Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen (1986)

Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (pronunciation [mɛsjɑ̃]) (born December 10, 1908 in Avignon , † April 27, 1992 in Clichy , Hauts-de-Seine ) was a French composer , composition teacher and organist . He also dealt with ornithology .

Life

childhood

Plaque in memory of Messiaen's baptism in the Saint-Didier church in Avignon

Olivier Messiaen was born into a literary family in Avignon. He had a younger brother, Alain. His father Pierre Messiaen was an English professor and worked from 1919 for over three decades to a translation of the works of William Shakespeare , a fact that influenced the young Olivier prevail. As a teenager he read Shakespeare in the translation by Émile Montégut. The description of human passions as well as the fairytale magical world of Shakespeare populated by mythical creatures, witches and ghosts fascinated him.

“I was based on fairy tales, and Shakespeare is sometimes a super fairy tale, and it is mainly this aspect that has influenced me. [...] More than anything else I loved Macbeth (because of the witches and the ghost Banquos ) as well as Puck and Ariel . "

As a child, he staged Shakespeare with the help of a self-made decoration, in which he painted cellophane with watercolors and stuck it on glass. The only spectator was his younger brother.

His mother, the poet Cécile Sauvage, had ancestors from the southern French region. A poem to the unborn son, which she wrote during pregnancy, is shaped by a pantheistic feeling for nature, which was to become characteristic of the adult Olivier:

"I will say: I have given this flame to these eyes, I have taken these two childlike stars that open to infinity from the ambiguous smile of the moon, the shine of the sea, the velvet of the plum."

The mother's influence can be classified as particularly formative for the time when the family lived in Grenoble and the father and grandfather were at war. As a result, Messiaen developed literary interests and skills in addition to musical ones. Almost all of his vocal works are based on his own texts. Many of his works are preceded by comments in the form of prose poems. Messiaen was well aware of the formative influences of his youth. So he recorded a record with organ improvisations framing his mother's poems . In conversation with Claude Samuel, he recalled:

“The greatest impression I received came from my mother […]; During all this time [...] my mother raised me in a climate of poetry and fairy tales, which, regardless of my calling as a musician, was the origin of everything I did later. "

In 1912 the Messiaens moved to Ambert and in 1914 to Grenoble. Messiaen later often emphasized his close ties to this place and especially its grandiose mountains and bought a house south of the city. The first unusual musical interests can be demonstrated from the age of eight. Messiaen began to play the piano autodidactically and to compose canons in the octave according to feeling . Soon afterwards he received his first piano lessons.

He became familiar with the piano works of Ravel ( Gaspard de la nuit ) and Debussy (Estampes) relatively early on, both of which later became important for his own compositional development. For Christmas he wanted opera scores by Mozart , Gluck , Berlioz and Wagner . Another guideline of his later thought and work emerged early on with the Catholic faith. As a child he bought theological books. He later described the relationship between fantasy, music, theater and religion in the following words:

"It is indisputable that in the truths of the Catholic faith I have found this seduction by the miraculous, multiplied a hundredfold, a thousandfold, and it was no longer a theatrical fiction, but something true."

After the father's return, the family moved to Nantes for a short time . In addition to various changing piano teachers, the harmony lessons from Jehan de Gibon became particularly important, who introduced him to Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande , which at the time was still perceived as progressive . Messiaen later confessed that this work struck him as a lightning revelation and influenced him like no other.

In the autumn of 1919, the father was appointed to the Paris Lycée Charlemagne , so that another change of residence was pending. For the young Olivier, lessons began here at one of the most famous musical training institutions of the time, the Paris Conservatory .

Training at the Paris Conservatory

Messiaen studied at the Conservatoire from 1919 to 1930 . Here he attended several classes and was strongly influenced by the very own style of the conservatory, which was determined by traditions and the activities of the teachers. Unlike other students, Messiaen never felt the need to break out of compulsory schooling, and much later he mentioned his former teachers with the greatest respect. Messiaen received piano lessons from Georges Falkenberg.

