Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen ({{IPA2|m?sj??}} or {{IPA|/m?sj??/}}; December 10, 1908 – April 27, 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist. He lived in Grenoble in the French Alps during World War I, and returned there during his summers, and in his retirement, to compose. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11, and numbered Marcel Dupré, Maurice Emmanuel and Paul Dukas among his teachers. He was appointed organist at the church of La Trinité in Paris in 1931, a post he held until his death.

Works

Compositions

• Le banquet céleste, organ (1926{{ref|banquet_date}} or 1928)
• Préludes, piano (1928-29)
• Dyptique, organ (1930)
• La mort du nombre ("Number's death"), soprano, tenor, violin and piano (1930)
• Les offrandes oubliées ("The forgotten offerings"), orchestra (1930)
• Trois mélodies, song cycle (1930)
• Apparition de l'église éternelle ("Apparition of the eternal church"), organ (1932)
• Fantaisie burlesque, piano (1932)
• Hymne au Saint Sacrament ("Hymn to the Holy Sacrament"), orchestra (1932, reconstructed 194?)
• Thème et variations, violin and piano (1932)
• L'Ascension ("The Ascension"), orchestra (1932-33; organ version including replacement movement, 1933-34)
• La Nativité du Seigneur ("The Lord's nativity"), organ (1935)
• Pièce pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas, piano, (1935)
• Vocalise, voice and piano (1935)
• Poèmes pour Mi, song cycle (1936, orchestral version 1937)
• O sacrum convivium!, choral motet (1937)
• Chants de terre et de ciel ("Songs of earth and sky"), song cycle (1938)
• Les corps glorieux ("Glorious bodies"), organ (1939)
• Quatuor pour la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time"), violin, cello, clarinet, piano (1940-41)
• Rondeau, piano (1943)
• Visions de l'Amen ("Visions of the Amen"), two pianos (1943)
• Trois Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine ("Three small liturgies of the Divine Presence"), women's voices, piano solo, ondes Martenot solo, orchestra (1943-44)
• Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus ("Twenty gazes on the Christ-child"), piano (1944)
• Harawi, song cycle (1944)
• Turangalîla-Symphonie, piano solo, ondes Martenot solo, orchestra (1946-48)
• Cinq réchants, 12 singers (1948)
• Cantéyodjayâ, piano (1949)
• Messe de la Pentecôte ("Pentecost mass"), organ (1949-50)
• Quatre études de rythme ("Four studies in rhythm"), piano (1949-50)
• # Île de feu 1
• # Mode de valeurs et d'intensités
• # Neumes rhythmique
• # Île de feu 2
• Le merle noir ("Blackbird"), flute and piano (1949-50)
• Livre d'orgue, organ (1951)
• Réveil des oiseaux ("Dawn chorus"), solo piano and orchestra (1953)
• Oiseaux exotiques ("Exotic birds"), solo piano and orchestra (1955-56)
• Catalogue d'oiseaux ("Bird catalogue"), piano (1956-58)
• Book 1
• i Le chocard des alpes ("Alpine chough")
• ii Le loriot ("Golden oriole")
• iii Le merle bleu ("Blue rock thrush")
• Book 2
• iv Le traquet stapazin ("Black-eared wheatear")
• Book 3
• v La chouette hulotte ("Tawny owl")
• vi L'alouette lulu ("Woodlark")
• Book 4
• vii La rousserolle effarvatte ("Reed warbler")
• Book 5
• viii L'alouette calandrelle ("Short-toed lark")
• ix La bouscarle ("Cetti's warbler")
• Book 6
• x Le merle de roche ("Rock thrush")
• Book 7
• xi La buse variable ("Buzzard")
• xii Le traquet rieur ("Black wheatear")
• xiii Le courlis cendré ("Curlew")
• Chronochromie ("Time-colour"), orchestra (1959-60)
• Verset pour la fête de la dédicace, organ (1960)
• Sept haïkaï ("Seven haikus"), solo piano and orchestra (1962)
• Couleurs de la cité céleste ("Colours of the Celestial City"), solo piano and ensemble (1963)
• Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum ("And we look for the resurrection of the dead"), wind, brass and percussion (1964)
• La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ ("The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ"), large 10-part chorus, piano solo, cello solo, flute solo, clarinet solo, xylorimba solo, vibraphone solo, large orchestra (1965-69)
• Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité ("Meditations on the mystery of the Holy Trinity"), organ (1969)
• La fauvette des jardins ("Garden warbler"), piano (1970)
• Des Canyons aux étoiles… ("From the canyons to the stars…"), solo piano, solo horn, solo glockenspiel, solo xylorimba, small orchestra with 13 string players (1971-74)
• Saint-François d'Assise ("St. Francis of Assissi"), opera (1975-1983)
• Livre du Saint Sacrament ("Book of the Holy Sacrament"), organ (1984)
• Petites esquisses d'oiseaux ("Small sketches of birds"), piano (1985)
• Un vitrail et des oiseaux ("Stained-glass window and birds"), piano solo, brass, wind and percussion (1986)
• La ville d'En-haut ("The city on high"), piano solo, brass, wind and percussion (1987)
• Un sourire ("A smile"), orchestra (1989)
• Concert à quatre ("Quadruple concerto"), piano, flute, oboe, cello and orchestra (1990-91, completed Loriod and Benjamin)
• Pièce pour piano et quatuor à cordes ("Piece for piano and string quartet") (1991)
• Eclairs sur l'au-delà ("Illuminations of the beyond"), orchestra (1988-92)

A number of works exist which were not published in Messiaen's lifetime, including the following, some of which have been published posthumously.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• La dame de Shallott, for piano (1917)
• La banquet eucharistique, for orchestra (1928)
• Variations écossaises, for organ (1928)
• Mass, 8 sopranos and 4 violins (1933)
• Fêtes des belles eaux, for six ondes Martenots (1937)
• Musique de scène pour un Oedipe, electronic (1942)
• Chant des déportés, chorus and orchestra (1946)
• Timbres-durées, musique concrète (1952), realised by Pierre Henry in the radiophonic workshop of French radio, an experiment which Messiaen later deemed a failure{{ref|timbres_failure}}

Publications

• Technique de mon language musical ("The technique of my musical language"), Leduc, Paris, 1944.
• Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d?ornithologie (1949-1992) ("Treatise of rhythm, colour and ornithology"), completed Loriod, Leduc, Paris, 1994–2002; 7 parts bound in 8 volumes.