insight into the mechanisms of Messiaen’s music, the challenge presented to the analyst of Messiaen is how to progress beyond this finite resource and focus on any work with the same level of detail.
The rhythmic element is by far the most straightforward to assess. If an added value is inserted into a pattern, a series of chromatic durations presented in order, or a rhythmic canon used to support other procedures, their presence is immediately apparent. More complex ideas such as personnages pose a greater challenge, but Messiaen generally adhered to the underlying principles of a technique (expansion, contraction and immobility in this case) so identification is reasonably feasible. However, the harmonic component of the music poses myriad problems.
The major difficulty in understanding harmonies is the identification of Messiaen’s own chords, and without a definitive assessment by the composer himself this can be a daunting task. As noted in Chapter 8, pitch-class set labels offer a reasonably rapid means of identification if a chord is utilised in an unaltered way. For example, the first block chord in Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum occurring at 9/5 contains seven pitches giving 7-Z12:
A, A#, B, D, E, G, G#
This reveals the chord to be a first chord of contracted resonance B, and reference to Messiaen’s tables in the Traité confirms this to be the seventh chord in the series (1CCR7B).
Many harmonies are not as clear-cut as this example, and the analyst is required to investigate alternatives to obtain a result. An example from Réveil des oiseaux will serve as an illustration. At 12/5, there are two 8-6 sets:
First set: A#, B, C, C#, D#, E, F, F Second set: A, A#, B, C, E, F, F#, G
The 8-6 set is a subset of 9-5, which indicates a connection with one of the seven-note chords. The first set proves to be a 1CCRA chord with the F added. Messiaen’s tables reveal this to be the tenth chord, so the result is 1CCR10A + F. Other transpositions may be considered but do not function: for example, if 1CCRA + B is tried no matches are possible. This set may also be viewed as a
2CCRA + 2 chord, and in this case it is 2CCR1B + C# and F. Similarly, the second group is 1CCR4A + B and not a 1CCRA chord + F as again the latter is not a viable option, and 2CCRA + G and B is also possible.
Familiarity with the shape and distribution of the chords in the tables also aids the analytical process. A set of 9-9 is located at 4/3 in ‘Le traquet stapazin’ (Catalogue d’oiseaux), which in pitch-class set terms bears no relation to a familiar component of Messiaen’s musical language. However, the fact that it is a 7-20 set with two added notes becomes clear if the distribution of the notes is compared to the table of chords of transposed inversions on the same bass note. The essential identity of the chord has been retained, and it may be recognised as 11D. This is a straightforward example of the importance of combining pitch- class labels with visual recognition, and this method assumes greater importance in more complex instances.
The aim of the present chapter is the application of strategies outlined in previous chapters to produce analyses of works not discussed in fine detail by Messiaen. To demonstrate the veracity of this analytical approach, works from varied periods in Messiaen’s career will be examined:
Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940s) Cantéyodjayâ (‘Experimental period’)
Réveil des oiseaux and ‘Le chocard des Alpes’ (birdsong) Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1960s)
10.1: Quatuor pour la fin du temps
The Quatuor pour la fin du temps contains many of Messiaen’s mature harmonic and rhythmic techniques and is an important landmark in the development of his style given the early appearance of specific devices. The language of the quartet is rich and varied; by 1941 many of the ideas formulated during the formative stage of his career were functioning as fully fledged techniques that would remain part of his arsenal throughout a long career. Although Quatuor pour la fin du temps features heavily in The Technique of My Musical Language, a study of the harmonic aspect of the work through the use of pitch-class set analysis will reveal the fine detail of this seminal composition.
Harmony
If the techniques described in the previous chapter are utilised, the harmonic breakdown of the work shown in Table 10.1 may be obtained.
