D

Journal of Literature and Art Studies, ISSN 2159-5836

August 2012, Vol. 2, No. 8, 793-807

DAVID

PUBLISHING

Charme des Impossibilits: Variety and Unity in Olivier

Messiaens Technique de Mon Langage Musical*
Egidio Pozzi
University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy

In 1944, Messiaen offered a systematic description of his musical language in a text entitled Technique de Mon
Langage Musical, an exposition of his compositional techniques that represents one of the most important accounts
of his musical thoughts. This text is important not only in understanding his methods of composition, but also in
comprehending the multiplicity and variety of his aesthetic ideas. In spite of the large variety of sources that inspire
it, in Technique, Messiaen presents a compositional thought that, at least in part, proves to be substantially cohesive.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the content of the Technique, with particular attention to aspects concerning
rhythm and harmony, which are the elements that received Messiaens deepest attention and which also had the
greatest influence on later 20th-century composers.
Keywords: Messiaen, technique, avantgarde, non-retrogradable rhythms, limited transposition modes

Introduction
In a text published one year before the composers death, Robert Morgan recognized Messiaen as one of the
founding fathers of integral serialism.
Although integral serialism [] was developed mainly by composers who reached maturity after the conclusion of
World War II, its history within a European context begins with a member of the previous generation: the Frenchman
Olivier Messiaen [] An established figure by the end of the war, Messiaen had a critical influence on the younger
European serialists, many of whomincluding both Boulez and Stockhausenstudied under him. (Morgan, 1991, p. 335)1

Very early in his career, Messiaen developed a system of composition in which the expression of symbolic
contents drawn from religious inspiration, mysticism, and contemplative ecstasy is joined to a style of writing in
which the parameters of soundpitch, rhythm, dynamics, and timbreare at least tendentially treated as
autonomous elements. In 1944, he offered a systematic description of his musical language in a text entitled
Technique de Mon Langage Musical (thereafter Technique), an exposition of his compositional

The first version of this paper was presented in occasion of the final round table of the Ninth Meeting of Analysis and Music
Theory (Istituto G. Lettimi, Rimini, September 14-16, 2012) organized by Gruppo di Musicale on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the composers death.
Egidio Pozzi, professor of musicology and music history at Department of Philosophy, University of Calabria.
1
In recent years, a great deal of new research on Messiaens work has appeared, bringing to light both the elements related to
French symbolist aesthetics and the mystical and religious contents tied to his Christian faith. For both aspects, see Forte (2002),
Hill and Simeone (2005), Dingle and Simeone (2007), Pozzi (2007), Hill (2008), Hastetter (2008), Benitez (2008, 2009), Crispin
(2010), Shenton (2010), and Bruhn (2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2010).

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

techniqueswhich are not however expressed as normsthat represents one of the most important accounts of
his musical thought.
Pierre Boulez, probably Messiaens most famous pupil, rightly observed in 1978 that the Technique
describes the authors system of composition, indicating the precursors of his language, explaining and
justifying his working methods, broadly synthesizing the different aspects of his production, and attempting to
harmonize these aspects among themselves (Boulez, 1978, p. 293).
The Technique, at first sight, appears to be a disarming list of examples and personal considerations that are
not rationally or systematically tied together. Essentially, the text is articulated around four topics: rhythm
(chapters II-VII), melody (chapters VII-X), form (chapters XI-XII), and harmony (chapters XIII-XIX). The
chapters dedicated to rhythm and harmony are the most extensive and are accompanied by over half of the
musical examples (268 out of 382). The first chapter, entitled Charme des Impossibilits et Rapport des
Diffrentes Matires (that is, The Charm of Impossibilities and the Relation of the Different Subject Matters)
puts forward, in a personal way, the structural concept that is at the root of Messiaens musical thought. With the
expression charme des impossibilits, Messiaen (1944) referred to two contrasting interests:
Cest une musique chatoyante que nous cherchons, donnant au sens auditif des plaisirs voluptueusement raffins. En
mme temps, cette musique doit pouvoir exprimer des sentiments nobles (et spcialement les plus nobles de tous, les
sentiments religieux exalts par la thologie et les vrits de notre foi catholique). Ce charme, la fois voluptueux et
contemplatif, rside particulirement dans certaines impossibilits mathmatiques des domaines modal et rythmique. []
Pensons maintenant lauditeur de notre musique modale et rythmique: il naura pas le temps, au concert, de vrifier les
non-transpositions et les non-rtrogradations, et, ce moment-l, ces questions ne lintresseront plus: tre sduit, tel sera
son unique dsir. Et cest prcisment ce qui se produira: il subira malgr lui le charme trange des impossibilits: un
certain effet dubiquit tonale dans la non-transposition, une certaine unit de mouvement (ou commencement et fin se
confondent parce quidentiques) dans la non-rtrogradation, toutes choses qui lamneront progressivement cette sorte
darc-en-ciel thologique quessaie dtre le langage musical dont nous cherchons dification et thorie.2 (pp. 5 & 13)