His harmony teacher Jean Gallon laid the foundation for the chromatics and the fioritures , which Messiaen later brought to bear in his works. In 1924 he received a second prize for his studies in harmony. Messiaen was more successful in studying joints with Georges Caussade. Here he received a first prize in counterpoint and fugue in 1926. Messiaen developed the art of improvisation under his teacher for piano accompaniment, César Abel Estyle , for which he again received a first prize in 1927.

Because of his improvisational skills , Messiaen was eventually sent to Marcel Dupré's organ class . This teacher was of great importance to him, and so Messiaen made his virtuosity his own and developed it to perfection. For this he was rewarded in 1929 with a double first prize in organ playing and organ improvisation.

Another important teacher of Messiaen was Maurice Emmanuel , with whom he studied music history. Emmanuel greatly influenced Messiaen through studying ancient Greek music and metrics, as well as through the practice of harmonizing Gregorian melodies . Messiaen later resorted to both of these in his compositions - for example in La Nativité du Seigneur , where he partially changed pieces of the Gregorian repertoire chromatically.

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Paul Dukas' composition class with Olivier Messiaen sitting on the right

In the composition class of Paul Dukas , who was also of great importance to Messiaen, he received his last first prize in 1930 before leaving the conservatory with an additional diploma in higher musical studies. Further teachers were Noël Gallon , Jean Gallon's brother , who taught piano, harmony , fugue , counterpoint and orchestration , and Joseph Baggers, from whom Messiaen trained as a drummer.

During his time at the Paris Conservatory, Messiaen was not only formed musically. His parents encouraged his enjoyment of the theater by going to numerous performances with him. In addition, they aimed for a good general education, which was rather rare for students at the conservatory.

“At the time my father was appointed professor in Paris, I took great pleasure in visiting monuments, museums and churches; my first visits to Notre-Dame (...) have undoubtedly influenced my career. I am still blinded by the wonderful colors of these windows from the Middle Ages (...) that is nature itself in its most extraordinary expression. "

Organist and composer

In 1931 he took over the position of organist at the Church of La Trinité (Paris) , which he held for 60 years. Even though Messiaen's main task was to provide liturgical accompaniment during Mass, he also had the opportunity to play his own improvisations. When this began to tire him, however, he wrote the Messe de la Pentecôte , in which he summarized all of his earlier improvisations. Even this work went far beyond what is usually heard at a church service. The community did not understand Messiaen's own music and was outraged by the modernity and ethereal remoteness of his early organ pieces, which he wrote as a composing organist.

In Paris in the early 1930s he met in the parlor of the Dutch composer Rosy Wertheim regularly with fellow composers Elsa Barraine , Arthur Honegger , Jacques Ibert and Darius Milhaud . In 1932 Messiaen married the violinist and composer Claire Delbos, nicknamed Mi , who suffered from a nervous disorder a few years after the birth of their son Pascal (born 1937) and died in 1959. Messiaen et al. Wrote for Delbos. a. the vocal cycle Poèmes pour Mi and some violin pieces. Together with André Jolivet , Yves Baudrier and Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur , Messiaen is considered to be the founder of the Jeune France group , a group of composers that formed in 1936. In the same year, 1936, Messiaen began teaching. He taught sight reading on the piano at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and organ improvisation at the Schola Cantorum .

In 1939 Messiaen was called up for military service in the French army and in 1940 was taken prisoner by the Germans . Messiaen spent almost nine months in the main camp VIII A in the Moys district of Görlitz , where he completed the Quatuor pour la fin du temps (German: quartet for the end of time ) and also premiered it together with other camp inmates.

The war left deep marks in Messiaen's work.

"His music suddenly takes on an even greater seriousness that set in during the months of suffering and produced apocalyptic visions."