Table 10.1 Harmonic breakdown of Quatuor pour la fin du temps 1/1–3 CTI 5A-D with appoggiaturas
1/3ff. Modes 2 and 3
7/1–7 1CCR1A+B and 2CCR1A+B
8/1–4 CTI 1A and 1B with appoggiatura and resonance
8/10 CTI 1A–D
9/1ff. Mode 3
14/6 CTI 10A–D
15/1–12 Mode 2
15/17 CTI 9A arpeggiated
15/19 CTI 9D arpeggiated plus 2 added notes 16/1 Mode 3, CTI 9D, 7-Z36 – all arpeggiated
16/2–3 Mode 2
16/4ff. Mode 3
16/19–20 Mode 2 17/1ff. Mode 2 (Pople)* 17/15–16 CTI 11A arpeggiated
18/16–17 CTI 11A and CTI 9A arpeggiated 19/6–8 CTI 11B, 11D, 11A arpeggiated
23/1–4 Mode 3 23/5–6 Mode 2 (full) 24/5 1CCR7A arpeggiated 24/6 CTI 1A arpeggiated 33/7 Mode 2 (full) 34/7–8 Mode 1/3 36/1ff. Mode 2
37/1–3 1CCR1A+B and 2CCR1A+B (as 7/1–7) 37/5–38/1 Polymodal (Modes 4, 6)
38/6–7 Mode 3 (as 9/1ff.) 39/1ff. Mode 2 (as 36/1ff.) 40/4–5 2CCR1A+B (as 7/1–2) 40/5–7 Mode 3 (as 9/1ff.)
41/1–2 Mode 4 and 1CCR1A+B (as 7/7) 41/2–4 CTI 1B with appoggiatura (as 8/1–3)
41/4 CTI 1C and 1D
41/5ff. Mode 3
43/2–3 Mode 2
44/1–4 Polymodality (as 37/5)
44/5 CTI 2A, 4A, 6A, 6D (as 38/2–3)
45/8ff. Mode 3
47/1–49/2 Various major chords plus Mode 2 49/3–4 2CCR1A+B (as 7/1–2)
50/1ff. Modes 2 and 3 (Pople)
* Any information in this table taken from Anthony Pople’s Messiaen: Quatour pour la fin du temps (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) is labelled.
The opening bars on the piano are germane: a chord of transposed inversions on the same bass note is presented in a complete form. It is the fifth chord from Messiaen’s table that progresses from its initial to concluding forms (A–D) and the example here reinforces the origins of the technique, namely as a series of resolved chords over a repeated bass note. The inclusion of harmonic resolution was an inherent part of the origins of this device, but as Messiaen’s career progressed this aspect was discarded in favour of the simplified form described in Appendix 1, A.2.9.
Given the lack of evidence in the writings of Messiaen regarding details of the construction of his table of chords of transposed inversions on the same bass note (apart from the assertion that the idea stems from a dominant 9th chord1), the series
of chords at 8/10 may lay claim to be the first complete citation of the origins of the technique in one of Messiaen’s major works. The chords selected here are 1A–D: the first series of the table in the seventh volume of the Traité. Comparison between these two instances of CTI chords and later examples in other works underlines how more fragmented the technique was to become. The ideas of resolution and employing the whole series in one passage gave way to more isolated harmonies
drawn from various points in the complete table as given in the Traité and Appendix 1. The same technique also takes another form later in the quartet when, as Anthony Pople observes, CTI chords are presented in arpeggiated versions.2 The horizontal
distribution of a vertical aggregate is not the most common usage of techniques in subsequent works, but it does bear the hallmarks of the modes of limited transposition that are regularly dispersed in such a manner.
The chords of contracted resonance also make an early appearance in Messiaen’s music. The arpeggiated version at 24/5 (A, C, G, E, D, B, A) is almost hidden amongst the fast-moving unison of ‘Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes’. This is the first chord of contracted resonance 7A (see Appendix 1, A.2.3), but whether it can be perceived as such is highly questionable. Uses of harmonic techniques such as this relate to the problem of perception of non-retrogradable rhythms and the Bergsonian theories of the human ability to be simultaneously aware of the past, present and future. Nevertheless, it is a prime example of the hidden constitutional subtleties in Messiaen that can easily be overlooked. The more prominent use of CCRs first materialises at 7/1–7 and becomes a kind of leitmotif in the work.
The modes are (unsurprisingly given their dominance at this time) a prevalent feature of the quartet. Modes 2, 3 and 4 function both harmonically and melodically (these would remain the prevailing choices for the remainder of Messiaen’s career). There is less need for the pitch-class approach when analysing modal passages, as anyone familiar with such writing will recognise these harmonies both visually and aurally: piano chords especially have a certain distinctive texture and distribution of notes. The relative dearth of transpositions of the modes in relation to other devices also lessens the range of possibilities requiring consideration.