The metaphor used by Messiaen here synthesizes quite effectively the twofold nature of his idea of
composition: The adjective teleological refers both to the mystical and religious aspect of his thought, and to
the idea of a unitary principle that is able to offer the possibility of a sonorous center; the image of the
rainbow, on the contrary, indicates an idea of rhythmic and chromatic variety, translated into musical terms as
a freedom from metric and tonal order. Variety and unity, freedom and constraint, and aesthetic pleasure and
religious content: the charm of the impossible, arise from the coexistence of these opposites.

Conception of Rhythm
The chapters of the Technique concerning rhythm and modes were the ones that drew the most attention
among the young composers involved in a critique of the recent past, who were trying to delve further into the
2

It is an iridescent music that we seek, that gives voluptuously refined pleasures to the aural sense. At the same time, this music
must be able to express noble sentiments (and especially the most noble of all, the religious sentiments exalted by the theology and
the truths of our Catholic faith). This charm, at once voluptuous and contemplative, resides particularly in certain mathematical
impossibilities in the modal and rhythmic domains. [] Let us now think of the hearer of our modal and rhythmic music: he will not
have time at the concert to verify the non-transpositions and the non-retrogradations, and at that moment, these questions will not
interest him further; to be seduced will be his only desire. And that is precisely what will happen. In spite of himself he will submit to
the strange charm of impossibilities: a certain effect of tonal ubiquity in the non-transposition, a certain unity of movement (where
beginning and end are confused because identical) in the non-retrogradation, and these things will lead him progressively to that sort
of theological rainbow which is the goal of the musical language of which we seek edification and theory.

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795

difficult heritage that had been left by Schoenberg and Webern.3

Messiaens interest in rhythm dates back to his earliest studies. His teachers in both organ, Marcel Dupr,
and in music history, Maurice Emmanuel, sparked his curiosity towards Greek rhythms, while his interest in the
Indian conception of rhythm can be traced to his works written after LAscension for organ (1933-1934). The
main reference goes to the Indian de-tlas of Sharngadeva (taken from the 13th-century Sangita-Ratnakara),
that from this point on were to occupy a place of honor in Messiaens music.4 These rhythms are not organized
into specific meters, and their substantially ametrical quality perhaps explains one of the main characteristics of
Messiaens conception of rhythm (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 32). Along the same lines, the unity of rhythmic
measurement is not the bar, but the note with the shortest duration (in Indian metric theory, the mtra) on the basis
of which the entire rhythmical figure is constructed: The rhythmic contour is therefore created by the succession
over time of the various durations, and not by the division of time itself. An excerpt of Messiaens intervention at
the Confrence de Bruxelles in 1958 allows us to better understand the importance of this aspect of his music:
Let us not forget that the first, essential element in music is Rhythm, and that Rhythm is first and foremost the
change of number and duration. Suppose that there were a single beat in all the universe. One beat;with eternity before it
and eternity after it. A before and an after. That is the birth of time. Imagine then, almost immediately, a second beat.
Since any beat is prolonged by the silence which follows it, the second beat will be longer that the first. Another number,
another duration. That is the birth of Rhythm. (as cited in Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 32)

The principal elements of composition that Messiaen borrowed from the Indian conception of rhythm were
the principle of added values, the augmentation and diminution of rhythmic figures, and the idea of
non-retrogradable rhythms.
The Principle of Added Value
One of the most important rhythms in the Sharngadeva treatise is the 93rd, called rgavardhana (see Figure
1a). This rhythm, according to Robert Sherlaw Johnson (1975, p. 32), appears quite often in Messiaens works in
retrograde form with respect to its model (see Figure 1b), and with the longest note subdivided into three shorter
notes (see Figure 2).
a

Figure 1. (a) Rhythm rgavardhana, original version; and (b) Rhythm rgavardhana, retrograde version.

In Figure 2, the second part (B) corresponds to the first (A), diminished and with a dot added to the second
note. This is the kind of rhythmic figure from which Messiaen obtains the principle of added values, which he
defines as the possibility of ajouter un rythme quelconque une petite valeur brve qui transforme son
3

The six chapters of the first volume dedicated to various aspects of rhythm are entitled: I rgavardhana, Hindu rhythm; II
Rhythms with added values; III Augmented or diminished rhythms; IV Non-retrogradable rhythms; V Polyrhythm and rhythmic
pedals; and VI Rhythmic notations.
4
Sharangadeva (1210-1247) was an eminent master of Indian music, and his treatise Sangita-Ratnakara, an astounding analysis
of ten centuries of music, is consulted and respected in many parts of India still today. In this work, Sharngadeva discusses
musical forms, systematizes ancient musical theory, describes vocal techniques in a few styles, notates the most widely used
rhythms and explains a large number of ancient musical terms. The treatise has come down to us in the version by Kallinatha, a
15th-century master, who wrote a detailed commentary on Sharangadevas work (Shankar, 1970, pp. 66-67). Sharngadevas 120
de-tlas can be consulted in Pozzi (2007, Table III, pp. 161-168).