After his return to Paris, Messiaen was appointed teacher at the Conservatoire in 1941 . He taught harmony at a very high level. When he met Guy-Bernard Delapierre again in 1943 , whom he had met while a prisoner of war, he began to give private analysis courses in his apartment. This led the director of the Conservatoire to give Messiaen an analytical class at the Conservatory. From 1947, Messiaen taught analysis , aesthetics and rhythm . Messiaen was forbidden from teaching in a composition class by the leading authority, as he was suspected of a scandalous modernism. It was not until 1966 that he was allowed to take over the composition class and was appointed professor of composition. According to Messiaen himself, this class was something of a super composition class. So he treated particularly content that came in his opinion in the other composition classes too short, such as the study of exotic, ancient and ultra-modern music and orchestration and rhythm. Messiaen ended his teaching at the Conservatory in 1978. During this time, he trained entire generations of important composers of the 20th century. He was the teacher of Pierre Boulez , Alexander Goehr , Jean-Louis Petit , Karlheinz Stockhausen , Mikis Theodorakis , Iannis Xenakis and Luigi Nono, among others . Important works for his teaching were the books Vingt Leçons d'harmonie (1939) and Technique de mon langage musical (1944). The first is a booklet with exercises in style that could bring the compositional technique of great masters of the past closer. The second is a textbook in which Messiaen explains his most important harmonic and rhythmic innovations.

On July 1, 1961, Messiaen married the pianist Yvonne Loriod , who was a student of his class at the Conservatoire in 1941 and was henceforth one of the most important interpreters of his music. In 1967 Messiaen was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts , he was also a member a. a. the Academy of Arts in West Berlin (since 1959), the American Academy of Arts and Letters (since 1964), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1973), the Academy of Arts of the GDR (since 1983) and the Bavarian Academy of Fine arts .

After a composition commission from the artistic director of the Paris Opera , Rolf Liebermann , Messiaen wrote his only opera Saint François d'Assise from 1975–1983 based on his own libretto , the eight pictures of which depict the entering of divine grace into the soul of Franz von Assisi . In 1971 Messiaen was awarded the Erasmus Prize and the Wihuri Sibelius Prize , in 1977 the Léonie Sonning Music Prize , in 1979 the Bach Prize of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and in 1982 the renowned Wolf Prize , and in 1989 the equally renowned Music Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society in London for large-format compositions. In 1984 Messiaen was elected honorary member of the International Society for Contemporary Music ISCM ( International Society for New Music ). In 1991 he received the Ludwig Spohr Prize from the city of Braunschweig .

In 1992 Messiaen died in Clichy-la-Garenne, shortly before the premiere of the second production of Saint François d'Assise at the Salzburg Festival , which was realized by director Peter Sellars under the musical direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen , of surgical complications.

Messiaen's music

Francis preaches to the birds, portrayal of a legend from Giotto di Bondone's Fioretti , around 1295

The French composer drew inspiration for his music from studying numerical mysticism , Indian rhythms, Gregorian chants , birdsong , the soundscape of Javanese gamelan orchestras, and the music of Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky's .

Beyond all these diverse inspirations, his music is characterized by spiritual energy and a deep, Catholic faith. He was also a synesthete who associated sounds with colors.

“My secret longing for fairy splendor in harmony has pushed me to these fire swords, these sudden stars, these blue-orange lava flows, this turquoise planet, these violet tones, this garnet-red sprawling branches, this vortex of tones and colors in a tangle of Rainbows. "

The blackcap receives extensive solos in the sixth tableau of the opera Saint François d'Assise

Messiaen recorded bird calls on trips around the world - he was able to distinguish about 700 bird calls - and used them in the piano works Catalog d'Oiseaux 1956-1958, La fauvette des Jardins 1970 and Petites Esquisses d'Oiseaux 1986, in the Jardin du sommeil d'amour from the Turangalîla Symphony 1946–1948, in the orchestral work Des Canyons aux Étoiles 1971–1974 and in an extraordinarily complex form in the sixth picture Le Prêche aux Oiseaux from his opera Saint François d'Assise .

Referring to his compositions based on bird calls, Messiaen explained:

“With so many opposing schools, outdated styles and contradicting spellings, there is no humane music that can instill confidence in the desperate. The voices of infinite nature intervene. "

His seven " modes with limited transposition possibilities " systematize the distant octave divisions (i.e. equal or periodically alternating interval chains) known from the music of Franz Liszt , Claude Debussy , Alexander Scriabin , Maurice Ravel and Béla Bartók and use them as "area-wide" Scale material for long harmonic distances. Messiaen also postulated some "special chords", such as the acoustic eight-tone "chord of resonance" or the diatonic seven-tone "chord on the dominant" and many others.

