Emotion in the Music of Messiaen

Author(s): Nicholas Armfelt

Source: The Musical Times, Vol. 106, No. 1473 (Nov., 1965), pp. 856-858
Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/952173
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Nicholas Armfelt

Emotion in the Music of Messiaen

Messiaen'smusicdemandsan extraordinary
intensityof response;and each piece demandsentire
rather
acceptance.It has thequalityofa statement
thanan argument
or question. It is a statement
and intensely.The critical
expressedemphatically
is disturbed
listener
bythis. He wantsto question
thevalidityof the statement;
he regardsmusicas
an argument.But Messiaen'smusicseemsnot to
allow this: it demandsall or nothing. Indeed it
seemsto demandall. That is whyit has often
provokedsuch violentreactions. Many listeners,
whileadmitting
theexpression
to be forceful,
have
foundit hardto cope witha musicso extreme
in
itsemotivedemands.
One way of copingwiththeemotivedemandsis
simplyto ignorethem.
thereare someintellectual
At one extreme
up-todatepeopleforwhomMessiaenis significant
onlyas
the man behindBoulez and some otheryounger
composers.Aboveall theyadmirethepianostudy,
Mode de valeurset d'intensitis(1949), and judge his

otherworksbytheextentto whichtheyanticipate
or fallawayfromthatideal. In it fourseriesare
36 notes,24 durations,12
used simultaneously:
attacks,and 7 degreesof loudnessand softness.
These make a complexmode, the coherenceof
whichis aurallyobvious(eg, thelowernoteshave
thelongerduration).
as thefirst
Thisis rightly
acknowledged
European
workof totalserialism(in whichall the elements
and likeall
are usedserially).It lastsfourminutes,
worksof the composer,was completely
imagined
aurally. But it led on to complexserialworksby
of the
othercomposersin whichthe conjunction
wastoo complexto be imagined
variouselements
in
detailbeforehand.So Messiaen'spiecehas historiin tworelatedrecentdevelopments
cal importance
and musicof chance. But
of music:totalserialism
forme its significance
is its beauty:thelow notes
likefireworks.
likenight,thenotesabovesparkling
to cometo Messiaen'smusic
It seemstopsy-turvy
ratherthanviceversa.
via Boulezand Stockhausen
At the otherextremeare some organistswho,
thetechnical
and
brilliance,
effectiveness,
perceiving
of Messiaenas an organcomposer,
workmanship

backto oldfamiliar
formsandto
worksbyreferring
worn-out
emotions.So
old, familiar,
comfortable,
often one hears the fourthand final piece of
L'Ascension
trippedoffat twiceitsproperspeedas
if it weresomepleasantlittlepastorale.In fact,it
is an intense,ecstaticpiece, representing
witha
theprayerof Christas he
characteristic
literalness
ascendsto His Father. At a good performance
the
listenerwill findhimselfalmostensympathetic
is veryslow,the chords
tranced. The movement
ascendingwithparallelharmonies.Indeedit is so
slow thatone can forgetthe 'melody'as suchand
become absorbed in each chord as a separate
oneselfin readiness
forthenext
experience,
tensing
chord,thenextstepupward.
The harmonies
havea certainhardnessto them,
whichshouldbe broughtout in the registration.
Some listenersfind the harmonies'soupy' or
'honeyed'.I thinkthisis due to a failureto listen
enoughto the actual sounds. It is the
intensely
in theharmonies
thatcausestheslow
toughelement
upwardmotionto be almostunbearable,till,at
of the way through,the piece
about two-thirds
achievesitsclimax. Heaven,one feels,is in sight.
the ascensioncontinues,but withless
Thereafter
eventhelongfinalchordis inconstrain-though
to go higher.It is onlywhenthe
clusive,yearning
pieceis overthatone realizesone has experienced
the beautifully
phrasedmelodyand formof the
piece.
Boththesetypesofapproach,as I havedescribed
and theextrovertthem,thetrendspotting-historical
failto takeproperaccountoftheemotive
workaday,
demandsofthemusic. The troubleis notso much
thatthesepeoplefailto respondfullyto theparticular piecestheyadmire;but morethattheyfailto
admireMessiaen'sboldestpieces. Even the most
ardentadmirersof Messiaenfindtheirpowersof
strained
acceptanceseverely
bysomeworks.There
are themoreobviousfailures,
suchas partsof the

