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Book Review
Jun. 6th, 2019 08:10 pmOlivier Messiaen and the Music of Time
by Paul Griffiths
In this book, Griffiths examines Messaien's music (up through 1983's St. Francis of Assisi) in chronological order and with a focus on how the music relates to time and aspects of development and directionality. Griffiths delves into the means through which Messiaen subverts and abandons both of these central principles of Western classical music. I found this book fascinating and useful for illuminating several aspects of Messiaen's music. He has long been one of my favorite composers, and I really enjoyed being able to take a closer look at his work, especially for pieces that I was not previously familiar with. I also appreciated that Griffiths takes Messiaen's religious motivations and inspiration seriously. My only minor criticism is that I could have used a few more pointers or guides through several of the examples where extremely dense harmonies are in play.
by Paul Griffiths
In this book, Griffiths examines Messaien's music (up through 1983's St. Francis of Assisi) in chronological order and with a focus on how the music relates to time and aspects of development and directionality. Griffiths delves into the means through which Messiaen subverts and abandons both of these central principles of Western classical music. I found this book fascinating and useful for illuminating several aspects of Messiaen's music. He has long been one of my favorite composers, and I really enjoyed being able to take a closer look at his work, especially for pieces that I was not previously familiar with. I also appreciated that Griffiths takes Messiaen's religious motivations and inspiration seriously. My only minor criticism is that I could have used a few more pointers or guides through several of the examples where extremely dense harmonies are in play.
