from Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ Symphony and
Feminine group
According to the rules established above, a group is feminine if the heavy fraction contains more than one note. Example 3.3 is taken from Mozart’s ‘Haffner’ Symphony.21 Messiaen adds a caveat, without providing any reasoning, that
feminine and masculine groups can only be found in Classical and Romantic music, a theory supported by reference to the following works:
• Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
• Mozart: Don Giovanni, ‘Haffner’ Symphony, Piano Concertos K.488 and K.503, Le nozze di Figaro, Piano Sonatas K.284 and K.333, String Quartet K.458
• Beethoven: Symphonies 6 and 9 • Berlioz: La damnation de Faust • Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Debussy is apparently a borderline case, as although elements of these divisions can be applied to his music, the rhythmic freedom precludes adherence to such rules.22
Example 3.3 Feminine group in Mozart (Haffner K.385, Andante, bars 64–65)
In order to demonstrate the ideas outlined above, Messiaen supplies two short analyses of Mozart: the second movement of the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony K.551 and the first movement of the Piano Concerto in A major K.488.23 Both are lacking in
detail from an analytical point of view but assist in placing Messiaen’s thoughts in a wider context.
The final element of Messiaen’s survey of Mozart is an analysis of the piano concertos first published as Messiaen’s Les 22 concertos pour piano de Mozart.24
21 Tr4/137.
22 Tr4/142–57. Messiaen gives numerous examples of masculine and feminine groups
(with accents, arsis/thesis and anacrusis groups) taken from a range of Mozart’s works.
23 Tr4/161–70.
3.3: Hindu Rhythms and Modes25
Çârngadeva’s table of 120 Deçî-tâlas (which proved such a rich resource during Messiaen’s compositional career) occupies a central role in his discussion of Hindu rhythms.26 The Traité sheds new light on Messiaen’s knowledge of Hindu music
by revealing his acquaintance with aspects of this topic beyond Çârngadeva’s rhythms. Although Messiaen’s familiarity with the Samgîta-Ratnâkara of Çârngadeva is well documented, other sources revealed in the Traité include:
• Bharata: Nâtya-Çâstra
• Alain Daniélou: L’Inde du Nord
• Joanny Grosset: Histoire de la musique de l’Inde
Hindu modes had much less impact on Messiaen’s music than Hindu rhythms, but were undoubtedly an area of fascination. In total, 72 modes exist (each having seven notes – the ‘perfect’ number): 36 employing a perfect 4th within the mode, and 36 containing an augmented 4th.27
3.4: Greek Metres and Modes28
Messiaen identifies Aristoxenes of Tarente and Hephestion as the most significant figures in this area, but one of his main sources is the Traité de métrique greque by W.J.W. Koster.29 There are numerous references to Greek poets in Messiaen’s
discussion, but comments on the poems themselves are completely absent. The reason for this becomes clear when a comparison is made between Messiaen’s examples and those of Koster. Table 3.8 gives page numbers for both sources. The fact that Messiaen only gives verse numbers when Koster does is conclusive evidence of this relationship.
Several authors are referred to during Messiaen’s discussion, but specific sources are difficult to identify. Paul Griffiths suggests Maurice Emmanuel’s writings on the subject as an important source for Messiaen,30 and details of
monographs consulted are found at Tr1/369.
25 See Tr1/247–368 and Tr7/27–32.
26 The complete table is in Albert Lavignac (ed.), Encyclopédie de la musique et
dictionnaire du Conservatoire, vol. 1 (Paris, 1921), pp. 301–304.
27 For the full table of 72 modes see Tr7/29–30. 28 See Tr1/73–243 and Tr7/32–3.
29 Willem John Wolff Koster, Traité de métrique grecque (Leyde, 1966). Again Koster
only gets the briefest of references, and no clue is given as to the extent of Messiaen’s borrowing.
30 Paul Griffiths, Oliver Messiaen and the Music of Time (London, 1985), p. 26. Griffiths
is right, as Emmanuel’s essay ‘Grèce (Art Gréco-Romain)’ in Lavignac (ed.), Encyclopédie de la musique et dictionnaire du conservatoire, vol. 1, pp. 377–537, is a detailed treatise on many
Table 3.8 The location of Messiaen’s examples of Greek prose in Koster
Author/Work Messiaen Koster
Pindar: Olympian II 78 268
Aeschylus: Agamemnon 78 269
Mesomedes: Hymn to Isis 78–9 270
Timotheus: Persae 79–80 (reordered and incomplete) 271
Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus 89 241
Various under the heading ‘Form 1’ 94 275: Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9
Various under the heading ‘Form 2’ 94 276: Nos. 12, 13, 15, 16