early Diptyquefororgan and the Fete des belleseaux

that
(1937)forsixondesmartenots.
(It is fortunate
as the
the beautiful
sectionsof each are preserved
'louange' movements of Quatuor pour la fin du

temps,1941.) But thenthereare partsof other

workswhichseemterrible
bathoswhenthelistener
in a recital.Fair
is all criticaland emotionally
belowpar,butwhich
(1935)to showofftheirvirtuosity
enough,I suppose.Afterall,it doesdrawattention at othertimesseemto comeoff.
to thefactthatMessiaenis so effective.
Anditalso
David Drew, in his absorbing'Messiaen-a
draws attentionto the traditionalelementin
study'in TheScore(Dec 1954,Septand
provisional
to the great Dec 1955), has cited L'tchange from Vingtregards
Messiaen'spieces,theirrelationship
traditionof Frenchorganmusic,the traditionof
sur l'Enfant J sus (1944) as an example of an
Franck,Widor,Dupr6. Betterto cometohismusic obvious failure. On paper it does indeedlook
fromthetraditional
andthelongpausetowardstheendcan
pastthanfromthefashionable mechanical,
whenI am in a
seemridiculous.But personally,
future.
But the troubleis that theserecitalstend to
mood,I findthe sustainedcrescendo
sympathetic
and intensesincerity
of the
obscurethe originality
and theamountof variationsufficient
to hold my
856
cull pieces fromL'Ascension (1933) or La Nativiti

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in the contextof the whole

interest-especially
cycle. More frequent,
though,thansuch dubious
cases as L'Echangeare the passagesthatdo come
accountedfailuresby unsymoff,but are wrongly
as the notes
patheticlisteners-suchdaringeffects
of thechiff-chaff
at theclimaxofLe loriotand the
forsolo stringsin the
18-partbirdsongpolyphony
Epode sectionof Chronochromie
(1960).
Contraryto some critics'opinion,Messiaen's
manifests
itselfintheformofhis
peculiarexcellence
works.He usesa closedform,
conceivedrhythmicof thepartsto the whole.
allyas therelationship
The materialis oftendisparateand asymmetrical,
and lengthened
involving
unexpected
phrase-lengths
or shortened
note-values.More and morehe uses
the 'catalogueprinciple',
whereunrelatedmaterial
isjuxtaposedorsuperimposed.
Thesuccessdepends
on tasteanddramatic
sense,aboveall on proportion,
witheffective
contrasts
and unexpected
correlations.
His musicis proportioned
and
by a literalness
truthto nature. The piece fromL'Ascensionwas
precisely
symbolicin form. So are manyotherof
his religiouspieces. Take, forexample,the final

