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MUSIC THEORY Jegree in 1/4/16; Major professor APRIL 28TH 20 01 Date 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE IN RETURN Box to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 042§o4 OCT 2.121,:E3Q‘l 1 . 62008 112108 6/01 cJCIRC/DateDw.p65—p.15 A TRANSLATION OF LIQING YANG’S OLIVIER MESSIAEN: A BASIC EXPLORATION OF HIS TECHNIQUES OF COMPOSITION By Seok Keng Loo AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF MUSIC Department of Music 2001 Professor Gordon Sly ABSTRACT A TRANSLATION OF LIQING YANG’S OLIVIER MESSIAEN: A BASIC EXPLORATION OF HIS TECHNIQUES OF COMPOSITION By Seok Keng Loo What follows is a translation from the Mandarin of the book Olivier Messiaen: A Basic Exploration of His Techniques of Composition. The author is Liqing Yang, a prolific composer, winner of numerous composition competitions, and Professor of Theory and Composition at the Shanghai Conservatory. Professor Yang was urged to write a book about Messiaen's music by his students, and the text that resulted was taken from class lectures that had been developed and honed over many years. DEDICATION To the memory of Madam Liu F ong, for filling my childhood with love and happiness. You will be remembered forever. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I can’t express enough thanks to my thesis director, Dr. Gordon Sly, for his willingness to devote his valuable time and expertise to constructive criticism, support and patient counsel of my thesis. Without his help, this would not have been possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to my other guidance committee members, Dr. Theodore Johnson and Dr. Michael Largey, for providing useful suggestions. I am indebted as well to Dr. Cynthia Taggart, for all her valuable assistance and encouragement. My deepest appreciation also goes to Dr. Carolyn Hickson, for her support. Special thanks go to my close friends. Jie Zhu, for her belief in my will, her inspiration and understanding; Hsiao-F en Huang, for sending me a great Mandarin dictionary from Taiwan; Lay Theng Chan, Jean Pickett, Hiromi Itoh, Bee Lee Ong, Allan von Schenkel and Youqing Yang for their constant friendship and support. Lastly, I am most indebted to my parents for their unending support, and making possible my pursuit of graduate work. iv PREFACE Professor Liqing Yang, the author of the book Olivier Messiaen: A Basic Exploration of His Techniques of Composition, is a well-known music theorist and educator in China. He is active in the nation's music education policy discussions, and gives seminars throughout the country to young composers. In 1980, Yang became the first Chinese composer to be sent abroad for study following the Cultural Revolution. He studied composition and piano, and earned diplomas at the Staatliche Hochschule fixer Musik and Theater Hannover, Germany. Yang's music has been performed by leading orchestras the world over, and he has lectured at more than twenty universities in the Unites States, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In 1990, he was guest professor at the Mozarteum of Salzburg, and he served in a similar capacity at Cornell University in 1995. The book is organized into seven chapters, as follows: Chapter One: Messiaen and his music Chapter Two: Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition Chapter Three: Messiaen’s melodic technique Chapter Four: Messiaen’s harmonic technique Chapter Five: Messiaen’s rhythmic technique Chapter Six: Messiaen’s total serial technique Chapter Seven: Messiaen’s characteristic form structure However, this translation confines itself to the first four chapters, which focus on the melodic and harmonic characteristics of Messiaen's music. These aspects of his music have a special interest for me because I believe they manifest most strongly V the combination of Eastern and Western traditions that is central to Messiaen's musical language, and that attracts me to his work. Significant challenges arise for the translator of a work such as this. The text deals with ideas about music, many very difficult to begin with, expressed originally in French, interpreted by an Eastem-thinking, Mandarin-speaking composer, who studied Messiaen with German-speaking teachers. One of the main problems is determining responsibility for incompletely or imprecisely expressed ideas, or outright misconceptions. As is well known, Messiaen's own writings are not always reliable. For instance, his understanding was not as thorough as was his enthusiasm for Hindu music. Has Yang perpetuated Messiaen's misconceptions on this subject, knowingly or otherwise, or does the text reflect his own lack of understanding? Questions of this sort I found impossible to answer, and for that reason have left the text unaltered, undertaking no editing of any kind. Despite these difficulties, Professor Yang's work is well organized and informative, and represents a valuable introduction to students of Messiaen’s music. I hope that this translation of the work of an Eastern scholar provides for English speakers an interpretation of Messiaen’s music that will complement the knowledge of this fascinating composer that they have gained in the West. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES CHAPTER 1 MESSIAEN AND HIS MUSIC Brief Biography Messiaen’s Position In The History Of ix Twentieth-Century Music 2 Summary Of Messiaen’s Composition Thoughts 5 Composition Periods 10 Phase I (1926-1948) 10 Phase II (1948-1951) 11 Phase 111 (1953-1958) 12 Phase IV (Since 1960) 12 The Forming Elements Of The Musical Language 13 Modes of limited transposition 13 Hindu and Greek rhythmic technique 14 Serial technique 14 Bird songs 14 Mystery of symbolism techniques 14 CHAPTER 2 MESSIAEN’S MODES OF LIMITED TRANSPOSITION 18 Early Practice Using The Artificial Modes 18 Structure Of The Modes Of Limited Transposition 25 Characteristic And Color Of Modes Of Limited Transposition --------------- 28 CHAPTER 3 MESSIAEN’S MELODIC TECHNIQUE 34 The Source And Spread Of Melody 34 Hindu music materials 34 Plainchant 36 Folks songs 38 Bird songs 38 Quote and distort 38 Characteristics Of The Commonly Used Melodic Patterns 41 Commonly Used Melodic Development Technique 45 Elimination 46 Added notes 47 vii Inversion 48 Change of register 49 Upbeat + accent + termination 50 Embellishment group 52 Permutation 55 Asymmetrical Agrandissement 61 Brief Summary 63 CHAPTER 4 MESSIAEN’S HARMONIC TECHNIQUE 65 The Use Of Characteristic Chords And Their Application 65 Added notes 65 Chord on the dominant 69 Chord of resonance 71 Chord of fourth 73 Added resonance 76 Symmetrical chords 79 Quote and transform 82 Other characteristic chords 83 Harmonic links 86 The Expand Of The Non-Harmonic Notes Concept 88 Upbeat +accent + termination 88 Pedal group 89 Passing group 90 Ornament group 91 Establishment Of Tonality In Modes Of Limited Transposition -------------- 92 Combination Of Modes Of Limited Transposition With Other Materials 97 Osmosis of modes and functional tonality 97 Osmosis of the modes and scale elements 100 Combination of modes and atonal elements 101 Modulation Of Modes Of Limited Transposition 106 Modulation of different transposition in the same mode 106 Modulation between different modes 108 Function of modal modulation in musical development 109 Application Of The Composite Modes 112 Superimposing two modes 1 12 Superimposing three modes 117 Modulation of the combination modes 1 19 Brief Summary 123 Bibliography 125 viii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 Example 8 Example 9 Example 10 Example 11 Example 12 Example 13 Example 14 Example 15 Example 16 Example 17 Example 18 Example 19 Example 20 Example 21 19 20 21 22 22 23 26 35 35 35 36 36 37 39 39 39 39 ix Example 22 Example 23 Example 24 Example 25 Example 26 Example 27 Example 28 Example 29 Example 30 Example 31 Example 32 Example 33 Example 34 Example 35 Example 36 Example 37 Example 38 Example 39 Example 40 Example 41 Example 42 Example 43 Example 44 50 50 51 52 53 53 54 54 Example 45 Example 46 Example 47 Example 48 Example 49 Example 50 Example 51 Example 52 Example 53 Example 54 Example 55 Example 56 Example 57 Example 58 Example 59 Example 60 Example 61 Example 62 Example 63 Example 64 Example 65 Example 66 Example 67 55 55 55 57 57 58 58 59 6O 61 62 66 66 67 67 68 69 xi 7O 70 71 71 72 72 Example 68 Example 69 Example 70 Example 71 Example 72 Example 73 Example 74 Example 75 Example 76 Example 77 Example 78 Example 79 Example 80 Example 81 Example 82 Example 83 Example 84 Example 85 Example 86 Example 87 Example 88 Example 89 Example 90 xii 73 74 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 8O 8O 81 81 81 81 82 82 83 83 84 84 84 84 Example 91 85 Example 92 86 Example 93 89 Example 94 90 Example 95 92 Example 96 94 Example 97 96 Example 98 98 Example 99 99 Example 100 99 Example 101 102 Example 102 104 Example 103 107 Example 104 108 Example 105 110 Example 106 111 Example 107 113 Example 108 114 Example 109 115 Example 110A 116 Example 1108 118 Example 111 119 Example 112 120 xiii Example 1 13 122 xiv Example 113 122 xiv Chapter 1: Messiaen and His Music 1. Brief Biography Oliver Messiaen was born on 10th December 1908 in Avignon. His father, Pierre Messiaen, was a famous English literature scholar and translator of Shakespeare’s work. His mother, Cecile Sauvage, was a poet. Understandably, Messiaen grew up found of literature and poetry. Messiaen’s connection with music also began at a very young age. He started composing when he was seven years old. A treasured gift, received one Christmas when he was a child, was the score of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust and Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In 1918, he started harmony lessons with N. Gibson. Gibson gave Messiaen a score of Debussy’s PeIIeas et Melisande as a gifi when Messiaen was only 10 years old. A few years later, when Messiaen recalled this incident, he said that it was “ a real bombshell . . . probably the most decisive influence of my life.”1 Beginning in 1919, Messiaen spent eleven years at the Paris Conservatory. His teachers were Jean Gallon, Marcel Dupre, Paul Dukas, and other distinguished Professors. He was an outstanding student. Between 1926 and 1929, he won first prizes in five areas - fugue, accompaniment, organ, improvisation and composition. During his period of study, he was obsessed by Indian rhythms, Greek modes, bird \ 1 Roger Nichols, Messiaen (London: Oxford University Press, 1975), 7. songs and Catholic plainsong. His first published work, Le Banquet Celeste, for organ, was written during this period (1926). In 1931, Messiaen was appointed organist at the church of La Sainte T rinite, Paris. At this time, he began a prolific life of composition. In 1936, Messiaen taught at the Ecole Normale de Paris and at the Schala Cantorum. He also founded La Jeune France, a famous France composer’s organization, with Andre Joliver, Daniel Lesur, and Yves Baudrier. When the Second World War broke out, Messiaen joined the army and was captured by the Germans in 1940. During his detention, he composed the Quatuor pour Iafin du Temps, which gained international recognition after the war. Messiaen was released in 1942. When he returns to Paris, he continued teaching as a Professor of Harmony in the Paris Conservatory. Beginning in 1947, he taught composition, analysis, aesthetics, and rhythm. After 1955, he was appointed to teach music philosophy, and he actively gave seminars all over the world. In 1967, Messiaen was honored as a member of the Institut de France. In recognition of his great contribution to human culture, he received the Erasmus Prize in 1971. 