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

balancement mtrique5 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 7). The added value has the effect of prolonging or contracting the
rhythm with respect to a possible conventional meter, and is indicated in the examples with + (added value) or
(subtracted value). This is the case, for example, in the first section of the Nativit du Seigneur for organ (1935):
in the passage shown in Figure 3, the conventional meters have also been indicated, so as to highlight the metric
transformation produced by Messiaen (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 33).

Figure 2. Rhythm rgavardhana, with subdivisions.

Figure 3. La Nativit du Seigneur, first section (metric transformation and added values).

The Augmentation and Diminution of Rhythmic Figures

Messiaen uses the principle of added values in conjunction with the augmentation or diminution of an entire
rhythmic figure. The Indian rhythms at the root of this technique, respectively the candrakal and the lackskma,
the 105th and the 88th in Sharangadevas treatise, can be seen in Figure 4. In the candrakal, part b is augmented
with respect to part a, both by introducing an added value and by augmenting the dot. In the lackskma, part b is
an inexact augmentation of part a.

Figure 4. Rhythms candrakal and lackskma.

Messiaen uses the technique of augmentation and diminution in a number of very different ways. A first
example consists in adding a fixed value to all of the notes of the original succession (taken from the La
Bouscarle of the Catalogue dOiseaux for piano, 1958, page 2 bar 8; see Figure 5), while a more flexible
treatment can be found in a passage of Cantyodjay for piano (page 5; see Figure 6). In Figure 6, all of the notes
in the first bar, except for the shortest one, are augmented in the second bar with the addition of progressively
larger values; that is, values with a greater duration are added to notes whose duration is longer (Sherlaw Johnson,
1975, p. 34). Although this procedure does not appear to be systematic, a closer look reveals a certain degree of
5

Adding to any rhythm whatsoever a small, brief value that transforms its metric balance.

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797

rationality. If we compare the duration of the notes in the first bar with the durations in the second and put them in
order from the shortest to the longest, Table 1 demonstrates that the procedure of augmentation is strictly
progressive and that the added values are distributed from 1 to 3.

Figure 5. Catalogue dOiseaux, segment of La Bouscarle (augmentation of a fixed value).

Figure 6. Cantyodjay (aumentation of a value progressively larger).

Table 1
Procedure of Augmentation in Cantyodjay
Position of the note
in the first bar
First note
Second note
Fourth note
Third note

Duration in 32nd notes

in the first bar
4
6
8
10

Duration in 32nd notes

in the second bar
4
7
10
13

Addition
(in 32nd notes)
1
2
3

A freer treatment can be seen when other values, of different lengths, are added to the initial values: These
additions are applied in an irregular way, and often some of the notes are not in the least augmented. As an
example of this technique, Messiaen refers to a segment of Minuit pile et face (pour la mort) from the Chants de
terre et de ciel for soprano and piano, in which part B consistin an inexact augmentation of A (Messiaen, 1944, p.
25; see Figure 7).

Figure 7. Chants de terre et de ciel, segment of Minuit pile et face (irregular augmentation).

Non-Retrogradable Rhythms
The concept of retrogradation, whose origin is in counterpoint, consists in lire de droite gauche ce qui,
normalement, devrait se lire de gauche droite6 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 12). The first example proposed in the
Technique shows a rhythmic formula often used by Messiaen, in its original and retrograde versions (respectively
6

Reading from right to left that which, normally, should be read from left to right.

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

Figure 8 and Figure 9). It is quite clear that the retrogradation brings about a complete transformation of the
original line.

Figure 8. Rhythmic formula in Technique, original version.

Figure 9. Rhythmic formula of Figure 8, retrograde version.

Figure 10. Non -retrogradable rhythm (in Technique).

On the contrary, with non-retrogradable rhythms, this operation has no effect, in that reading from right to
left turns out to be identical to reading from left to right. This is because in the construction of the rhythmic line,
values of equal duration are found on either side of a central value, which can have any length. The example
given by Messiaen can be seen in Figure 10. It consists in two segments (A and B), each of which is the retrograde
of the other: These segments are united in the middle by a common central value that creates a clear mirror-like
symmetry. This symmetry, often described in musicological studies as a palindrome, is the distinctive
characteristic of this kind of rhythm, and is one of the technical options most often used by Messiaen; it also
translates his theological principle of an ideal center into compositional practice. Examples of
non-retrogradable rhythms can also be found in Sharngadevas treatise: Figure 11 shows one of the simplest
rhythms, the 51st in the list, defined vijaya.

