Musical Analysis of Regard de l’Onction Terrible by Olivier Messiaen: Context, Symbolism, Form and Performance

Aline da Silva Alves, Adriana Lopes Moreira

Resumo


This article addresses the work Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus (Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jesus) by Olivier Messiaen with a focus on its eighteenth piece, Regard de l’Oction terrible. Our primary objective was a musical analysis of the piece by contextualizing the symbolic references engaged in its composition, form, and aspects of performance through a careful study of the score, both textually and at the piano. To that end, we use the thoughts and reflections of the composer himself (MESSIAEN, 1944, 1947, 1995, 1994) in interlocution with the studies of musicologist Siglind Bruhn (1997, 2007), with aspects of contour theory as presented by Joseph Straus (2005), and with the disparate considerations in respect to its form published by Messiaen scholars Reverdy (1978), Rogosin, (1996), Bruhn (1997), and Healey (2013). In conclusion, we identify symmetry as a striking element of the piece within the scope of its form, structure, and symbolism.

Palavras-chave


Olivier Messiaen; musical analysis; musical performance; twentieth-century music; Vingt regards sur l’Enfant Jésus.

Texto completo:

PDF (English)

Referências


BOULEZ, Pierre. Points de Repère. Collection Musique/Passé/Présent. Paris: Christian Bourgois/Éditions du Seuil, 1985.

BRUHN, Siglind. Images and Ideas in Modern French Piano Music: The Extra-Musical Subtext in Piano Works by Ravel, Debussy, and Messiaen. Hillsdale: Pendragon Press, 1997. (Aesthetics in Music, no. 6).

______. Messiaen’s Contemplations of Covenant and Incarnation: Musical Symbols of Faith in the Two Great Piano Cycles of the 1940s. Hillsdale: Pendragon Press, 2007.

CISCAR, Francisco J. C. Aproximación al lenguaje de Olivier Messiaen: análisis de la obra para piano Vingt Regars Sur l’Enfant-Jesús. Thesis (Doctorate). Philosophy Program, Philosophy, University of Valencia, València, 2004.

FORMAN, Edward. ‘L’Harmonie de l’Univers’: Maurice Toesca and the genesis of Vingt Regard sur l’Enfant-Jésus. In: DINGLE, Christopher Philip; SIMEONE, Nigel. Olivier Messiaen: Music, Art and Literature. Burlington: Ashgate, 2007. p. 13-22.

GUIGUE, Didier. Estética da Sonoridade: a herança de Debussy na música para piano do século XX. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2011.

HEALEY, Gareth. Messiaen's Musical Techniques: The Composer's View and Beyond. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2013.

HILL, Peter; SIMEONE, Nigel. Messiaen. New Haven: Yale U. Press, 2005.

JOHNSON, Robert S. Messiaen. London: Omnibus Press, 1975.

LEE, Hyeweon. Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus: A Study of Sonority, Color, and Symbol. Doctoral Thesis-Music Program, College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 1992.

MESSIAEN, Olivier. Technique de Mon Langage Musical. 1. v. Texte. Paris: A. Leduc, 1944. 2v.

______. Traité de Rythme, de Couleur, et d’Ornithologie: (1949-1992) en Sept Tomes. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1995. Tome II.

______. Traité de Rythme, de Couleur, et d’Ornithologie: (1949-1992) en Sept Tomes. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1996. Tome III.

______. Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus. Paris: Durant, 1947. Score.

MOREIRA, Adriana Lopes. Olivier Messiaen: inter-relação entre conjuntos, textura, rítmica e movimento em peças para piano. Doctoral Thesis–Universidade Estadual de Campinas, (UNICAMP) Instituto de Artes, Departamento de Música, Campinas, 2008.

OLIVIER Messiaen: Piano Works. In: Complete Edition. Olivier Messiaen (Composer). Roger Muraro (Pianist). [n.p.]: Deutsche Grammophon, 2008. 32 CD Box Set.

REVERDY, Michèle. L’oeuvre pour Piano d’Olivier Messiaen. Paris: A. Leduc, 1978.

ROGOSIN, David. Aspects of Structure in Olivier Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus. Doctoral thesis-Musical Arts Program, School of Music, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, 1996.

SAMUEL, Claude; MESSIAEN, Olivier. Olivier Messiaen Music and Color: Conversations with Claude Samuel. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1994.

SHENTON, Andrew. Olivier Messiaen’s System of Signs: Notes Towards Understanding His Music. Farnham: Ashgate, 2008.

STRAUS, Joseph. Introdução à teoria pós-tonal. Transl. Ricardo Mazzini. Salvador: EDUFBA, 2013.

THE HOLY BIBLE, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769; King James Bible Online, 2017. Available at: . Accessed in: Apr. 2017.

TH CENTURY ILLUSTRATIONS of Costume & Soldiers. Available at: . Accessed in: Aug. 2016.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20504/opus2017a2302

Apontamentos

  • Não há apontamentos.




Direitos autorais 2017 Aline da Silva Alves, Adriana Lopes Moreira

Licença Creative Commons
Esta obra está licenciada sob uma licença Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional.

 
OPUS - Revista Eletrônica da Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-graduação em Música (ANPPOM)
ISSN 0103-7412 (versão impressa, 1989-2008), ISSN 1517-7017 (versão online, 2009- )