Messiaen, Olivier : Catalogue d'oiseaux
Work Overview
Instrumentation：Piano Solo
Genre：pieces
Total Playing Time：30 min 30 sec
Copyright：Under Copyright Protection
Commentary (2)
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
[Open]
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Composed between 1956 and 1958, this is Messiaen's largest collection of solo piano pieces. Its scale surpasses the earlier monumental cycle for solo piano, Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus(1943), with a total performance time of approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. As its title and extensive duration suggest, this work is a monumental piece from the period between 1953 and 1963, known as the 'bird decade' (décennie oiseau) (Alain Albrechts), during which Messiaen intensively incorporated bird songs into his compositions. It stands as a grand homage to nature, depicting the majestic mountains and various aspects of the sea across different regions of France, with birds serving as the medium. The entire work is structured into seven 'books' (livres), with each book containing 3, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, and 3 pieces respectively. This arrangement is symmetrical around the fourth book, or, to use Messiaen's preferred term, 'irreversible'. Although each piece is titled after a specific bird, not only that bird is treated in the respective piece; conversely, there are works where the titular bird is given only a secondary role. After the completion of Catalogue d'oiseaux, bird song came to play an important role in Messiaen's solo piano works, leading to the composition of La Fauvette des jardins (1970), which can be considered a sequel to this work, and Petites esquisses d'oiseaux (1985), which stands out for its mature writing. Furthermore, around 2004, the British pianist and Messiaen scholar, Peter Hill, discovered the manuscript of Le Merle bleu, composed in 1961, which was premiered and recorded on CD in 2014.
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
[Open]
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
In the early 1950s, Messiaen established "birds" as a crucial creative inspiration, releasing works such as Le Merle noir (1952, for flute and piano), commissioned as an examination piece for the Paris Conservatoire; Réveil des oiseaux (1953, for orchestra and piano), based on bird songs transcribed in the domain of ornithologist Jacques Delamain; and Oiseaux exotiques (1955–1956, for instrumental ensemble and piano), a work commissioned by Domaine Musical (Note 1) that dealt with bird songs from various parts of the world.
Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956–1958) provided Messiaen with an opportunity to synthesize the piano writing for bird songs that he had explored in these earlier works. While this work deals with bird songs inhabiting various regions of France, from Paris to the remote areas of Brittany, what distinguishes it from Réveil des oiseaux and Oiseaux exotiques is that Catalogue d'oiseaux is the product of Messiaen's own repeated transcription trips, and it also takes the landscapes of each region as subjects for musicalization.
Réveil des oiseaux was a work that used bird songs transcribed within a limited geographical area, and for the composition of Oiseaux exotiques, recordings of bird songs were utilized. The conception of Catalogue d'oiseaux dates back to 1953. Sketches made by Messiaen in the Black Forest near Baden-Baden in October of that year list numerous bird names "for piano." Subsequently, Messiaen traveled across France by car with pianist Yvonne Loriod (1924–2010), who was a crucial partner in his musical activities and became his wife in 1961, to transcribe bird songs. The partial premiere took place on March 30, 1957, at Salle Gaveau, performed by Loriod at a Domaine Musical concert. The pieces performed at that time, in order of performance, were No. 1 "Le Chocard des Alpes", No. 6 "L'Alouette lulu", No. 5 "La Chouette hulotte", No. 2 "Le Loriot", No. 8 "L'Alouette calandrelle", and No. 13 "Le Courlis cendré". No. 7 "La Rousserolle effarvatte" was already completed at that time and listed in the program, but it was not performed (Note 2).
Originally 17 minutes in duration, the work underwent a complete revision in the summer of 1957, becoming nearly twice its initial length. Transcriptions made along the Mediterranean coast in June provided material for No. 3 "Le Merle bleu", No. 4 "Le Traquet Stapazin", and No. 12 "Le Traquet rieur". On January 25, 1958, the second version of "La Rousserolle effarvatte" was premiered, and on April 15, 1959, Loriod gave the complete premiere (with one intermission, totaling approximately 3 hours) at a concert celebrating Messiaen's 50th birthday, also organized by Domaine Musical. Publication was handled by Leduc, rather than Durand, which had previously published Messiaen's major works. Durand had adopted a cautious stance regarding the publication of bird-themed works after the premiere of Réveil des oiseaux was met with an unfavorable reception. In 1957, Messiaen finally broke his contract with Durand, entrusting all subsequent publications primarily to Leduc.
Note 1
A contemporary music concert series founded by Pierre Boulez in 1954. Its predecessor was the Concerts du Petit Marigny, established by Boulez in 1953.
Note 2
At this concert, other works performed included Michel Philippot's Variations for 10 Instruments (1957, premiere), Luciano Berio's Serenata I for Flute and 14 Instruments (1957, premiere), Bo Nilsson's Frequenzen, Composition No. 6 (1956), and Boulez's Sonatine for Flute and Piano (1946).