2. Messiaen’s Position in the History of Twentieth-Century Music Messiaen stands in a peculiar position in contemporary music. As 3 France composer, he directly inherited the splendor of France musical culture (especially that involving Berlioz). Among others, Debussy influenced him most deeply. The ingenious, delicate style of this great master of impressionism was close to Messiaen’s natural instincts. Debussy’s ability to free himself from the fetter of traditional harmony and to explore the color contrast of multiple modes allowed him to distance himself from the German school of color and logical harmony arrangement. In rhythm, he overcame stiff classical meter, while forming a more elegant prose style. This became a model for Messiaen’s pursuit of more freedom in composing, without eliminating the order. It also produced new possibilities for Messiaen to enrich and expand his musical language. Similar to Debussy, Messiaen showed a strong interest in non-European musical cultures early on. During his studies at the Paris Conservatory, Messiaen was deeply inspired by Professor Maurice Emmanuel’s ‘History of the development of musical language’ class. The class provoked Messiaen to study the modes of foreign countries, as well as their rhythmic structure, and diverse ways of using instruments. This served as an endless source for Messiaen’s creative work throughout his compositional life. Another composer that influenced Messiaen is Stravinsky. The brave experiment in the rhythmic realm (including the inspiration of Hindu rhythms) of Stravinsky’s ballet, the Rite of Spring, provided a direction for Messiaen’s own peculiar rhythmic language. In addition, from Messiaen’s early impressionistic compositions up to the atonal writing in the fifties, and also including the use of bird songs in his writing during his later days, the vast style differences in various periods can probably be compared only with Stravinsky. As with Stravinsky, Messiaen’s technique are totally dissimilar in different periods, yet they maintain their bright individual character and remain clearly the idiomatic expression of their composer. Messiaen was not directly influenced by the Schoenberg school. However, it is interesting that Messiaen not only ingeniously used some of Webern’s style techniques in his composition (as in his Mode de valeurs et d ’intensites), but also he created a style all his own by reorganizing the series of pitch, duration, dynamics and articulation. This composition (Mode de valeurs et d ’intensites) gained a glorious success when it was performed publicly in Darrnstadt, Germany. “In the period of fanaticism in searching for a new musical language, the implementation of serial techniques from the beginning up to the end of the piece was like an explosion of a bomb and a gift from the sky for young musicians; therefore, Messiaen was respectfully called the ‘Father of Total Serial Music’.”2 Although Messiaen was not directly involved in the emergence of serial music, he left a deep influence on the avant-garde (i.e. the followers of the Schoenberg school’s creative thinking). This can be considered one of the marvelous spectacles that happened during the historic development of contemporary music. Messiaen never stopped growing musically even when he reached his peak. He never tired of absorbing skills, languages, thoughts, and aesthetic concepts that were compatible with his artistic character. In his music, emotional and rational thought, tonality and atonality, artificial modes and serial techniques, bird songs and ancient religious materials coexisted. Some writer criticized his musical language as too complicated, and called him an eclectic person. But Mention announced, “I remain 2 2. Ingrid. Hohlfeld-Ufer and Almut Rossler, Die musikalische Sprache Olivier Messiaen (Duisburg: Gilles und Francke, 1978), 24. ”3 He said, “During creation, why do 1 free, and I do not belong to any of the schools. have to eliminate this type or another type of technique? Why not be happy to use a major triad, if it sounds right? Why not imitate a bird singing or a lively Hindu song if it will make me happy? If suddenly I want to use serial technique, then I will use it.”4 The American critic Carla Huston Bell saw this as a crucial aspect of Messiaen’s contribution: “ Messiaen’s presence in the twentieth century during one of music’s evolutionary crises thus appears to be a necessary link and directional force. He has helped to unify such opposing voices as the defenders of so-called human music and the proponents of strict serialism. Just as he arrived at a creative synthesis of various elements in his own works, he represents the synthesis of opposing elements in contemporary music from which the next generation could proceed.”5 3. Summary of Messiaen’s Compositional Thoughts In expounding his opinion of his own music, Messiaen once wrote, “Frankly, I do not know whether I have an aesthetic concept, but I can say that my favorite is the kind of music that is full of color and joy. Music may be tender or violent, full of love and passion. This type of music is fresh blood, an expression of the affection’s sign, 3 Ibid., 18. 4 C. Rossider, “The French youth group,” Overseas Music Reference Materials (January, 1983): 23. 