Rhythm
The works of the 1940s (until the start of the ‘Experimental period’) share many rhythmic features. The Quatuor has many of the characteristic devices of this decade: rhythmic pedals, non-retrogradable rhythms and typical combinations of Hindu Deçi-tâlas. Study of Messiaen’s analyses of contemporary works reveals how the rhythmic aspect of a work was constructed during this period, and all of the features in the quartet are present in subsequent works of the decade. As discussed in Chapter 6, the period up to the completion of the Turangalîla- symphonie in 1948 sees an increasingly developed exploration of the rhythmic domain, and the Quatuor pour la fin du temps stands at the start of this process. Messiaen mostly explains the rhythmic content in his unusually technical preface, and the identification of these techniques poses no new challenges.
10.2: Cantéyodjayâ
It is possible to apply such analytical methods to works whose technical basis is more complex and disparate. Cantéyodjayâ has less harmonic stability than many works, and its ever-changing structure poses greater interpretative challenges. Notwithstanding its experimental nature, Cantéyodjayâ employs most of Messiaen’s chordal resources in combination with passages of a much freer nature.
Messiaen himself was less forthcoming about the inner workings of Cantéyodjayâ than many of his other works. What he might have said is that the composition marks an abrupt change of direction; the extravagance of his writing in the 1940s is dramatically jettisoned, and a more economical keyboard style appears. And soon after Cantéyodjayâ he would turn to the virtuosic birdsong- inspired music of the 1950s. The piece is perhaps best known for its inclusion – for the first time in Messiaen’s music – of the notion of total serialism, and it may therefore be viewed as a precursor of the ‘Experimental period’ of 1949–51. But it is also a summary of his technical innovations to that date and a demonstration of Messiaen’s ability to compose an entirely satisfying (and pianistically rewarding) piece from an unprecedented amount of disparate elements. Cantéyodjayâ is thus strikingly transitional.
Table 10.2 highlights the thematic, harmonic and rhythmic features of Cantéyodjayâ and their derivation from other Messiaen works (noting also Messe de la Pentecôte, a later composition which quotes from Cantéyodjayâ).3 The blank
rows in the table indicate material with no apparent connection to Messiaen’s previous music. Only 53 bars out of the total of 347 fall into this category, which highlights the remarkably small amount of new ideas in Cantéyodjayâ. The following abbreviations are employed:
LH/RH: Left/right hand
1/2CCR: First/second chord of contracted resonance T of C: ‘Theme of chords’4
CTI: Chord of transposed inversions on the same bass note
3/1–5: Page/bar numbers in published score. Where bold, this indicates the Cantéyodjayâ theme
3 For discussions of the formal outline of Cantéyodjayâ see: Michèle Reverdy,
L’œuvre pour piano d’Olivier Messiaen, pp. 60–65, Jonathan Cross, The Stravinsky Legacy (Cambridge, 1998), pp. 47–8, and my comments on them below.
4 The ‘Theme of chords’ is one of the cyclic themes employed in the Turangalîla-
symphonie. It should not be confused with the theme of the same name in the Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus.
Table 10.2 Thematic, harmonic and rhythmic allusions in Cantéyodjayâ Page/bar
number Theme Harmony Rhythm Other
3/1–5 3/6–7 Turangalîla 265/1–3 3/8–10 Turangalîla 218/3–219/1 4/1–5 4/6–11 Rhythmic additions 4/12 Added values 4/13 Turangalîla 381/5 4/14–5/3 5/4–8 Turangalîla T of C 5/9–10 5/11–14 Cinq rechants 2/9–3/2, 36/3–4 6/1–7/9 Lakskmîça (L.H.) 7/10–11 8/1–10/5 Total serialism 10/6–7 10/8 10/9–11/3 11/4 1CCR 7 11/5–8 Turangalîla 39/2–4 (+ resonance) 11/9–12 11/13 Turning chord 8 11/14–15 11/16 Turning chord 8 12/1–2 Harawi 68/3 (+ resonance) 12/3–5 Turangalîla 277/4–6 12/6–13/3 Turning chord 8 (Cinq rechants 2/6–8), 10, 2CCR 7, 1CCR 1 Hindu rhythms (Cinq rechants 39/6–41/3)
Page/bar
number Theme Harmony Rhythm Other
13/4–14/7 Cinq rechants 22/1–2 (R.H.) Chromatic durations in retrograde canon 14/8–11 14/12–14 15/1–3 Messe de la Pentecôte 17/4–6 15/4–7 Cinq rechants 19/3–4 15/8–16/7 16/8–17/2 Cadenza 17/3–17 Turangalîla T of C Vingt regards 44/8, 26/11, CTI 1A-C Rhythmic retrograde 18/1–13 As 13/15–14/7 Chromatic durations 18/14–15 Turangalîla 39/2–3 (+ resonance) 18/16–19 Turning chord 8 18/20–21 Derived from Cinq rechants 22/1–2 motif 19/1–3 Turangalîla 62/2 19/4–5 Turning chord 8 19/6–10 Serialism: P, I, R, P6 19/11–20/6 Interversions* 20/7–12 Canon (Cinq rechants 26/1–27/3) 20/13–21/6 21/7 Turangalîla 99/1 (L.H.) 21/8–9 21/10 21/11–22/1 Harawi 44/13– 45/2 22/2–5 Turangalîla T of C 22/6–8 Cadenza