notably Catalogue d'oiseaux (1958). Each song is

associatedforMessiaenwitha particular
placeand
witha particular
dramatic
time,and consequently
emotion.He recollects
themin tranquillity,
moulds
themintoa musicalform,alwaystending
to organize and compress,
and allowsthesequenceofevents
andbirdsongs
toguidetheformofthecompositions.
The materialmayor maynotbe musically
related,
butdramatically
it represents
a truesequenceofthe
composer'semotions.Messiaensayshe 'takeshis
lessonsfromnature'. He trustsnatureand the
coherence
of itslargerrhythms.
As forthemoredetailedrhythms,
thebirdsongs
have inspiredMessiaento composefor piano a
workunsurpassed
inmeaningful
ofrhythms,
variety
melodiccontours,
andsonorities.
Themostobvious
of thelargerrhythms
the formof his
determining
and
pieces is the combinationof symmetrical
elementsin the passageof each day
asymmetrical
and each year. An illustration
of thisis La rousserolleeffarvatte
wherevariouseventsof the first
halfare repeatedirregularly
in reverseorderin the
secondhalf. Yet howirregular
it is, and howcommovementof Les corps glorieux (1935), where the
theform! Thisbasicrhythm
is
plexand satisfying
thrice-three
formsymbolizes
theHoly Trinity,
the
also a clue to theoverallformofsomeofthelarger
threePersonsregistered
so farapartyetintegrated cyclesof Messiaen'smiddleperiod-forexample,
intoa whole. Sometimes
he uses thepalindromic Vingtregardssur l'EnfantJdsus.
formofthenon-retrograde
withitsconstant
rhythm,
centralvalue,to suggesttheStaror theCross. At
other times he paraphrasesplainchantfor its
Ifin thisarticleI emphasize
thesereneandjoyful
traditional
associations.
emotionsin the music,it is because I feel that
The love-musicis also unusuallyliteral. One
optimism
predominates.I mustmention,
though,
cannot naivelydistinguish
it fromhis religious thatthisoptimism
wouldbe comparatively
meaningmusic,sincehe viewslifeas a whole. In Amendu
lesswereitnotforthestrong
of
contrasting
presence
ddsir(Visionsde l'Amen,1943) he chooses a mode of
emotions.Messiaen'slifehas oftenbeen
disturbing
limitedtransposition
forthecharmof its impossi- hard. Thewonderis thathisfaithinlifeandhuman
bilities-itworksup to a frenzy,but the desire naturehas so triumphantly
survived. These disremainsas desiresincethemodecannotreston any
in his
turbingemotionsare as deep as anything
modulation. True, the frenzysubsidesinto the
musicand are nevercancelledoutbytheoptimism:
harmonies
ofthemore'celestial'theme.Butforthe
theyremainas an integral
partofthecomplextotal
real resolution
and senseof fulfilment
one has to
vision. One thinksoftheAbyssmusicin thethird
wait forthe finalpiece of the cycle,Amende la
movements of Quatuor pour la fin du temps and
consommation. In the third of the Cinq rechants
Livred'orgue,and of the frightening
presenceof
sexual
act
is
the
with
a
literalness deathin certainof the Cinqrechants.One of the
(1949)
presented
that equals Lady Chatterley'sLover. It is all there:
mostfrightening
effects
is obtainedinthemysterious
themale and femaleelements,
thevarying
moods, death-cries
and night-music
ofLa chouette
hulotte
theworking
universal (The tawnyowl) in Catalogued'oiseaux.
up to a climax,theprimitive
shoutat themomentof climax. Timeseemingto
One of the most striking
featuresof some of
haltat the momentof Love. One is reminded
of
Messiaen'smusicis thatitmakesoneconsciousthat
certainPolynesianaction-songs
wherethe women everything
in it is withina contextof something
whilethemenshoutand
singinlanguorous
harmony
bigger. Thereis thesoundbehindthesound,the
dancewithurgent
This
Rechant longerdurationbehindtheshorterone,theslower
primitive
gestures.
is extraordinarily
compressed,its lengthcorre- rhythm
behindthe quickerone. And behindall
The earlierTur- movement
spondingto theact it represents.
thereis an awareness
of stillness,
behind
angalilaSymphonie
(1946-8)presentssome of the
all sound an awarenessof silence,and behindall
same emotionsin grander,more extendedform. measuredtimean awareness
ofeternity.
The fifth
forexample,Joiedu sangdes
movement,
The silenceis notmeresilence.It is composedof
whattakesonlya fewinstants
inthe
itoiles,presents
variedcolours. (The composerof Chronochromie
Rechant-frenzied
joy,joy of theblood,joy of the
(1960) and Couleursde la Citd Cdleste (1963) sees
blood universalized
linked
with
and
Death,joy of
musicintermsofcolourand viceversa.)At theend
thebloodofthestars.
of the piano piece Je dors mais mon coeur veillethe
Messiaenuses biggeneralwordssuchas 'joy' to
soundsareprogressively
intosilence.One
converted
describe
emotion.Butinthemusictheemotions
are
knowsexactlywhatthe 'missing'soundsare. In
morepreciseand complex.Each theme,as placed
someof them
Regarddu silencespecialsonorities,
in context,
has a preciseemotionalforce. Thiscan
quite violent,are used to suggestthe potential
best be realizedin the musicbased on birdsong, soundsthatare withinall silence.
857

