MESSIAEN, OLIVIER

born Dec. 10, 1908, Avignon, France died April 27, 1992, Clichy, near Paris in full Olivier-eugne-prosper-charles Messiaen influential French composer, organist, and teacher. As a composer he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal colour, and unique harmonic language. Messiaen was the son of Pierre Messiaen, who was a scholar of English literature, and of the poet Ccile Sauvage. He grew up in Grenoble and Nantes, began composing at the age of seven, and taught himself to play the piano. At age 11 he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where his teachers included the organist Marcel Dupr and the composer Paul Dukas. During his later years at the Conservatoire he began an extensive private study of both Western and Eastern rhythm, birdsong, and microtonal music (which uses intervals smaller than a semitone). In 1931 he was appointed organist at the Church of the Trinit, Paris. Messiaen became known as a composer with the performance of his Offrandes oublies (Forgotten Offertories) in 1931 and his Nativit du Seigneur (1938; The Birth of the Lord). In 1936, with the composers Andr Jolivet, Daniel Lesur, and Yves Baudrier, he founded the group La Jeune France (Young France) to promote new French music. He taught at the Schola Cantorum and the cole Normale de Musique from 1936 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. As a French soldier he was taken prisoner and interned at Grlitz, where he wrote Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time). Repatriated in 1942, he resumed his post at the Trinit and taught at the Paris Conservatoire. His students included Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. Much of Messiaen's music was inspired by Roman Catholic theology, interpreted in a quasi-mystical manner, notably in Trois Petites Liturgies de la prsence divine (1944; Three Short Liturgies of the Divine Presence) for women's chorus and orchestra; Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jsus (1944; Twenty Looks upon the Infant Jesus) for piano; Visions de l'amen (1943; Visions of Amen) for two pianos; Apparition de l'glise ternelle (1932; Apparition of the Eternal Church) and Messe de la Pentecte (1950; Mass for Pentecost) for organ; and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jsus-Christ (1969; The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ) for orchestra and choir. Among his most important orchestral works is the Turangalla-Symphonie (1948) in 10 movementscontaining a prominent solo piano part and using percussion instruments in the manner of the Indonesian gamelan orchestra, along with an Ondes Martenot (an electronic instrument). Also notable is Chronochromie (1960) for 18 solo strings, wind, and percussion. Le Rveil des oiseaux (1953; The Awakening of the Birds), Oiseaux exotiques (1956; Exotic Birds), and Catalogue d'oiseaux (1959; Catalog of Birds) incorporate meticulous notations of birdsong. Messiaen's method of composition is set forth in his treatise Technique de mon langage musical (1944; Technique of My Musical Language). Additional reading Analyses of his style and his works include Carla Huston Bell, Olivier Messiaen (1984); Paul Griffiths, Olivier Messiaen and the Music of Time (1985); and Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Messiaen, new ed. (1989).