5 Carla Huston Bell, Olivier Messiaen (Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers, 1984), 136. a: u. _\‘ a type of fragrance never smelled before, a sleepless bird. This type of music, just like the window in the church, vibrates with color. This type of music can show the end of time, indicate the existence of the normal, the purified body, and the mystical ”6 This discussion contains views of the supernatural. It is a rainbow of theology. quite similar to some of Debussy’s view of music, but it is covered with a layer of dim religious mystery, and is also filled with deep feeling about the subject. Since Messiaen was a devout Catholic, religion not only penetrates most of his compositions, but also underlies his very conception of music. He seeks a sincere music that is, “one that involves many elements, but remains resonant with God’s music.”7 He even said, “I have the good fortune to be Catholic; I was born a believer . . . A number of my works attempt to shed light on the theological truths of the Catholic faith. That is the most important aspect of my music . . . perhaps the only one I shall not be ashamed of in the hour of my death.”8 It is perhaps not hard to understand why religions themes are so central to Messiaen’s music and why symbolic techniques pervade his writing. Another important point related to Messiaen’s concept of music is the display of the unrivaled beauty of nature. He viewed the rainbow as a symbolic link between man’s world and heaven. His worship of nature has many forms of expressions. 6 H. Kirchmeyer, Aufbruch derjungen Musik, van Webern bis Stockhausen (German: Koln, 1970), 29. 7 Ibid., 26. 81bid., 8. The singing birds symbolized nature (one of the elements that penetrates most of Messiaen’s works). Several times, he quoted Dukas: “Please listen to the singing birds, for they are indeed the greatest masters. ”9 He was proud of himself for being an omithologist and transcribed faithfully the singing of birds for scientific purposes.'0 He also thought that the greatest discovery in music is “still the sound of nature: singing birds, the breezy wind that blows between the trees, the rhythm of the sea wave, and the howling of animals. ”1' He repeatedly admonished young composers, “Nature is forever beautiful, forever greatest, forever new and original, and is the most important source. ”'2 Messiaen is also a composer who has a special sensitively for colors. He believed strongly that there is a precise relation between aural and visual. He even stated: “In order to understand the combination of color, harmony, and sound in my music, you must be ardently in love with color . . . must understand the relationship between sound and color. ”'3 This kind of sound phenomenon that produces a particular visual color certainly has a very subjective quality, but no doubt it has an influence 9 Olivier Messiaen, Technique de mon langage musical, trans. John Satterfield (Paris: A. Ludec, 1956), 27. '0 Claude Samual, Conversations with Olivier Messiaen, trans. Felix Apraharnian (London: Stainer & Bell, 1976), 61. ” Ibid., 25. '2 Ibid., 68. '3 Ibid., 69. 1". l. 35: rhy- \ . -\~ A\ on Messiaen’s modes from the feeling of harmony up to the accompanying instruments’ colors. (Please refer to Part II of Chapter 3) We have already quoted several Messiaen’s statements indicating that he is not bound by allegiance to any schools. He emphasizes subjective experience and direct feeling about the creative process. In a certain sense, his composition remains a mystery. However, this does not imply that Messiaen’s compositions are totally arbitrary. To the contrary, during his seminar in Arrnstande, when he talked about his freedom of composition, he points out that, “When I say freedom, I do not mean illusion, disorder, revolution and carelessness. What is involved here is a type of freedom from the structure. It is a self-controlled freedom gained through respect towards all, amazed by the creation of all things on earth, and immersed in mystery, seeking the true essence of God. This kind of freedom is like the freedom of heaven.” He also added that. “Jesus once told his followers (John: Gospel Eight), if you follow my words, you will see the truth, and the truth will set you free.”14 At first hearing, those words are obscure and mysterious. In reality, they are quite similar to the dialectics of the ‘Realm of Freedom’ from the ‘Realm of Necessity’. In other words, real freedom of creation can be gained only through obeying the fundamental restrictions of the laws of art. But to Messiaen, this kind of law was restricted by the Creator, and a priori existing in heaven. It prompts us to recall Goethe’s well-known expression, “If a person has the courage to accept restriction, he will have achieved freedom.” Stravinsky has further elaborated this idea. '4 Ibid., 17. “Unrestricted freedom causes me to suffer. What I need are limits; only then is my compositional impulse freed. I would even say that the more constraints, the more activity is unlimited, the more obstacles in my paths, my freedom will be more abundant, and more meaningful. Weakening the limits will also weaken my power. Whoever gives himself more limitation will free himself from the fetter of spiritual shackles.”15 In Messiaen’s compositional thinking, this type of restricted freedom is reflected by the so-called charmes des impossibilities. He thinks, “This kind of charm can make people joyful, and also make people fall into deep thought, especially when contemplating certain impossible numbers that exist in mode and rhythmic realms”16 (i.e. in the ‘restrictions’ formulated by him - the seven modes of limited transpositions and the non-retrogradable rhythm). Those modes “cannot be transposed beyond a certain number of levels, because they will always falls again into the same notes; rhythms which cannot be used in retrograde, because in such a case, one finds the same orders of values again - these are the two striking irnpossibilities, and they also eventually lead human beings toward that kind of rainbow theology.” ’7 Since the beginning of the fifties, Messiaen applied a highly organized serial technique that is controlled by the logic of numbers in a certain composition. This '5 Igor