Figure 11. Rhythm vijaya.

Figure 12. Cantyodjay, section Sdia (non-retrogradable rhythms and added values).

VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

799

Figure 12, which is found in Sherlaw Johnsons text, shows instead an analysis of the Sdia section of
Cantyodjay for piano, written in 1949 (pp. 22-23). In this example, we can find a practical application of the
two principles discussed until now, non-retrogradable rhythms and added values: One can easily see that the way
in which the added value is inserted does not compromise the overall retrogradability of this passage (Sherlaw
Johnson, 1975, p. 36).
In Figure 13, we find a particularly interesting case of the concept of non-retrogradability, which is the 27th
in Sharngadevas treatise and is defined simhavikrdita. Unlike the examples we have seen until now, the
concept of non-retrogradability is applied here not to single notes but to rhythmic groups. The entire passage is
in fact subdivided into five rhythmic groups, made up of three types of internal rhythm: The first type (1 + 3 8th
notes) is repeated at the end as the fifth group, the second (2 + 3) is also presented as the fourth group, while the
third (3 + 3) represents the central element of the figure. In this case, the palindrome construction, a necessary
condition for the non-retrogradability of the figure, concerns the rhythmic groups and brings about a mirror-like
symmetry (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 36).

Figure 13. Rhythm simhavikrdita.

The use of Greek rhythms is less evident, and in the Technique they are almost never cited; Messiaen makes
much larger use of Indian rhythms, which, as we have seen, also offer him the principal means for introducing
inexact augmentations and diminutions, non-retrogradable rhythms, and added values.

Melody and Form

The Function of the Melody
Messiaen gives melody a primary function, so much so that he opens his treatise with a direct and explicit
reference to this aspect of musical construction.
Sachant que la musique est un langage, nous chercherons dabord a faire parler la melodie. La melodie est point de
depart. Quelle reste souveraine! Et quelle que soit la complexite de nos rythmes et de nos harmonies, ils ne lentraineront
pas dans leur sillage, mais, au contraire, lui obeiront comme de fideles serviteurs.7 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 5)

This concept is repeated and elaborated at the beginning of chapter VIII, where Messiaen, almost as though
he was taking up the famous 18th-century querelle concerning the primacy of melody or harmony, resolves the
dispute affirming the superiority of the former.
Primaut la mlodie. lment le plus noble de la musique, que la mlodie soit le but principal de nos recherches.
Travaillons toujours mlodiquement; le rythme restant souple et cdant le pas au dveloppement mlodique, lharmonie
choisie tant la vritable, cest--dire voulue par la mlodie et issue delle.8 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 23)

Knowing that music is a language, we shall seek at first to make melody speak. Melody is the point of departure. May it rest
sovereign! And whatever may be the complexity of our rhythms and our harmonies, they shall not draw it along in their wake, but,
on the contrary, shall obey it as faithful servants.
8
Supremacy to melody! The most noble element of music, may melody be the principal aim of our research. Let us always work
melodically, with rhythm remaining pliant and giving precedence to melodic development, and the harmony chosen being the
true one, that is, wanted by the melody and emerging from it.

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

All along this chapter and in the following ones, Messiaen takes his examples from passages found in some

of his favorite works, written by composers such as Musorgsky, Mozart, Rameau, Debussy, Bartk, and Grieg,
along with examples from popular song, Gregorian chant and medieval music, Hindu rgas and birdsongs.9 In his
own music, Messiaen not only transforms the original melodies, molding them into his own compositional style
(Messiaen, 1944, pp. 75-89), but also often uses them in a fragmentary way, at times mixing them with sources
with different origins. For example, regarding the influence of Gregorian chant, considered a mine inpuisable
de contours mlodiques rares et expressifs10 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 25), Messiaen (1944) explained the way in
which the first movement of La Nativit was derived from the Introito of the Third Mass for Christmas (pp.
108-109). In chapter XII as well, Messiaen underlines how much his music owes to the melodies of antiphons,
Kyrie, alleluias, and psalmodies; even though he does not always explicitly quote his sources, this influence is
quite evident.
Chapter IX is dedicated to birdsong, which beginning in the 1950s was to take on more and more importance
in his poetics; birdsongtranscribed, studied, and recomposedbecame for Messiaen a reservoir of natural
sonorous wonders, to be opposed to the artificial systems of structuralist poetics (Pozzi, 2007, p. 16). This
naturalistic reference had always fascinated Messiaen, and traces of it can be found in his works of the thirties and
the forties, such as the Nativit du Seigneur and the Quatuor pour la fin du temps for violin, clarinet, cello, and
piano (1940-1941). Messiaen does not dedicate much space to it in the Technique, but his words are nonetheless
clear and illuminating.
Paul Dukas disait: Ecoutez les oiseaux, ce sont de grands matres. Javoue navoir pas attendu ce conseil pour
admirer, analyser et noter des chants doiseaux. Par le mlange de leurs chants, les oiseaux font des enchevtrements de
pdales rythmiques extrmement raffins. Leurs contours mlodiques, ces des merles surtout, dpassent en fantaisie
limagination humaine. Comme ils emploient des intervalles non temprs plus petits que le demi-ton, et quil est ridicule
et vain de copier servilement la nature, nous allons donner quelques exemples de mlodies genre oiseau, qui seront
transcription, transformation, interprtation des fuses et roulades de nos petits serviteurs de limmatrielle joie.11
(Messiaen, 1944, p. 27)