Page/bar
number Theme Harmony Rhythm Other
22/9–23/3 Rhythmic
additions
23/4–24/4 Cadenza
24/5–27 Chromatic
open fan (Cinq rechants 25/1–3) 25/1–6 25/7–26/5 Turangalîla T of C 26/6–8 26/9–27/4 27/5–8 Cinq rechants 2/9–3/2, 36/3–4 27/9
27/10–11 Mode 2 open fan
* Messiaen devised various systems for the permutation of duration and pitch (see Tr3/321–3). On this occasion, melodic interversion is used; in other words, the order of a given sequence of four pitches is systematically permutated until the original sequence is regained.
The allusions detailed in Table 10.2 may be discussed under six main headings, in the spirit of Messiaen’s clear demarcation of parameters in his own writings: melody, harmony, adaptation of material and concepts, rhythm, other concepts, and large-scale organisation.
Melody
Self-quotation is a conspicuous component of Messiaen’s creative process in general, and it primarily takes the form of short (1–3 bar) melodic phrases and small-scale harmonic progressions. Occasionally, Messiaen acknowledges his borrowing in the score: the quotation of the 1935 organ work ‘La vierge et l’enfant’ (which resurfaces a number of times throughout his career) in the 11th of the Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus is a case in point. However, the score of Cantéyodjayâ gives no indication of any borrowings. In Cantéyodjayâ the level of Messiaen’s recycling of ideas surpasses that in any of his other works, to such an extent that little completely original material is in evidence.
All of the themes listed in Table 10.2 are taken from the ‘Tristan trilogy’: Harawi (1945), Turangalîla-symphonie (1948) and Cinq rechants (1949). The reproduced Turangalîla melodies originally appeared, with only one exception, on the orchestral strings or the solo piano. The first such example, at 3/8–10, replicates a Turangalîla violin figuration which, at first glance, plays a secondary
role in the orchestral texture (the brass having the primary theme). However, part of the melody is a clear derivation from the contour of the main cyclic theme of Turangalîla: the ‘Statue theme’,5 and it therefore assumes greater significance.
Despite this affinity, in Cantéyodjayâ Messiaen does not employ any of the melodic Turangalîla cyclic themes in their original, unaltered state. This passage highlights a feature that is present regardless of derivation: the melodies are always in the identical transposition (but not necessarily in the same register). It is probable that Messiaen consciously avoided reprising the more prominent and melodically distinctive themes of Turangalîla, so as not to draw too much attention to his methodology. The idea reproduced at 11/5–8 (and elsewhere in the piece) bears this out: instead of choosing the ‘first element’ of the second movement’s refrain (Turangalîla, 39/2–4), Messiaen instead selects its subsidiary theme, and turns it (via enharmonic equivalences and an irrational rhythm) into a recurring motif of Cantéyodjayâ. Again, the melodic shape of the ‘statue theme’ lies at its heart.
The motifs formerly heard in Turangalîla on the piano all surface in Cantéyodjayâ untouched. It would seem that Messiaen felt little need for embellishment, as such ideas appear only once in fleeting, small-scale references. Beyond the identity of timbre, his reasoning behind the choice of piano motifs is far from clear, and the fragment at 19/3 is particularly perplexing. Two chords are selected from within a 12-chord progression in the second movement of Turangalîla, and inserted between other notable features (of which more below). Perhaps according to Messiaen’s idiosyncratic and inscrutable logic they make perfect sense, but no obvious structural or programmatic rationale presents itself. However, the two chords appear within a passage built on a fragmentation of melodic ideas and harmonic concepts, which is sandwiched between the rigorous devices of a retrograde canon of chromatic durations, serialism and interversions. This type of writing may represent Messiaen’s attempt to introduce a playful element, through a breakdown of the implacable technical sections that make up the bulk of Cantéyodjayâ. Parallels may also be drawn with the use of ‘free’ cadenzas to break up technical processes, particularly in the second half of the piece, as shown in Table 10.2.