He also developed multiplication and division series for his rhythm; he called his symmetrical rhythmic formulas "irreversible rhythms". With his piano piece Mode de valeurs et d'intensités he initiated serial music in 1949 . Especially in his late work, such as the organ cycle Livre du Saint-Sacrement , 1984/85, the techniques developed are combined and - just as in his three organ cycles from the thirties - are subordinated to a mostly spiritual theme. In his compositions he also used unusual instruments such as the Ondes Martenot .

Olivier Messiaen presented some of his compositional techniques as early as 1944 in the treatise Technique de mon langage musical (German 1966). Despite the refinement of the techniques, he remained largely true to these ideas throughout his life. This led to a self-contained, unmistakable “Messiaen style” that runs through all of his works.

Synaesthetics

"When I hear music, and equally when I read it, to see inwardly, in my mind's eye, colors which move with the music, and I sense these colors in an extremely vivid manner."

Olivier Messiaen describes himself as a synesthete who both sees colors with sounds and hears sounds with colors. In the literature there are contradicting assessments as to whether Messiaen was a synesthete in the narrower sense or not.

Works

Works (according to cast)

Stage work

• Saint François d'Assise ( Scènes Franciscaines ). Opera in 3 acts (8 pictures) for solos, choir and orchestra (1975–1983). Libretto : Olivier Messiaen. First performance on November 28, 1983 in Paris; The conductor was Seiji Ozawa . This was followed by performances in Salzburg, Leipzig, Berlin, Amsterdam, San Francisco, again in Paris and at the Ruhrtriennale (Bochum). On July 1, 2011, the opera waspremiered in Munichin collaboration with the Austrian action artist Hermann Nitsch (staging) and Kent Nagano (conductor).

Vocal works

• Deux Ballades de Villon for voice and piano (1921), unpublished
• La Mort du Nombre for soprano, tenor, violin and piano (1930), 13 ', Durand
• Trois Melodies for soprano and piano (1930), Durand
• Mass for 8 sopranos and 4 violins (1933), unpublished
• Vocalise for soprano and piano (1935), 4 ', Leduc
• Poèmes pour Mi for soprano and piano (1936) or for soprano and orchestra (1937), 28 ', Durand
• O Sacrum Convivium! Motet for four-part mixed choir or for soprano solo and organ (1937), 3–4 ', Durand
• Chants de Terre et de Ciel (Messiaen) for soprano and piano (1938), Durand
• Chœurs pour une Jeanne d'Arc for large and small choirs (1941), unpublished
• Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (Messiaen) for piano, Ondes martenot, 36-part female choir, percussion and strings (1943–1944), 40 ', Durand
• Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort (Messiaen) for soprano and piano (1945), 60 ', Durand
• Chant des déportés for choir and orchestra (1945).
• Cinq Rechants (Messiaen) for twelve-part mixed choir (1948), 17 ', Salabert,
• La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ for mixed choir, piano, cello, flute, clarinet, vibraphone, marimba, xylorimba and orchestra (1965–1969), 90 ', Leduc

Orchestral works

• Fugue en re mineur for orchestra (1928), unpublished
• Le Banquet Eucharistique for orchestra (1928), unpublished
• Les Offrandes oubliées for orchestra (1930), 11 ', Durand
• Simple Chant d'une âme for orchestra (1930), unpublished
• Le Tombeau resplendissant for orchestra (1931),?
• Hymne au Saint Sacrement for orchestra (1932), 13 ', Broude Brothers
• L'Ascension for orchestra (1932), 30 ', Leduc
• Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1941)
• Turangalîla Symphony for piano, Ondes Martenot and orchestra (1946–1948), 75 ', Durand
• Reveil des oiseaux for piano and orchestra (1953), 20 ', Durand
• Oiseaux exotiques for piano and chamber orchestra (1955–1956), 13 ', Universal Edition
• Chronochromie for orchestra (1959–1960), 22 ', Leduc
• Sept Haîkaî. Esquisses japonaises for piano and chamber orchestra (1962), 20 ', Leduc
• Couleurs de la cité céleste for piano, wind instruments and percussion (1963), 16 ', Leduc
• Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum for wind instruments and percussion (1964), 29 ', Leduc
• Des Canyons aux étoiles for piano, horn, xylorimba, glockenspiel and orchestra (1971–1974), 100 ', Leduc
• Un Vitrail et des oiseaux for piano, wood and brass instruments and percussion (1986), 9 ', Leduc
• La Ville d'en haut for woodwinds and brass, piano and percussion, (1986), 12 ', Leduc
• Un sourire for orchestra (1989).
• Éclairs sur l'Au-delà… for orchestra (1987–1991)
• Concert à quatre for flute, oboe, violoncello, piano and orchestra, (1992) incomplete., Completed version by Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, George Benjamin and Heinz Holliger, 27 ', Leduc.