Figure 14 shows one of the examples offered by that Messiaen in his text, concerning four variations on a
theme and its commentary, inspired by the improvised song of a blackbird.12 The passage appears, with a few
variants, in the fifth movement of Visions de lAmen, for two pianos (1943), entitled Amen des Anges, des Saints,
du chant des oiseaux (Messiaen, 1944, p. 27).13

The following chapters describe various aspects of melody: VIII Melody and melodic contours, IX Birdsong, X Melodic
development.
10
An inexhaustible reservoir of rare and expressive melodic profiles.
11
Paul Dukas used to say, Listen to the birds. They are great masters. I confess not having awaited this advice to admire,
analyze, and notate some birdsongs. Through the mixture of their songs, birds make extremely refined labyrinths of rhythmic
pedals. Their melodic contours, those of blackbirds especially, surpass the human imagination in fantasy. Since they use
untempered intervals smaller than the semitone, and as it is ridiculous and vain to servilely copy nature, we are going to give some
examples of the bird genre which will be transcription, transformation and interpretation of the volleys and trills of our little
servants of immaterial joy.
12
The commentary is defined as a melodic development of a theme in which fragments are repeated on different degrees and
varied rhythmically, melodically and harmonically (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 22).
13
Messiaen does not seem to be interested in techniques of variation concerning pitch, and in chapter X mentions only three: by
elimination (citing Beethoven as a model), by interversion of notes, and by change of register, referring to a few passages
by Alban Berg and Andr Jolivet.

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801

Figure 14. Visions de lAmen, Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux (theme, commentary, and variations).

Periods and Form

Musical form, for Messiaen, is also strictly tied to choices made in the field of melody and is fundamentally
made up of periods: la phrase musicale est une succession de priodes. Le thme est la synthse gnratrice des
lments contenus dans la phrase, dont il constitue gnralement la premire priode14 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 30).
There are many formal typologies, for example phrases with 1, 2, 3, or 4 different periods, a series of variations
on a theme and its commentary, or phrases derived from the forms of plainchant; however, Messiaen continues,
for our work in analysis, letting us choose three very characteristic formal typologies: the lied-phrase, the binary
phrase, and the ternary.15
The lied-phrase is made up of a principal theme (articulated into an antecedent and a consequent), a middle
period, inflected towards the dominant, and a concluding period which is derived from the initial theme without
however being an exact repetition. The binary phrase is based on two parts: The first contains the theme, a
14

The musical phrase is a succession of periods. The theme is a synthesis, that generates the elements contained in the phrase, of
which it generally makes up the first period. According to Sherlaw Johnson, Messiaen uses harmony in a purely coloristic, and
not structural, fashion, beginning with works such as the Turangalla-Symphonie (1946-1948). In this sense, harmony cannot be a
determinant factor in generating the form of a composition (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 22).
15
There are only two chapters dedicated to form, chapter XI lied-phrase, binary, and ternary phrases, and chapter XII fugue,
sonata, and plainchant forms.