In Cantéyodjayâ at 5/11–14 Messiaen subtly adapts the first idea taken from the Cinq rechants (2/9–3/2: ‘l’explorateur Orphée trouve son cœur dans la mort’): the final two notes are raised by a semitone, dynamic variation is introduced, and an ‘added value’ (the dot applied to the initial note) is inserted. However, the main interest of this short passage is Messiaen’s decision to combine this melody with another Cinq rechants motif (36/3–4: ‘tes yeux voyagent’) that enters at 5/12 in the left hand. Even with the simultaneous deployment of unrelated motifs, however, the passage is still remarkably devoid of rhythmic interest. Another merger takes place at 13/4–14/7 in Cantéyodjayâ – this time between a borrowed motif (Cinq rechants 22/1–2: ‘pieuvre de lumière blesse’) and an established
5 For the composer’s own explanation of the cyclic themes in the Turangalîla-
rhythmic device. Messiaen constructs a retrograde canon of chromatic durations (a procedure first seen in the Vingt regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus), and a prominent Cinq rechants melody (performed in that work by the second and third sopranos) is integrated into the upper part of the canon. The melody resumes an octave lower at each repetition, before being curtailed by the completion of the canon. The lower part of the canon has a climbing chromatic idea unrelated to this melody. This passage is a succinct illustration of the transitional nature of Cantéyodjayâ: the expressive vocal melody combines with an austere rhythmic device typical of the ‘Experimental period’ approach.
The most disguised of Messiaen’s thematic borrowings occurs after the first presentation of the ‘Cantéyodjayâ’ motif (3/6–7). The source is the seventh movement of the Turangalîla-symphonie (265/1–3), where the melody is dispersed across the orchestra in an attempt to create a ‘Klangfarbenmelodie’ effect, accompanied by multifarious figurations. In Cantéyodjayâ, Messiaen strips the melody of its accompaniment. Example 10.1 illustrates the melody:
Example 10.1 Theme located at Cantéyodjayâ 3/6–7, derived from the Turangalîla-symphonie 265/1–3
The outline of the cyclic ‘Statue theme’ is once more observable here. Messiaen must surely have been aware of this connection, but whether he considered it as a unifying factor within the whole of Cantéyodjayâ is unclear. As themes are employed in such a way in Messiaen’s other works, it would seem highly likely that the ‘statue theme’ plays a similar role on this occasion.
Harmony
The harmonic aspect of Cantéyodjayâ typifies Messiaen’s change of direction. His works of the 1940s are dominated by the modes of limited transposition, but these rarely appear in Cantéyodjayâ (their only prominent use is in the final two bars). Instead, Messiaen chooses to reprise harmonic progressions of previous works and rely on procedures developed subsequent to his modes. The first instance of harmonic importation occurs at 5/4, where the Turangalîla-symphonie’s ‘Theme of chords’ is presented unadorned, before being extended with other established harmonies. The early appearance of this theme, following so soon after the melodies
with allusions to the ‘statue theme’, confirms the prominence of Turangalîla in Messiaen’s borrowings.
The passage at 17/3–17 has the thickest textures of the work, and combines both the old and new. From a rhythmic point of view, the section is a straightforward retrograde, but Messiaen chose not to retrograde his harmonies simultaneously and strictly. Chords taken from Turangalîla and the Vingt regards sur l’Enfant- Jésus (significantly dating from before the ‘Tristan trilogy’) form the major part of the progression.6 While the ‘Theme of chords’ from Turangalîla is splintered, a
succession of paired chords seen in the Vingt regards (44/8) is presented intact at 17/6–7. Somewhat perversely, Messiaen retrogrades the Vingt regards progression in the forward part of the Cantéyodjayâ canon, and the quotation in its original direction appears in the rhythmic retrograde. An analogous example occurs at 21/11–22/1, the source being a harmonic ‘marche’ from Harawi.
Soon after the Vingt regards harmonies are presented, Messiaen presents one of his then most recent innovations: a chord of transposed inversions on the same bass note. In Cantéyodjayâ, Chords 1A–C coincide with the rhythmic