MUSIQUE COLORÉE: SYNESTHETIC CORRESPONDENCE

IN THE WORKS OF OLIVIER MESSIAEN

by

Joseph Edward Harris

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the
Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music in the
Graduate College of
The University of Iowa

May 2004

Thesis Supervisor: Assistant Professor Michael Buchler

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to my readers and others who provided criticism and encouragement:

Alexandra Fol, Ida Wilson, Dorit Bergen, Anne Miller, Chris Harris, Craig Schwalenberg,

Leyla Sanyer, Susan Malecki, Keith Lencho, Lynda Hakken, Eva Wright, Leigh Maxwell,

Dan Broner, Florence Vatan, Jody Nibbe, and Glenn Lemieux.

Thanks to publisher Alphonse Leduc for kind permission to reproduce selected

works of Olivier Messiaen.

Thanks to the Graduate College of the University of Iowa for the assistance of a

Seashore Dissertation-Year Fellowship.

Thanks to my parents for always being supportive of my musical and academic

endeavors.

Thanks to members of my dissertation committee: Stefan Eckert, John Garcia,

David Gompper, and Greg Marion.

Thanks to my advisor Michael Buchler, for his support, encouragement, and

constant enthusiasm of my research.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF EXAMPLES v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1

Outline of the dissertation 2

Sources of the dissertation 4
Contributions of the dissertation 8

CHAPTER 2. MESSIAEN’S SYNESTHETIC EXPERIENCE 12

Synesthesia as artistic metaphor in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth

centuries 12
Etiology of idiopathic synesthesia 19
Conclusions 22

CHAPTER 3. DEFINITION OF MUSIQUE COLORÉE 24

Features of musique colorée 24

Conclusions 31

CHAPTER 4. METHOD FOR DETERMINING

HARMONIC COLORATIONS AS PERCEIVED BY MESSIAEN 32

Determining the base colors of Messiaen’s pcs 34

Mechanics of harmonic coloration 38
Summary 46

CHAPTER 5. MODES OF LIMITED TRANSPOSITION AND SPECIAL

CHORDS 47

General characteristics of Messiaen’s modes with limited transpositions 48

Mode 1 50
Mode 2 51
Mode 3 52
Mode 4 53
Mode 5 53
Mode 6 54
Mode 7 54
Chord on the dominant (CD) 55
Chord on the dominant with appoggiaturas (CDA) 60
Chords with transposed inversions (CTI) 62
Chord of resonance (CR) 65
Chord with contracted resonance (CCR) 69
Chord in fourths (C4) 75
Turning chord (TC) 77
Chord of total chromaticism (CTC) 81
Summary 85

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CHAPTER 6. ANALYSIS OF “APPARITION DU CHRIST GLORIEUX” 86

Ascertaining unknown harmonic colorations in “Apparition du Christ glorieux” 90

Form in “Apparition du Christ glorieux” 106
Examination of color in “Apparition du Christ glorieux” 118
Summary 123

CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS 125

Original contributions of the dissertation 126

Opportunities for further research 127
Future 129

APPENDIX. MESSIAEN’S DESCRIPTIONS OF COLORATIONS OF

MODES AND SPECIAL CHORDS 131

BIBLIOGRAPHY 157

Primary resources 157

Supplementary resources 161

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 LIST OF EXAMPLES

Example

1.1. Notation of voicing variants in the dissertation. 7

2.1. Several graphic depictions of photisms. 20

4.1. Thirteen chords and their colors, from Traité de rythme, V/2, pp. 464–465. 37

4.2. Graphic depiction of photism evoked by the dyad C4–D4, as perceived by

Otto Ortmann’s subject D. 40

4.3. Color-wheel, with Messiaen’s pc-colors. 41

4.4. Coloristic analysis of chord 1, from analysis of Sept Haïkaï,

Traité de rythme, V/2, pp. 464–465. 43

4.5. Coloristic analysis of chord 8, from analysis of Sept Haïkaï,

Traité de rythme, V/2, pp. 464–465. 43

4.6. Coloristic analysis of “Apparition du Christ glorieux,” phrase 2, chord 6. 44

4.7. Coloristic analysis of “Apparition du Christ glorieux,” phrase 8, chord 10. 45

5.1. Mode 1. 51

5.2. Concealed use of mode 1 in “Jésus accepte la souffrance,” mm. 15–16. 51

5.3. Mode 2. 51

5.4. Mode 3. 52

5.5. Mode 4. 52

5.6. Mode 5. 53

5.7. Mode 6. 53

5.8. Mode 7. 54

5.9. CD in root position. 55

5.10. Analysis of root-position CD. 55

5.11. CD in its four fundamental voicings. 55

5.12. The 48 CDs. 56

5.13. CDA in root position; comparison of CDA and CD. 58

5.14. CDA in its four fundamental voicings. 58

5.15. The 48 CDAs. 59

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5.16. Technique of transposed inversions applied to dominant-seventh chord. 63

5.17. CR in root position; overtone series. 65

5.18. Mode 31 and three related CRs. 65

5.19. CR in its four fundamental voicings. 67

5.20. The 48 CRs. 68

5.21. CCR, internal construction. 69

5.22. CCR type 1, chords A and B, internal construction. 70

5.23. The 24 CCRs, type 1. 70

5.24. CD, CDA, CCRB: internal differences. 72

5.25. CCR type 2, internal construction. 73

5.26. The 24 CCRs, type 2. 73

5.27. C4. 76

5.28. C4s in Réveil des oiseaux, p. 4, mm. 9–11. 76

5.29. C4 trichords in “Regard de l’onction terrible,” mm. 1–2. 76

5.30. Turning chords, three fundamental voicings. 77

5.31. The 36 TCs. 78

5.32. CTC, internal construction. 82

5.33. CTC in Un Vitrail et des oiseaux, final measures. 82

5.34. CTCs in “Le Chemin de l’invisible,” rehearsal 2. 83

5.35. The CTC in its twelve transpositions. 83

6.1. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 1/11, coloristic analysis. 91

6.2. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 2/6, coloristic analysis. 92

6.3. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 3/8, coloristic analysis. 93

6.4. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 3/10, coloristic analysis. 93

6.5. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 4/9, coloristic analysis. 94

6.6. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 4/10, coloristic analysis. 95

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6.7. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 6/10, coloristic analysis. 96

6.8. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 6/12, coloristic analysis. 96

6.9. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 8/7, coloristic analysis. 97

6.10. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 8/8, coloristic analysis. 98

6.11. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 8/10, coloristic analysis. 99

6.12. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 10/12, coloristic analysis. 99

6.13. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 10/14, coloristic analysis. 100

6.14. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 10/16, coloristic analysis. 101

6.15. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 10/17, coloristic analysis. 101

6.16. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 13/9, coloristic analysis. 102

6.17. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 13/14, coloristic analysis. 103

6.18. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 13/18, coloristic analysis. 104

6.19. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 13/19, coloristic analysis. 104

6.20. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 13/23, coloristic analysis. 105

6.21. “Apparition du Christ Glorieux,” chord 14/10, coloristic analysis. 106

6.22. Annotated keyboard reduction of “Apparition du Christ glorieux.” 108

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CD chord on the dominant

(accord sur dominante)

CDA chord on the dominant with appoggiaturas

(accord sur dominante appoggiaturé)

CTI chords with transposed inversions

(accords à renversements transposés)

CR chord of resonance
(accord de la résonance)

CCR chord with contracted resonance

(accord à résonance contractée)

C4 chord in fourths
(accord en quartes)

TC turning chord
(accords en tournant)

CTC chord of total chromaticism

(accord du total chromatique)

pc pitch class

pcset pitch-class set

ic interval class

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