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

commentary, which proceeds towards the dominant and the cadence; the second part presents the theme again
and the commentary in the main tonality with a cadence on the tonic. The ternary phrase is basically an expansion
of the binary, with a further development of the theme and the commentary. Messiaen indicates the following
succession: (1) theme and its consequent; (2) commentary and its consequent; and (3) theme and its consequent
(Messiaen, 1944, pp. 30-33). The descriptions of the fugue, that Sonata and the forms of sacred and liturgical
chant are quite exhaustive; just as in the other chapters of the treatise, they are all accompanied by musical
examples chosen from his works.
According to Messiaen, the most interesting features of the sonata are the central development, for the sense
of unrest that it conveys, and the finale, with its subterranean tonic and dominant pedals; he is not therefore
interested in the organic nature of this form, but in its modular aspects. For this reason, the way in which
Messiaen treats this form ultimately has little to do with its real nature. The form that emerges, a sort of
development-exposition made up of a development of a theme followed by affirmation of the theme itself, can
be observed in a number of compositions, among which: Cloches dangoisse et larmes dadieufrom the Prludes
for piano (1928-1929), Dyptique for organ (1930), Le Verbe from La Nativit du Seigneur (1935), and Combat
de la mort et de la vie from Les Corps Glorieux for organ (1939). The other musical forms inspired by the sonata
would seem to be less important, given that they are quite rare. Among them, suffice it to recall the form that
Messiaen, in chapter XII of his Technique, calls development of three themes, that prepares a final theme that
emerges from the first, of which an example can be found in the last movement of the Nativit du Seigneur,
entitled Dieu parmi nous (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, pp. 22-23).16
The most important form, in any case, is the one Messiaen describes as Variations du premier thme,
spares par des dveloppements du deuxime (Variations on the first theme, separated by developments of the
second); it appears for the first time in the seventh movement of the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (Fouillis
darc-en-ciel, pour lange qui annonce la fin du Temps) and will later become the basis of other strophic forms
that occupy a central place in his works. Messiaen describes the form of this composition with a great deal of
precision, indicating seven principal sections: (1) exposition of the first theme (with a melodic character, played
by the cello); (2) exposition of the second theme (with a rhythmic character, played by four instruments); (3) first
variation of the first theme, accompanied by a counterpoint in the clarinet; (4) development of rhythmic cells
drawn from the second theme; (5) second variation of the first theme, based on arabesques in the violin and the
piano that are opposed to the clarinet in the low register and the cello; (6) combination of the commentary of the
second theme and a rhythm of the first; and (7) last variation of the first theme, with a brief appearance of the
second theme to conclude (Messiaen, 1944, pp. 35-36, 161-169).

Harmonic and Scalar Aspects

Seven chapters of the Technique are dedicated to harmonic and scalar aspects, from the XIII to the XIX.17 In
16

The other forms mentioned in chapter XII are: the fugue and the forms of plainchant, psalmody and vocalise, and kyrie and
sequence (Messiaen, 1944, pp. 33-39).
17
The chapters are entitled: XIII Harmony, Debussy and added notes; XIV Special chords, clusters of chords, and a list of
connections of chords; XV Enlargement of foreign notes, upbeats and terminations; XVI Modes of limited transposition; XVII
Modulations and relations with tonality; XVIII Relations with modal, atonal, polytonal and quarter-tone music; and XIX
Polymodality.

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803

Messiaens conception of harmony, the idea of adding a note to a traditionally defined chord is the technical
device most often used to expand the basic material. One of the harmonic forms he uses the most is the chord with
a major 6th and an augmented 4th in second inversion (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975, p. 14). Messiaen turns to the
succession of harmonics to theoretically justify this chord and its resolution (see Figure 15a). According to him, a
very careful ear can perceive the augmented 4th as the fundamentals eleventh harmonic, and one could therefore
plausibly accept the resolution of this augmented 4th onto the fundamental itself (see Figure 15b). Both from a
theoretical and a perceptive point of view, this justification is somewhat peculiar, and the resolution that he
proposes is not in the least obvious. This choice is however part of Messiaens harmonic language and is a clear
example of how he focuses his attention, in this treatise, more on aesthetic questions than on theoretical issues.
a

Figure 15. (a) Sequence of the first seven harmonics on C; and (b) Resolution of augmented 4th on fundamental C.

In chapter XIV, Messiaen presents a list of a certain number of chords that are particularly important in
understanding his music. The first of these is the chord on the dominant, which he defines as the chord that
contains all the notes of the major scale (see Figure 16a, in C). This aggregate can furthermore be used in
inversions or with appoggiaturas (see Figure 16b), or again with added notes (see Figure 16c, dominant chord in
F# with an added C and G).
a

Figure 16. (a) Chord on the dominant; (b) Chord on the dominant, in inversions and appoggiaturas;
and (c) Chord on the dominant with added notes.

The second chord described by Messiaen is the chord of resonance, which contains the first eight different
harmonics of a fundamental note (see Figure 17). From the point of view of traditional theory, this chord consists
of the superposition of a dominant 7th chord and a 7th chord with a minor 3rd, and a diminished 5th and a minor
7th built on the augmented 5th of the root of the first chord. Another chord whose importance is stressed by
Messiaen is the chord in fourths (see Figure 18), which also turns out to be the chord that contains all the notes of
the fifth mode of limited transposition (which will shortly be discussed).

Figure 17. Chord of resonance.

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

Figure 18. Chord in fourths.