Stravinsky, “Music and Poetry,” Contemporary Aesthetic (March 1972): 49. '6 Ibid., 5. '7 Ibid., 13. makes his own restrictions even stricter. No wonder Dibelius sums up Messiaen’s thoughts as being both mystical and rational. And both of these can be implemented without coming into conflict: “those that seem to have sprung totally from mystery, abstruse things, on the model of the compositional principle, are actually built on the largest level of objective, calmness, and the highest degree of rational.”18 However, Messiaen’s main quality of compositional thought may be explored through La Jeune France that was formed by him, Joliver, and others. According to their manifesto, the group “propose[d] the dissemination of works that are youthful, free, and as far removed from revolutionary formulae as from academic formulae. Their only unqualified agreement is in the common desire to be satisfied with nothing less than sincerity, breadth of feeling, and artistic good faith.”19 That which is ‘Sincere, elegant, and pure’ is their goal, and it also became Messiaen’s motto. 4. Composition Periods Based upon Messiaen’s emphasis on different materials and styles, his career can be divided into approximately the following four phases: Lase I (1926-1948) This is the early compositional period for Messiaen. Some people refer it as his ‘Baroque’ period. In contrast to many other composers, Messiaen had already formed his own special style in his earliest works. Although we can find some Debussy influences in his early music, such as Le Banquet Eucharistique and '3 Ulrich Dibelius, Moderne Musik 1945-1966 (Munchen: R. Piper, 1966), 63. 10 ¥ Preludes for piano, overall his unique musical language was fully present, and at a remarkably level of proficiency. For example, the decoration of Catholic plainsong, the diverse applications of modes of limited transposition, the using of Hindu rhythmic modes as references are all in evidence. In this period only a few pieces (such as Preludes) lack the use of religious materials. Bird songs, which are central in many pieces, are symbolic of nature, freedom, or being saint-like. Although one may find some fragments of tonality in certain specific compositions, overall, they are mostly non-tonal. Messiaen’s Technique de mon langage musicale (Technique of My Musical Language) was based mainly on the creation practice in this phase. The main works of this period include: Le Banquet Eucharistique; Le Banquet celesta(l926); Preludes (Piano, 1 929); Le tombeau resplendissant (Orchestra, 1930); L ’Ascension (Organ and orchestra, two types of editions, 1934); La Nativite du Seigneur (Organ,1935); Poemes pour Mi (Soprano and piano, 193 6); Chants de terre et de ciel (Soprano and piano, 193 8); Les Corps Glorieux (Organ, 1939); Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (Clarinet quartet, 1941); Vision de L ’Amen (2 pianos, 1943); T rais petites Liturgies de la (Women’s voices and orchestra, 1944); Harawi (Soprano and piano, 1945); T urangalila-Symphonie (Orchestra 1940) Phase II (1948-1951), also known aghe ‘Experimental Period’ During this period, there are large changes in Messiaen’s technique and style. He experimented with various creation techniques, and moved toward serialism. Some of his works are completely serial. But in other works (for example, Messe de la ‘9 Ibid., 27. r‘ 1r W 10 Pentecote), one still can notice some of the interesting application of Hindu and Greek rhythm technique, and bird song materials. Although the experimental period did not last long, it had a massive influence on the music of that period. Important works during this phase are: Canteyodjaya (Piano, 1948); Clinq Rechants (12 solo voices, 1949); Neumes rythmiques (Piano, 1949); Messe de la Pentecote (Organ, 1950); and Livre d’ Orgue (Organ, 1951). Phase 1H (1953-1958). §1§g_ known as ‘Bird Songs Period’ During this phase, Messiaen once again transformed his style. He used the bird songs that he gathered in the different locations of the world and used them as his main composing materials. He attempted to present them accurately with the timbre of the musical instruments. He enriched the overtone of the birds singing with harmony and combined them with his own musical language (mainly in the application of rhythmic modes). Important works include: Reveil des Oiseaux (Piano and Orchestra, 1953); Oiseaux exotiques (Piano and Orchestra, 1956); Catalogue d ’ Oiseaux (Piano, 1956-1958) Phase IV (Since 1960) In this phase, we notice Messiaen’s attempted to combine all the different styles and techniques from his previous phases. One example is the reappearance of modes of limited transposition (such as in Coleurs de la Cite celesta). Some works strongly recall Messiaen’s first phase, but are combined with techniques from later periods, 12 such as the chromaticism and the inverted retrograde serialism of Chronochromie. He also combined the technique of using birdsongs with religious plainsongs (for example in Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorim), and mixed his early phase of harmony style with serialism technique and bird songs (for example, in Meditations sur 1e Mystere de la Sainte T rinite and La F auvette desjardin). In addition, after the appearance of Couleurs de la cite celesta, one can see Messiaen’s tendency of seeking a simpler style, and a more concise musical language. Important works are: Chronochromie (Orchestra, 1960); Sept Haikai (Piano and Orchestra, 1962); Couleurs de la Cite celeste (Piano and orchestra, 1963); Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (Orchestra, 1964); La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus-Christ (Soloists, Choir and Orchestra, 1963-1969); Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte T rinite (Organ, 1969); La Fauvette desjardins (Piano, 1970); Des Canyons aux Etoiles (Piano and Orchestra, 1970-1974). 