Messiaen Perspectives 2: Techniques, Influence and Reception

Focusing on Messiaens relation to history - both his own and the history he engendered - the Messiaen Perspectives volumes convey the growing understanding of his deep and varied interconnections with his cultural milieux. Messiaen Perspectives 1: Sources and Influences examines the genesis, sources and cultural pressures that shaped Messiaens music. Messiaen Perspectives 2: Techniques, Influence and Reception analyses Messiaens compositional approach and the repercussions of his music. While each book offers a coherent collection in itself, together these complementary volumes elucidate how powerfully Messiaen was embedded in his time and place, and how his music resonates ever more today. Messiaen Perspectives 2: Techniques, Influence and Reception explores Messiaens imprint on recent musical life. The first part scrutinizes his compositional technique in terms of counterpoint, spectralism and later piano music, while the second charts ways in which Messiaens influence is manifest in the music and careers of Ohana, Xenakis, Murail and Quebecois composers. The third part includes case studies of Messiaens reception in Italy, Spain and the USA. The volume also includes an ornithological catalogue of Messiaens birds, collates information on the numerous tombeaux pieces he inspired, and concludes with a Critical Catalogue of Messiaens Musical Works.