Olivier Messiaen and the Tristan Myth

(Hardback)

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Provides a close examination of one of the greatest achievements of twentieth-century music-the trilogy of works by composer Olivier Messiaen based on the Tristan myth--and analyzes it both thematically and musically. Following the second World War, Olivier Messiaen, previously known primarily for his religious music, composed three works inspired by the medieval love story of Tristan and Iseult: Harawi, Turangalila-symphonie, and Cinq rechants. Though the song cycle, symphony, and choral work each consider their source story in a different way, the three compositions are tied closely together by theme and musical technique. This new study is the only full-length consideration of this most significant work, applying literary techniques of stylistic analysis and source study as well as musical analysis of Messiaen's aesthetics and form. As Audrey Ekdahl Davidson shows, Messiaen's work was informed by more than just the mythic tale at its center. The twelve songs in Harawi are indebted to Peruvian melodies, and rhythmically they reveal the influence of the Hindu musical theory that the composer encountered at the Paris Conservatory. Turangalila-symphonie continues and expands the use of these complex rhythmic structures to create a form that expresses elements of the Tristan story as filtered through Wagner's famous operatic depiction. And in Cinq rechants, Messiaen produced a set of choral pieces that use surrealistic texts joined to music that is related structurally to the rechants of the sixteenth-century composer Claude le Jeune. Davidson's examination of these works reveals both their interrelatedness and their many layers of musical and textual meaning.

Reviews

"Although a few books have explored specific aspects of Messiaen's art, this is the first to focus on the so-called Tristan Trilogy....[T]he translations of Harawi and cinq rechants wil be welcomed by non-French speaking performers and scholars. In addition, the textual and symbolic analyses of all three works offer insights not found in other studies of Messiaen's music."-Journal of Musicological Research
[s]everal aspects of Davidson's study make important contributions to the literature....[t]he textual and symbolic analysis of all three works offer insights not found in other studies of Messiaen's music.-Journal of Musicological Research
Although a few books have explored specific aspects of Messiaen's art, this is the first to focus on the so-called Tristan Trilogy....[T]he translations of Harawi and cinq rechants wil be welcomed by non-French speaking performers and scholars. In addition, the textual and symbolic analyses of all three works offer insights not found in other studies of Messiaen's music.-Journal of Musicological Research
With this vital trilogy of Tristan-centered music, we find the unification of Divine and Human, the ultimate fulfillment of Messiaen the human, and an invitation for us to follow suit. As for Audrey Davidson's book, call it one of the more essential titles published during the Messiaen centennial year.-The American Organist
"several aspects of Davidson's study make important contributions to the literature....the textual and symbolic analysis of all three works offer insights not found in other studies of Messiaen's music."-Journal of Musicological Research
"[s]everal aspects of Davidson's study make important contributions to the literature....[t]he textual and symbolic analysis of all three works offer insights not found in other studies of Messiaen's music."-Journal of Musicological Research
"With this vital trilogy of Tristan-centered music, we find the unification of Divine and Human, the ultimate fulfillment of Messiaen the human, and an invitation for us to follow suit. As for Audrey Davidson's book, call it one of the more essential titles published during the Messiaen centennial year."-The American Organist

Author Bio

AUDREY EKDAHL DAVISON is a Professor of Music Emerita at Western Michigan University and has published extensively on both early and modern music. She is also a musician and composer.