5. The forming elements of the musical language From 1920-1970, five fundamental elements constitute his musical language: (1) Mode; of limited transposition Messiaen divided tones and semitones in equally-tempered proportion and formed seven different types of artificial modes. This comprises his main method of organizing melody and harmony during his first phase composition and also after 1960. 13 (2) Hindu and Greek rhythmic technique These are taken from the different types of rhythmic modes, and always found in different contrapuntal combination. This technique played an important role in organizing the rhythmic structure of Messiaen’s compositions. It also is reflected in the proportions of a structure’s overall form. This is the most characteristic aspect of Messiaen creation, and it penetrated his entire compositional career. (3) Serial technique Mainly appearing during the second and fourth phases, this technique was used to organize of different parameters of music. Messiaen’s particular use of serial techniques was closely related to his ideas about artificial mode. Thus, it is completely different from the serialism of Schoenberg and his successors. It assures the highest degree of unity of musical language throughout Messiaen’s different composition phases. (4) Bird songs and (5) Mystery of symbolis_m techm'ques These two last main issues are present throughout each of Messiaen’s compositional phases, and form one of the most prominent characteristics of his style. However, the purpose of this book is not to comment about Messiaen’s invention, but rather to address the more technical elements of his musical language. Therefore, certain pieces that do not involve too much of Messiaen’s important composing techniques, but contain too strong an objective color are reluctantly left out. For example, the use of bird songs undoubtedly has an important meaning in Messiaen’s work, and Reveil des Oiseaux and Oiseaux extotiques, both employing bird songs are among Messiaen works that are familiar in this country. The way Messiaen handled l4 Eta" bird songs, according to his own discussion of the topic, mainly involved a process of transcription and elaboration; actual composing techniques were secondary. In Oiseaux extotiques, we can see Messiaen’s use of the bird songs from India, China, Malaysia, North and South America as materials pile up interestingly with the Hindu and Greek rhythmic percussion. For these reason, it has a clear structure. However, in Reveil des Oiseaux, Messiaen almost abandons tonality, mode, rhythmic organization, and others traditional structures. He only used the bird songs materials (thirty-eight of them), and their variations to form a natural and unrestrained picture. The structure is very free, and it is hard to make a systematic analysis. Additional aspects of bird song refer to the frequency range of the bird singing. It is far higher than that of the normal orchestral instruments. Its speed is also extremely fast, and it normally forms a very tiny interval, smaller than the semitone. Messiaen’s sacrificed accuracy in transcribing bird song in order to accommodate these ranges and limitations. He tended to maintain the proportions of the bird songs’ pitch and rhythm by transposing the whole down, slowing its speed, and then adjusting pitches to conform to the twelve-tone equal temperament system. Therefore, it is not necessary to inquire further into this realm. Similarly, religious material and mystery symbolism techniques are part of the core of Messiaen’s musical concept. Beginning in the middle of the century, he began to emphasize the symbolic meaning of numbers. He believed the relationship between numbers and sound to be fundamental. Quite a number of European composers widely used numbers symbolically to express specific messages in their compositions. In Baroque period, Bach is the typical example. Based on 15 alphabetical order (A=1, B=2, C=3, H=8, total of 14), he used the number 14 to signify his name, and it symbolized the cross. He also used the number 7 (God created the world in seven days); 3 x 3 (Trinity) as a symbol of ‘faith’; the number 10 (Moses’ Ten Commandments) as symbolic of ‘rule’; and the number 12 (Jesus’ 12 followers) to symbolize the church. He related them to a relevant number in the musical texture, a voice part, a bar or movement.20 In recent music, it is well-known that Alban Berg like to use numbers: 10, 23, 22, 18, among others, to hint at the meaning of some metaphor.21 In Messiaen’s compositions, this type of religion metaphor carried a special meaning. As Dibelius said, “ Here, the consciousness of the compositional technique has make a bridge between the world and faith. It happens with Messiaen — a deeply thoughtful spiritual musician. He combined a profound, miraculous imagination with his specialized musical knowledge, and bravely used the symbolic numbers of the bible as an endless source of inspiration. Without any struggle, he quoted numbers from the bible; use them in his rhythmic structure, bar groupings, series of notes, proportional relationship of interval, and even across movements. The musical essence (that is, pitch, duration, dynamics and form), are build on numbers. Therefore, we can say that the theology: the Trinity, Seven Creation Days, Twelve Follower, and others are the substance of his work.”22 However, this kind of symbolic technique, after all, is used only to 20 Tiet Sanyang. “Bach and numbers”, Overseas Music Reference Materials (July, 1985): 42. 2' Diether de la Motte, Harmonielehre (London: Barenreiter-Verlag, 1976) , 84. 2’ Ulrich Dibelius, Modern Musik 1945-1965 (Munchen: R.Piprt, 1966) , 63-63. 