One of the techniques that Messiaen uses to extend the harmonic spectrum consists of what he calls added
resonance (see Figure 19). This resonance, that as Sherlaw Johnson observes had a huge influence on the
composers of the following generation, can be either superior or inferior and is created by superimposing notes
above or below a certain harmonic aggregate. The use of the resonating sounds does not create a true distortion of
the harmonic texture, as much as an enrichment of the timbre, given that the notes involved seem to be absorbed
by the sounds of the original aggregate. The result is that harmony and timbre, which are generally separated in
music theory, interpenetrate one another: Harmony almost takes on the status of timbre (Sherlaw Johnson, 1975,
pp. 17-18).

Figure 19. Extension of the harmonic spectrum with added resonance.

After a chapter dedicated to dissonances and different types of anticipations and pedals,18 in chapter XVI
Messiaen explains his use of modes of limited transposition, the technique that for him represents the foundation
of melody and harmony. The special characteristic of these modes, which can be seen in Figure 20, is that after a
certain number of transpositions, the same notes as in the original succession are found in a different order. This
property derives from the way in which they are constructed: They are in fact based on the chromatic scale of the
tempered system, and divide the octave into 2, 3, 4, or 6 equal parts, each of which contains the same sequence of
tones and semitones. One must immediately note that the modes in question have nothing to do with tonal scales
or with Gregorian modes: The initial and final notes of these modes are not to be considered as a tonic or a finalis,
due to the fact that they have no overriding value compared to the others. The modes do not pertain to any tonality
18

A static harmonic system such as Messiaens inevitably raises the question of a musical structure in which the dialectical
development of the classical symphonic tradition is completely absent. Messiaen was perfectly aware of the problem, and in the
Technique he (1944) affirmed that: Dissonances ou notes trangres, cest tout un. Avec nos accords compliqus, une dissonance
est-elle possible ? Et, dans cette multitude de notes ajoutes, que deviennent les vieilles notes trangres: pdale, note de
passage, broderie, appoggiature ? Elles sont indispensables la vie expressive et contrapuntique de la musique : conservons-les,
en les agrandissant. (Dissonances or foreign notes, they are all the same. With our complicated chords, is a dissonance possible?
And, in this multitude of added notes, what becomes of the old foreign notes: pedal, passing note, embellishment, appoggiatura?
They are all indispensable to the expressive and contrapuntal life of music: let us preserve them by enlarging them.) (p. 48).

VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

805

in particular, although an appropriate choice of notes may recreate a tonal or modal atmosphere.19

Figure 20. Modes of limited transposition.

The 1st mode (see Figure 20) is identical to the whole tone scale and divides the octave into six equal parts.
Debussy had already made use of it, and for this reason Messiaen turns to it as little as possible, unless the
composition requires it. The mode he uses the most is the 2nd, which is made up of four groups of three notes,
each group being articulated into the sequence semitone-tone. There are only three transpositions of this mode:
on C, which can be seen in the example, on D flat, and on D natural. Beginning on other notes does not produce an
autonomous scale, because the same notes found in the original sequence return in another order. The 3rd mode is
built on a tone-semitone-semitone model, which is repeated three times at the distance of a major 3rd. The 4th,
5th, 6th, and 7th modes are all based on the division of the octave into two equal parts and are constructed by
repeating different models. The 4th mode is based on the succession semitone-semitone-minor third-semitone;
the 5th mode on semitone-major third-semitone; the 6th mode on tone-tone-semitone-semitone; and the 7th mode
on semitone-semitone-semitone-tone-semitone.
19

For example, in the case of the third mode (see Figure 20), one could select groups of six notes that pertain to major scales on E
flat, A flat, and B, and minor scales on C, G, A flat and B; or, groups of five notes belonging to major scales on C, D, E, F sharp
and B flat.

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VARIETY AND UNITY IN TECHNIQUE DE MON LANGAGE MUSICAL

Modes of limited transposition, in their way of reconstructing a sort of centrality in a harmonic field

delimited by the original succession and the small number of possible transpositions, are also to be considered as
a technical option inspired by the theological principle expressed by Messiaen in the first few pages of his treatise.
This limitation, in any case, offers a number of unique possibilities for composition, in that these modes (as was
discussed above) can also fall into major and minor tonalities and therefore give way to episodes whose sonority
is more traditional.