Chamber music

• Thème et variations for violin and piano (1930), 10 ', Leduc
• Fantaisie for violin and piano (1933), unpublished
• Deux monodies en quarts de ton for Ondes Martenot (1938), unpublished
• Fête des belles eaux for six Ondes Martenot (1938), unpublished
• Quatuor pour la fin du temps for violin, clarinet, violoncello and piano (1940–1941), 49 ', Durand
• Musique de Scene pour un Œdipe for Ondes Martenot (1942), unpublished
• Le Merle noir for flute and piano (1951), 6 ', Leduc
• Le tombeau de Jean-Pierre Guésec for horn (1971), Leduc

Piano (solo / two pianos)

• La Dame de Shalott for piano (1917), unpublished
• La Tristesse d'un grand ciel blanc for piano (1925), unpublished
• Huit Preludes for piano (1928–1929), Durand
• Piece pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas for piano (1935), 5 ', La Revue Musicale 166 (1936).
• Rondeau for piano (1943), 3 ', Leduc
• Visions de l'Amen for 2 pianos (1943), 48 ', Durand.
• Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus for piano (1944), 125 ', Durand
• Cantéyodjayâ for piano (1949), 12 ', Universal Edition
• Quatre Etudes de Rythme for piano (1949–1950), Durand
• Catalog d'oiseaux for piano (1956–1958), 165 ', Leduc
• La Fauvette des jardins for piano (1970), 34 1/2 ', Leduc
• Petites Esquisses d'oiseaux for piano (1986), 45 ', Leduc

Organ solo

• Esquisse modale (1927; unpublished, manuscript lost?)
• Prélude (ca.1928; discovered in 1997 and edited posthumously by Olivier Latry ; Paris: Leduc, 2002)
• L'hôte aimable des âmes (1928; unpublished, manuscript lost?)
• Le Banquet céleste (1928; Paris: Leduc, 1960)
• Variations écossaises (1928; unpublished, manuscript lost?)
• Diptyque: essai sur la vie terrestre et l'éternité bienheureuse (1930; Paris: Durand, 1930)
• Offrande au Saint Sacrement ( ca.1930 ; discovered in 1997 and edited posthumously by Olivier Latry; Paris: Leduc, 2001)
• Apparition de l'église éternelle (1932; Paris: Lemoine, 1934)
• L'Ascension (1933–1934; Paris: Leduc, 1934)
• La Nativité du Seigneur (1935; Paris: Leduc, 1936)
• Les Corps Glorieux (1939; Paris: Leduc, 1942)
• Messe de la Pentecôte (1949–1950; Paris: Leduc, 1951)
• Livre d'orgue (1951; Paris: Leduc, 1953)
• Verset pour la Fête de la Dédicace (1960; Paris: Leduc, 1961)
• Monody (1963; Paris: Leduc, 1997)
• Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité (1969; Paris: Leduc, 1973)
• Livre du Saint-Sacrement (1984; Paris: Leduc, 1989)

Tape music

• Timbres-durées (with Pierre Henry ) for tape (1952), unpublished

Works (chronological)

