Messiaen, Olivier : Quatre études de rythme
Work Overview
Instrumentation：Piano Solo
Genre：etude
Total Playing Time：16 min 00 sec
Copyright：Under Copyright Protection
Commentary (2)
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
[Open]
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Messiaen composed two experimental piano pieces during the transitional period of the 1940s and 1950s. One was Cantéyodjayâ (1949), and the other was Four Rhythmic Etudes. In 1943, two grand cycles on the themes of God and love, Visions de l'Amen and Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus were composed. In the latter half of the 1950s, the systematic use of bird song was introduced in Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956–1958). The period during which these experimental works were created is thus situated between these large-scale collections. Furthermore, the only work outside of piano compositions that emerged from this type of experimental endeavor was Timbres-Durées (1952) for musique concrète, indicating that Messiaen's experimental creative phase remained temporary. However, among these few experimental works, Four Rhythmic Etudes, in particular, became an indispensable reference in subsequent writings on 20th-century music, as it provided significant inspiration to figures like Boulez and Stockhausen, who were participating in the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music at the time. Among them, the third piece, 'Mode de valeurs et d'intensités,' has been accorded a monumental position as the first work to implement the idea of 'total serialism,' applying the organizational principles of serialism to four parameters: pitch, duration, intensity, and attack. Among the other pieces, 'Île de feu' (Island of Fire), which employs virtuoso techniques, enjoys relatively more performance opportunities.
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
[Open]
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
In Messiaen's notebook from 1945, there is an entry stating "to construct a tempo series," and his 1946 notebook also describes methods, within the concept of a ballet themed on "time," that foreshadow the organizational principles of Mode de valeurs et d'intensités and Île de feu 2. The concept for a new organizational principle seems to have already existed by the end of 1949. In June 1949, Messiaen developed the concept for Mode de valeurs et d'intensités during a three-day stay in Darmstadt. In August, invited as a lecturer to Tanglewood, he composed Cantéyodjayâ and simultaneously began work on Neumes rythmiques. The following year, by September 1950, he composed Île de feu 1 and Île de feu 2 in Paris. In November, during a concert tour with Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen himself premiered these four pieces in Tunis, and each piece was published separately by Durand. In a recording Messiaen made for Pathé-Marconi in May 1951, the title Quatre études de rythme appeared for the first time (Note 1). It is a famous anecdote that in Darmstadt the same year, when the critic Antoine Goléa played that record for Stockhausen and Henri Pousseur, the two excitedly listened repeatedly to Mode de valeurs et d'intensités (Note 2). In Messiaen's commentary (1968) for Loriod's recording, it is recommended that the pieces be performed in the order of Île de feu 1, Neumes rythmiques, Mode de valeurs et d'intensités, and Île de feu 2. It was only in 2008 that the four pieces were finally published together as Quatre études de rythme by Durand.
- (Note 1) This recording is the only sound source of Messiaen recording his own solo piano works. It is currently available on CD (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Jan04/messiaen_Historic.htm).
- (Note 2) Stockhausen stated that, prompted by this experience, he decided to study in Messiaen's class at the Paris Conservatoire.
Movements (4)
"Mode de valeurs et d'intensités"
Total Performance Time: 6 min 30 sec
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Reference Videos & Audition Selections(1items)