16 induce the formation of the compositional structure, and it related more to the involvement of religious conception and religious history. Its symbolism is not much related to the structure of the piece or the compositional techniques; therefore, we will not discuss more about it in this document. Our discussion will focus on the material elements of Messiaen’s musical language. This involves the application of the modes of limited transposition in the melody and harmony, Messiaen’s rhythmic technique and his serial skills, and also certain characteristic found in the structure of Messiaen’s form. 17 Chapter 2: Messiaen’s Modes of Limited Transposition 1. Early Practice using the Artificial Modes Concerning the evolution of the most recent composition techniques, harmony (as the fundamental of tonality) can be said to be the most active, and also the earliest development in the revolutionary realm. The Swedish musician, Ernst Kurt, considers the function of the harmonic system made up of major and minor scales as having reached its extreme limit in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (1865). He believes that this piece create a state of crisis for Romanticism-style harmony. “In the successors of Tristan, harmony began to break away from other essential factors and continued to develop rapidly. For a composer to be the focus of world attention, he/she must have the ability to bring forth new ideas conceming harmony.”l In the first half of the twentieth-century, music ranging from Hindemith’s chromaticism, Schoenberg’s atonality and twelve-tone system, Darious Mihaud and Prokofiev’s polytonality, or Bartok and Stravinsky’s artificial modes, results from bold exploration in the parameter of harmony. The new mode plays an important role in this exploration. The development of this tendency began in the last half of the nineteenth century, when Nationalistic pieces drew from the large amount of natural modes and folk music for inspiration. This introduced new ideas into the development of the European music. And Impressionism, especially in Debussy, beyond the wide use of the pentatonic scale, also found meaning in the whole-tone scale. Although use of the whole-tone scale is 18 common during that period. the way Debussy use it in his prelude, Voiles (1910), is rare. He builds the piece on the whole-tone scale (contrasted by the pentatonic scale), in almost stagnate harmony (it depends on the sustaining low note to establish the tonal sense). This kind of technique is not common, and may be noted as one of the earliest attempts to use the artificial modes consciously. Although other contemporary composers’ compositions also used the whole-tone scale, (for example, Bartok’s Little Universe), they limit it use. Because the whole-tone scale has been so strongly associated with Debussy’s compositions, it almost becomes a kind of style symbol of Impressionism. So, one is open to a charge of being a mere imitator of Debussy when using the whole-tone scale. However, the whole-tone scale was listed as the first of Messiaen’s seven modes of limited transposition, however, it is only use as the part of the materials. In Stranvisky’s compositions, we can also notice various uses of artificial modes resulting in a new harmonic color. For example, in the beginning of the Dance of Earth from the Rite of Spring, the tonality was clearly based on C. The lower strings, the fixed figure of the bassoon, and the later melody of the wind instruments, all are formed by the whole-tone scale. Example 1: ‘6) 1b) 1' Tfimfi ' H.Vogt, Neue Musik seit 1945 (swaggi, 1972), 99. Other parts (the arpeggio found in the woodwinds at the beginning, and in the passing tones of the piccolo) also has a clear characteristic of C Lydia, especially with the repeated stress on G note at the beginning, and later the exposed position of A and B. This destroys any complete impression of the whole-tone scale. In reality, it is using a combination of the C whole-tone scale and C Lydian to form this artificial multiple mode, and make this passage has a new effect. Example 2: C LYDIAN C WHOLE - TONE The formation of these notes is very interesting. Their axis, f #, equally divides the octave into two parts. The arrangement of the lower part is related to the whole-note scale, while the upper part includes some semitone. Scriabin is another composer in this century who bravely made a revolutionized traditional harmony. His mystery chord was well known by everybody, but in the first piece of his piano prelude, op 74 (1914), he used a more interesting technique (i.e. he attempted to use certain interval combinations) to control the structure of the harmony. A two-structure cell (minor 2"d + minor 3rd x 2), formed the basic harmonic material for the mode, but the sequence of the notes are not stable. These interval combinations can be reflected through different pitch relationship in the 20 different harmony, and sometimes can freely use its variation. Just take the first three bars as an example: Example 3: FIRST CHORD SECOND CHORD Here, although these interval combination do not form a clear mode as in the Rite of Spring, it is analogous to an artificial mode. Of course, the formations of artificial modes in the twentieth century are almost inexhaustible. Bartok in his Little Universe, used symmetry of the note order, or certain note orders combined with their mirror inversions and other techniques to create interesting experiments, but it is difficult to list the examples one after - another. Of all the composite scales, the most widely used one may be that formed 21 two diminished seventh chords a semitone apart and has three different transpositions.2 Example 4: We can notice the embryonic form of this type of scale in Rimsky-Korsakov’s compositions. In the works of Scriabin, Ravel, Bartok, Stravinsky and other twentieth century composers, we see many of the characteristic ways of utilizing this scale. For example, in the second movement of Stravinsky’s Octet (1923), the main theme (flute + clarinet + trumpet + trombone), is build on the octatonic scale. Example 5: But the accompaniment parts do not use the material from this scale and contradict the scale’s harmony (the theme tonality is f #, but the accompaniment emphasizes d). 