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Somepeopledislikethestaticqualityof a music
thathearkens
to theEnd ofTime. Theywishthatit
couldbe lighter,
morecritical,
and lessabsolute.It
is truethatmanytechniques
areusedto breakdown
one's senseof thetemporal,
amongthemextremely
slow tempos,pedal-rhythms
or ostinati,the disruptiveeffectof irregularnote-values,and the
combination
of modesof limitedtransposition
and
non-retrograde
rhythms.But to call the music
too simplified
plainlystaticseemsto me altogether
an interpretation.The characteristic
effectof
Messiaen'smusic is to induce in the listenera
trance-like
state of heightened
responseto every
a statewherein
he experiences
simulsingleinstant,
This
ratesof time-flow.
taneouslyseveraldifferent

is sometimes
achieved,ofcourse,bysuperimposing
it is also often
severalrhythms.More amazingly,
achieved by the juxtapositionof contrasting
whereone's sense of the firstrhythm
rhythms,
continuesto be effective
long afterit has been
theresultof
succeededby another.Paradoxically,
feeloutsidetime,so
all thisis to makethelistener
seemsbuta complexdecorathatall themovement
behindall things.
tionof an eternalstillness
of
Messiaen,humblebeforethe vast diversity
Nature, has embracedthis diversityin all its
and coloursto expressto its fullnesshis
rhythms
Faithin its Creator. Whetheror notwe sharehis
of
and sincerity
Faith,we can welcometherichness
itsexpression.

PHILIP
CANNON
A FreshVoice
in
BritishMusic
by Rollo Myers

No-oneintouchwithrecenttrendsincontemporary
to noticethe
Britishmusiccan havefailed,I think,
in thelastfewyearsand steadily
growing
emergence
of the composerwho is the subjectof
reputation
this article, and representedin this month's
MusicalTimessupplement.His music,thoughnot
perhapsas yetas widelyknownas itdeservesto be,
thoseacquaintedwithitbyitssturdy
has impressed
and highlyprofessionalcraftmanship,
originality
to attempta
and thisseemsa good opportunity
roughassessmentof his oeuvreto date, and the
messageitmaycontainforthosewithearstohear.
Thereis nothingnegativeaboutPhilipCannon's
it is forthright
and
music; like his personality,
and sayswhatit has to say in a
uncompromising,
to any
languagewhich,thoughreadilyintelligible
musicalear,is yetby no meansdevoidof subtlety.
a meansof
Since forCannonmusicis essentially
he has littlesympathyfor the
communication,
'mandarin'school. At the same timehe is conversantwithall the mostadvancedmoderntechof any legitiniques,and is readyto avail himself
of musicallanguage-suchas, for
mateextensions

ofthechorusin
theshouting
andmuttering
example,
his cantataTheSon ofScience-providedthereis a
reason for employingsuch methodsinherentin
contextof workswitha literary
eitherthedramatic
content,or in the emotional,subjective,internal
tensionof workswhichare purelyabstract-symphonies,sonatas, chambermusic and the like.
Thus,in someof hislaterworks,suchas theString
theidiomis at times
Quartet,as yetunpublished,'
atonal simplybecausethe emotionalconfrankly
strifeand passion,
tentof thismusic,suggesting
in a completely
seeks its expressioninstinctively
uninhibited
languagewithno holdsbarred.
has expressed
On thispointthecomposerhimself
his viewsquite unambiguously-Iquote froman
he gaveto TheTimesa littleovera year
interview
ofhisopera
performance
ago on theeve ofthefirst
Morvoren:'I believethata composershouldfeel
that is
free to build his stylefromeverything
available-microtones,note clusters electronic
1 The Quartethas just won a prizein the 8th ConcoursInternationalde CompositionMusicale organizedby theCasino of
Divonne-les-Bains; first performanceSalle Gaveau, Paris,
Oct 25.

858

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