Conclusions
In spite of the large variety of sources that inspire it, in his Technique, Messiaen succeeds in presenting a
compositional thought that, at least in part, proves to be substantially cohesive. His inclination towards
dissociating the treatment of the various musical parameters is united with a rigorous conception of composition
that identifies a number of structural ideas that the different aspects of musical construction have in common. The
clearest example can be found in the way he treats modes of limited transposition and non-retrogradable rhythms,
which both reveal, according to Messiaen, a complete analogy in the approach to composition.
Ces modes ralisent dans les sens vertical (transposition) ce que le rythmes non rtrogradable ralisent dans les sens
horizontal (rtrogradation). En effet, ces modes ne peuvent se transposer au del dun certain nombre de transpositions,
sous plein de retomber dans le mme notes (enharmoniquement parlant); de mme ces rythmes ne peuvent tre lus en sens
rtrograde sans que lon retrouve exactement le mme ordre de valeurs que dans les sens droit. Ces modes ne peuvent se
transposer parce quils sontsans polytonalitdans latmosphre modale de plusieurs tons la fois, et contiennent en
eux-mmes de petites transpositions; ces rythmes ne peuvent se rtrograder parce quils contiennent en eux-mmes de
petites rtrogradations. Ces modes sont divisibles en groupes symtriques; ces rythmes aussi, avec cette diffrence que la
symtrie des groupes rythmiques est une symtrie rtrograde. Enfin la dernire note de chaque groupe de ces modes est
toujours commune avec la premire du groupe suivant; et les groupes de ces rythmes encadrent une valeur centrale
commune chaque groupe. Lanalogie est donc complte.20 (Messiaen, 1944, p. 13)

The expressive, contemplative, and religious elements of Messiaens music are in contrast with his rational
thought, and the conception of composition that emerges from it is not only particularly prolific and flexible, it also
presents the originality and innovation that fascinated the younger composers of his day. We should also remember
that Messiaen wanted to take his distances both from the imitators of Satie and the second school of Vienna,
composing a variegated and iridescent music that presented sincerity, calorous affects, and a tendency towards
religious mysticism inspired by Catholicism. Perhaps for this very reason, he avoided presenting his own thought in
such a way that it could be associated with the German theoretical tradition (Stuckeschmidt, 1960, p. 253).21
Heinz Klaus Metzger, in a conference held in Rome in 1992, suggested that the idea of a regulating principle,
or better yet of a structural center in which Messiaens catholicism led him to firmly believe, represented one of
20

These modes create in the vertical direction (transposition) what nonretrogradable rhythms create in the horizontal direction
(retrogradation). In fact, these modes cannot be transposed beyond a certain number of transpositions, without falling again into
the same notes, enharmonically speaking; likewise, these rhythms cannot be read in a retrograde sense without ones finding again
exactly the same order of values as in the right sense. These modes cannot be transposed because they arewithout
polytonalityin the modal atmosphere of several keys at once, and contain in themselves small transpositions; these rhythms
cannot be retrograded because they contain in themselves small retrogradations. These modes are divisible into symmetrical
groups; these rhythms, also, with this difference: the symmetry of the rhythmic groups is a retrograde symmetry. Finally, the last
note of each group of these modes is always in common with the first note of the following group; and the groups of these
rhythms frame a central value common to each group. The analogy is therefore complete.
21
On the contradiction between emotion and rational thought, see Fleinghaus (1988).

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807

the two poles that characterized the music of the 20th century. Metzger contrasted Messiaens work with the
anarchy of Cage, in whose music the idea of a center is completely absent. Their disappearance, in 1992,
represented for Metzger the end of an era: the era of avantgarde music.22

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Boulez, P. (1978). Landmarks (Punti di riferimento). J. J. Nattiez (Ed.). Torino: Einaudi.
Bruhn, S. (2007). Messiaens contemplations of covenant and incarnation. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press.
Bruhn, S. (2008a). Messiaens explorations of love and death: Musico-poetic signification in the tristan trilogy and three related
song cycles. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press.
Bruhn, S. (2008b). Messiaens interpretations of holiness and trinity: Echoes of medieval theology in the oratorio, organ
meditations, and opera. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press.
Bruhn, S. (2010). Olivier Messiaens visions (Les visions dOlivier Messiaen). Paris: LHarmattan.
Crispin, J. M. (2010). Olivier Messiaen: The centenary papers. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Dingle, C., & Simeone, N. (2007). Olivier Messiaen: Music, art and literature. Aldershot: Ashgate Pub.
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Atomen: zum Widerspruch in der Musik Olivier Messiaens). Musik und Gottesdienst, XLI(4), 194-200.
Forte, A. (2002). Olivier Messiaen as serialist. Music Analysis, 21(1), 3-34.
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musicale. Testo con esempi musicali). L. Ronchetti (Ed.). Paris: A. Leduc.
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Norton.
Pozzi, R. (2007). The sound of ecstasy: Olivier Messiaen from Banquet cleste to Turangalla-Symphonie (Il suono dellestasi.
Olivier Messiaen dal Banquet cleste alla Turangalla-Symphonie). Lucca: LIM Editrice.
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Stuckeschmidt, H. (1960). Twentieth century music (La musica moderna). Torino: Einaudi.

22

H. Klaus Metzger, Messiaen e la fine del tempo, conference held on October 25, 1992 in Rome at the Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia, Auditorium di Via della Conciliazione.