Published works

• Le Banquet céleste for organ (1928), Leduc
• Huit Preludes for piano (1928–1929), Durand
• Diptyque for organ (1930), Durand
• La Mort du Nombre for soprano, tenor, violin and piano (1930), 13 ', Durand
• Les Offrandes oubliées for orchestra (1930), 11 ', Durand
• Trois Melodies for soprano and piano (1930), Durand
• Apparition de l'église éternelle for organ (1932) Lemoine
• Thème et variations for violin and piano (1930), 10 ', Leduc
• Fantaisie Bualesque for piano (1932), Durand
• Hymne au Saint Sacrement for orchestra (1932), 13 ', Broude Brothers
• L'Ascension for orchestra (1932), 30 ', Leduc
• L'Ascension for organ (1933–1934), Leduc
• La Nativité du Seigneur for organ (1935), Leduc
• Piece pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas for piano (1935), 5 ', La Revue Musicale 166 (1936)
• Vocalise for soprano and piano (1935), 4 ', Leduc
• Poèmes pour Mi (Messiaen) for soprano and piano (1936), 28 ', Durand
• O Sacrum Convivium! Motet for four-part mixed choir or for soprano solo and organ (1937), 3–4 ', Durand
• Poèmes pour Mi (Messiaen) for soprano and orchestra (1937), 28 ', Durand
• Chants de Terre et de Ciel (Messiaen) for soprano and piano (1938), Durand
• Les Corps glorieux for organ (1939), Leduc
• Quatuor pour la fin du temps for violin, clarinet, violoncello and piano (1940–1941), 49 ', Durand
• Rondeau for piano (1943), 3 ', Leduc
• Visions de l'Amen for 2 pianos (1943), 48 ', Durand
• Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine (Messiaen) for piano, Ondes martenot, 36-part female choir, percussion and strings (1943–1944), 40 ', Durand
• Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus for piano (1944), 125 ', Durand
• Harawi - Chant d'amour et de mort (Messiaen) for soprano and piano (1945), 60 ', Durand
• Chant des déportés for choir and orchestra (1945)
• Turangalîla Symphony for piano, Ondes Martenot and orchestra (1946–1948), 75 ', Durand
• Cinq Rechants (Messiaen) for twelve-part mixed choir (1948), 17 ', Salabert
• Cantéyodjayâ for piano (1949), 12 ', Universal Edition
• Quatre Etudes de Rythme for piano (1949–1950), Durand
• Messe de la pentecôte for organ (1949–1950), Leduc
• Le Merle noir for flute and piano (1951), 6 ', Leduc
• Livre d'orgue for organ (1951), Leduc
• Reveil des oiseaux for piano and orchestra (1953), 20 ', Durand
• Oiseaux exotiques for piano and chamber orchestra (1955–1956), 13 ', Universal Edition
• Catalog d'oiseaux for piano (1956–1958), 165 ', Leduc
• Chronochromie for orchestra (1959–1960), 22 ', Leduc
• Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace for organ (1960), Leduc
• Sept Haîkaî. Esquisses japonaises for piano, wind instruments, eight violins and percussion (1962), 20 ', Leduc
• Couleurs de la cité céleste for piano, winds and percussion (1963), 16 ', Leduc
• Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum for woodwinds, brass instruments and percussion (1964), 29 ', Leduc
• La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ for mixed choir, piano, cello, flute, clarinet, vibraphone, marimba, xylorimba and orchestra (1965–1969), 90 ', Leduc
• Meditations sur Le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité for organ (1969), Leduc
• La Fauvette des jardins for piano (1970), 34 1/2 ', Leduc
• Le Tombeau de Jean-Pierre Guésec for horn (1971), Leduc
• Des Canyons aux étoiles for piano, horn, xylorimba, glockenspiel and orchestra (1971–1974), 100 ', Leduc
• Saint François d'Assise , Scènes Franciscaines - Opéra en trois actes et huit tableaux (1975–1983; Libretto: Messiaen) for soloists, choir and orchestra, Leduc
• Livre du Saint-Sacrament for organ (1984–1985), 90 ', Leduc
• Petites Esquisses d'oiseaux for piano (1986), 45 ', Leduc
• Un Vitrail et des oiseaux for piano, wood and brass instruments and percussion (1986), 9 ', Leduc
• La Ville d'en haut for woodwinds and brass, piano and percussion, (1986), 12 ', Leduc
• Un sourire for orchestra (1989).
• Éclairs sur l'Au-delà… for orchestra (1987–1991)
• Concert à quatre for flute, oboe, violoncello, piano and orchestra, (1992) incomplete., Completed version by Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, George Benjamin and Heinz Holliger , 27 ', Leduc.