3 Arthur Berger, “Pitch Organization In Stravinsky,” in Perspectives On Schoenberg And Stravinsky, ed . Benjamin Boretz and Edward T. Cone (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1968) , 132. 22 Example 6: Stravinsky: Octet - run"— .—-I--l--II — M.l‘- I'D—- -1 —-—o—-- '- o .- u—g l--—-I--I-l-'-'l-'l-'-I-l-l--r-. - u—_ —---—:—.—a—--; —.—a—-- u "I—IU-O-A “IF-avio--ou-—-—.~-u L - ---=:=37l I —“' n__. ‘— ——-————‘ _' Worn-u...- — .—-—--—-—.— - ____m .____ E::E The pitch system in Scriabin’s Piano Prelude, op 74, no. 3, is similar to that in example 5. In bar 12, we can see clearly the note order. Different from the note 23 order in Stravinsky’s Octet, this note order controls the whole vertical and horizontal structure of this piece, and only in a few places does he use any foreign notes as passing tones (for example, bars 1, 3, 5, 7, 8). This mode was formed by four similar minor 3" cells in the inner structure (refer to example 5). The main motive in the first two bars appears simplified in the later development (tranSposed by minor 3" or tritone). The second part of this piece (bars 13-26), other than the coda, is an exact repetition of the first part at the lower tritone. In 0p 74, no.5 we also can find this application of the artificial mode in the last part of each phrase. Although the application of the note sequence here is similar to Messiaen’s mode ® , it has a distinctive characteristic that recalls Scriabin. This may be due to the fundamental structure of the harmony in this piece (and the departure point of the harmony concept) that has a close relationship to his mystic chord, and the variation of Vq was still treated as 1 primary. Above, although we have only cited a few examples from the tremendous number of compositions of the twentieth century, it is enough to notice the experiments with artificial modes as having provided a unique function during the evolutionary trend of the early twentieth century’s music language. These artificial modes provide a type of origin based on tradition, but combined with unique modes of thought, and opens up a new area for composers to seek more individuality in their melodic and harmonic vocabulary. However, this experiment still did not form a complete system in most of the works of the composers at that time. In this respect, Messiaen’s 24 creation of the seven modes of limited transposition builds upon the work of previous generations. 2. Structure Of The Modes Of Limited Transposition In Messiaen first published work, Le Banquet Eucharistique(l926), we can notice an application of the modes of limited transposition. In 1928, when he published his Preludes, he further explored the possibility of different modes. In 1911, Messiaen published Technique de mon langage musical. In his book, he further elaborated on the artificial mode system in a systematic way. These artificial modes are based on an octave scale and divided into two, three or four equal intervals. Each interval is then subdivided into same relationship of tones and semitones. There are five possibilities: (a)minorsecond: C C# DEb EF F#G AbA BbBC=twelveequal units (b )major second : C D E F# Ab Bb C = six equal units (c ) minorthird : C Eb F# A C = fourequal units (d)majorthird : C E Ab C=threeequal units (e ) tritone: C F C = two equal units Using the minor 2"" to divide an octave will produce a chromatic scale. It does not have any transposition possibilities and is common in the traditional music, so it does not relate to Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition system. Using the major 2"" will produce a whole-tone scale. Messiaen treats this as mode ® , but seldom use it. To traverse the interval between C and E, Messiaen uses different interval 25 combinations (minor 2" + major 2", minor 2" + minor 3", major 3", etc) to form 6 other types of modes. Using another methods of expression, Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition were formed by the combination of at least two symmetrical groups (each group contains the same relationship of tones and semitones). The last note of each group coincides with the first note of the next group. Below is the ‘original form’ of the six modes of limited transposition and the structure figures for all the transpositions. Mode @ (whole-tone scale) is omitted. Messiaen also called these the ‘original form’ and ‘transpositions’, and from here on, we will follow his terminology. For instance, the three types of patterns of the I second mode are individually mark as @ , @l, @3, and the rest may be inferred by analogy. In the example, each group (equal unit) is marked out by the bracket. Example 7: 26 In these modes, the different combinations of intervals in each group are very Compact. Thus, all the possibilities of the group permutation have reached their limit- For example, if we invert the structure of permutation in each group from minor 2"“ + major 2"‘1 to major 2'” + minor 2"“ in mode ®‘, the result of the note order will be similar with mode @3; or if the group structure of mode @ 3 (major 2”" + minor 2'“l + minor 2"" ) is changed to minor 2"+ major 2"" + minor 2"" , the note order will still be equal to mode @1, the rest may be inferred by analogy. We also can notice that (with the exception of mode @ which is unique and should “0t be confused with other modes), all the intervals of modes 0 , ® , Q , @ and @ ,cancreate mode@. 27 ' 3 s 4 O O O O“ O