Unpublished works

• La Dame de Shalott for piano (1917), unpublished
• Deux Ballades de Villon for voice and piano (1921), unpublished
• Les his coupés de Ste. Agathe , for organ (1923)
• La Tristesse d'un grand ciel blanc for piano (1925), unpublished
• Esquisse Modale for organ (1927), unpublished
• Fugue en re mineur for orchestra (1928), unpublished
• L'Hôte Aimable des âmes for organ (1928), unpublished
• Le Banquet Eucharistique for orchestra (1928), unpublished
• Variations écossaises for organ (1928), unpublished
• Simple Chant d'une âme for orchestra (1930), unpublished
• Fantaisie for violin and piano (1933), unpublished
• Mass for 8 sopranos and 4 violins (1933), unpublished
• Deux monodies en quarts de ton for Ondes Martenot (1938), unpublished
• Fête des belles eaux for six Ondes Martenot (1938), unpublished
• Chœurs pour une Jeanne d'Arc for large and small choirs (1941), unpublished
• Musique de scene pour un Œdipe for Ondes Martenot (1942), unpublished
• Timbres-durées (with Pierre Henry ) for tape (1952), unpublished

literature

• Siglind Bruhn : Messiaen's musical language of faith. Theological symbolism in the piano cycles “Visions de l'Amen” and “Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus”. Edition Gorz, Waldkirch 2006, ISBN 3-938095-04-0 .
• Siglind Bruhn: Olivier Messiaen, troubadour. Understanding of love and musical symbolism in “Poèmes pour Mi”, “Chants de terre et de ciel”, “Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine”, “Harawi”, “Turangalîla Symphony” and “Cinq Rechants”. Edition Gorz, Waldkirch 2007, ISBN 978-3-938095-07-2 .
• Siglind Bruhn: Messiaen's "Summa theologica". Musical search for traces with Thomas Aquinas in “La Transfiguration”, “Méditations” and “Saint François d'Assise”. Edition Gorz, Waldkirch 2008, ISBN 978-3-938095-09-6 .
• Francis Erasmy:  Messiaen, Olivier. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 31, Bautz, Nordhausen 2010, ISBN 978-3-88309-544-8 , Sp. 880-887.
• Beate Carl: Olivier Messiaen's orchestral work “Des canyons aux étoiles”. Studies on structure and connection. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1992.
• Karin Ernst: Olivier Messiaen's contribution to organ music of the 20th century. Hochschulverlag, Freiburg im Breisgau 1980, ISBN 3-8107-2010-0 ( digital version (PDF file; 9.4 MB)).
• Serge Gut : Le groupe Jeune France. Yves Baudrier, Daniel Lesur, André Jolivet, Olivier Messiaen. Honoré Champion, Paris 1977, ISBN 2-85203-030-6 .
• Michael Heinemann (Ed.): On Olivier Messiaen's organ music. Musikverlag Butz, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-928412-08-7 .
  • Part 1: From Le Banquet céleste to Les Corps glorieux.
  • Part 2: From the Messe de la Pentecôte to the Livre du Saint Sacrement.
• Peter Hill, Nigel Simeone: Messiaen. Translation from English by Birgit Irgang. Schott, Mainz 2007, ISBN 978-3-7957-0591-6 .
• Theo Hirsbrunner , German and French musical thinking using the example of Schönberg and Messiaen. In: Archives for Musicology. 55/1998, pp. 72-86.
• Theo Hirsbrunner: Olivier Messiaen. Life and work. 2nd Edition. Laaber Verlag, Laaber 1999, ISBN 3-89007-139-2 .
• Stefan Keym : Color and Time - Investigations into the music theater structure and semantics of Olivier Messiaen's “Saint François d'Assise”. Olms, Hildesheim 2002, ISBN 3-487-11661-8 .
• Stefan Keym / Peter Jost (eds.): Olivier Messiaen and the "French tradition". Dohr, Cologne 2013.
• Anne Liebe: Numbers, Words and Play in Olivier Messiaen's piano works (= musicological publications. Volume 39). Olms Verlag, Hildesheim 2013, ISBN 978-3-487-14695-9 .
• Jürgen Maehder : Orchestra line-up and timbre disposition in Olivier Messiaen's orchestral works. In: Walter Kläy / Ivana Rentsch / Arne Stollberg (a cura di): Dialogues and resonances ─ Music history between cultures. Theo Hirsbrunner on his 80th birthday. text + kritik, Munich 2011, pp. 225–237.
• Olivier Messiaen: Musical Creed. In: Melos. 12 (1958), pp. 381-385 (full text) .
• Heinz-Klaus Metzger , Rainer Riehn (eds.): Olivier Messiaen (= music concepts. Volume 28). Edition Text + Critique, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-88377-131-7 .
• Aloyse Michaely: The music of Olivier Messiaen. Investigations into the overall work. Dieter Wagner, Hamburg 1987.
• Aloyse Michaely: Olivier Messiaens “Saint François d'Assise”. The musical-theological sum of a life's work. Stroemfeld, Frankfurt 2006.
• Wolfgang W. Müller : Sounding theology. Faith - reflection - mystery in the work of Olivier Messiaen. Grünewald, Ostfildern 2016, ISBN 978-3-7867-3092-7 .
• Wolfgang Rathert , Karl Anton Rickenbacher , Herbert Schneider (Eds.): Olivier Messiaen - texts, analyzes, testimonials. 2 volumes. Olms, Hildesheim.
  Volume 1: Texts from the Traité de Rythme, de Couleur et d'Ornithologie. 2012, ISBN 978-3-487-14765-9 .
  Volume 2: The work in a historical and analytical context. 2013, ISBN 978-3-487-14766-6 .
• Almut Rößler: Contributions to the spiritual world of Olivier Messiaen. With original texts by the composer. Gilles & Francke, Duisburg 1984, ISBN 3-921104-87-4 .
• Thomas Daniel Schlee, Dietrich Kämper (ed.): Olivier Messiaen: La Cité céleste - The heavenly Jerusalem. About the life and work of the French composer. Wienand, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-87909-585-X .
• Klaus Schweizer: Olivier Messiaen, “Turangalîla” Symphony , “Masterpieces of Music”. Volume 32. Fink, Munich 1982.
• Julian Christoph Tölle: Olivier Messiaens "Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà". The Christian-Eschatological Dimension of Opus Ultimum. Peter Lang, Bern / Frankfurt / New York 1999.
• Willi Vogl: Tradition and Transformation: Historical Findings in the Music of Oliver Messiaen. In: Franziska Seils, Michael F. Runowski (ed.): The light of heaven and the fountain of history. Festschrift Volker Groom. Ortus Musikverlag, Beeskow 2004, ISBN 3-937788-00-X .

Movies

• Olivier Messiaen. La liturgie de cristale. Director: Olivier Mille, France 2007.

Web links

Wikiquote: Olivier Messiaen  - Quotes

Commons : Olivier Messiaen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Olivier Messiaen in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Olivier Messiaen  in the German Digital Library
• Biography Olivier Messiaen , website of the Meetingpoint Messian
• Literature on Olivier Messiaen in the bibliography of the music literature
• The Olivier Messiaen Centenary (2008) web page (French / english)
• Boston University Messiaen Project (English)
• The Olivier Messiaen page

Individual evidence

1. ^ Claude Samuel: Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen. Paris 1986, p. 5.
2. ↑ Olivier Messiaen and Claude Samuel: Conversations with Claude Samuel, Portland 1994, p. 41.
3. ^ ^{A b} Claude Samuel: Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen. Paris 1986, p. 12.
4. ^ Claude Samuel: Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen. Paris 1986, p. 11.
5. ^ Claude Samuel: Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen. Paris 1967, p. 4.
6. ^ Theo Hirsbrunner: Olivier Messiaen. Life and work. Laaber 1988, p. 41.
7. ^ RPS winners list , English, accessed on February 25, 2011.
8. ^ ISCM Honorary Members
9. ↑ Quote from Messiaen: The technique of my musical language
10. ↑ Quotation from: Jonathan W. Bernard: Messiaen's Synaesthesia. The correspondence between color and sound structure in his music. In: Music Perception. 4 (1), 1986, p. 41.

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles Quef	Titular organist at La Trinité (Paris) 1931–1992	Naji Hakim