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    MESSIAEN Quartet For The End of Time

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    Alfonso J. Asensio
    This document discusses Olivier Messiaen's use and transformation of rhythmic structures and modes of limited transposition in his musical compositions. It provides examples of rhythmic patterns from Hindu traditions and Messiaen's adaptations and augmentations of them. It also explains Messiaen's seven modes of limited transposition, including their transpositional properties and typical chord progressions. The document shows how Messiaen took familiar melodies like themes from Boris Godunov and Old McDonald and refashioned them using his rhythmic techniques and modes of limited transposition.

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    MESSIAEN Quartet For The End of Time

    Uploaded by

    Alfonso J. Asensio
    1K views4 pages
    This document discusses Olivier Messiaen's use and transformation of rhythmic structures and modes of limited transposition in his musical compositions. It provides examples of rhythmic patterns from Hindu traditions and Messiaen's adaptations and augmentations of them. It also explains Messiaen's seven modes of limited transposition, including their transpositional properties and typical chord progressions. The document shows how Messiaen took familiar melodies like themes from Boris Godunov and Old McDonald and refashioned them using his rhythmic techniques and modes of limited transposition.

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    MESSIAEN Quartet for the End of Time

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    MESSIAEN Quartet for the End of Time

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    This document discusses Olivier Messiaen's use and transformation of rhythmic structures and modes of limited transposition in his musical compositions. It provides examples of rhythmic patterns from Hindu traditions and Messiaen's adaptations and augmentations of them. It also explains Messiaen's seven modes of limited transposition, including their transpositional properties and typical chord progressions. The document shows how Messiaen took familiar melodies like themes from Boris Godunov and Old McDonald and refashioned them using his rhythmic techniques and modes of limited transposition.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    1K views4 pages

    MESSIAEN Quartet For The End of Time

    Uploaded by

    Alfonso J. Asensio
    This document discusses Olivier Messiaen's use and transformation of rhythmic structures and modes of limited transposition in his musical compositions. It provides examples of rhythmic patterns from Hindu traditions and Messiaen's adaptations and augmentations of them. It also explains Messiaen's seven modes of limited transposition, including their transpositional properties and typical chord progressions. The document shows how Messiaen took familiar melodies like themes from Boris Godunov and Old McDonald and refashioned them using his rhythmic techniques and modes of limited transposition.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4
    At a glance
    Powered by AI
    The key takeaways are that Messiaen used techniques like added values, diminution, augmentation and modes of limited transposition to create rhythmic and melodic patterns in his compositions.

    Modes of limited transposition are scales that can only be transposed a limited number of times while retaining their interval structure. The text describes the characteristics of modes 1-3 and 4-7.

    The text gives an example of Messiaen transforming the five note motif from Boris Godunov by transposing it into mode 2 and also transforming the Russian folk song 'Point n'était de vent' using his harmonic and rhythmic language.

    Quartet for the End of Time:

    Messiaen's Musical Language


    Rhythm

    Inside Chamber Music


    Bruce Adolphe

    Stravinsky: from Sacre du Printemps (Danse sacrale)


    A
    B

    from the Hindu rhythm simhavikridita:


    A
    B
    A
    B

    Ragavardhana:

    Reversed

    (A augments and diminishes progressively, B does not change)

    10

    (diminution of A)

    A+

    Messiaen points out:


    Three quarter notes (A) and then an "inexact"
    diminution (B), which is also a
    non-retrogradable (palindrome) rhythm.
    A
    B

    ADDED VALUES:
    13

    Simple version:

    Rhythms with added values:


    16

    Non-Retrogradable Rhythms

    19

    5-note melodic pedal



    15-value (articulations) rhythmic pedal, consisting
    of two non-retrogradable rhythms (A and B)

    5-note whole-tone melodic pedal is played 3 times


    to complete the 15-value rhythmic pedal
    This is played by the cello in Liturgie de cristal

    2
    Starting with his "interpretation" of the ragavardhana, Messiaen uses added values, diminution, and augmentation to create
    a rhythmic pedal for the Liturgie de cristal piano part. These 17 articulations (values) are repeated while a harmonic pedal of
    29 chords is repeated, creating a "rhythmicized harmonies". (This is similar to the Medieval concept of isorhythm, which
    Messiaen claimed to know nothing about at the time.)
    A
    A
    A

    23

    MODES OF LIMITED TRANSPOSITION


    24

    25

    Mode 1: Whole Tones (only two transpositions)

    Mode 2: Octatonic (only three transpositions)

    Two chords of the Mode 2


    chosen as typical by Messiaen.
    Second chord contains all 8 notes.

    (Mode is divisible into 2 diminished 7th chords;


    Major, minor, and dominant chords on 4 notes
    only. No tonic/dominant relationship. Tritone sound permeates mode.

    27

    28

    (tonal chords move by


    minor thirds and tritones)

    Mode 3: (only four transpositions)

    Typical chords derived from Mode 3

    29 Modes 4, 5, 6, and 7 are all transposable six times.

    A favorite
    harmony:
    V7 added
    6th and 9th

    4.

    5.
    6.
    (truncated version
    of Mode 4)

    7.

    (10 notes, missing only a tritone; here E/Bb)

    3
    31

    Here is a five-note pattern


    which opens Mussorgsky's Boris Godounov,
    and which so inspired Messiaen:

    Here, Messiaen transposes the five notes


    into Mode 2 of limited transposition.

    (Only the lowest note, the tonic, of the tune


    is lowered to achieve this.)

    Messiaen's own transformation of the Boris motif, using his harmonies from Mode 2 and his added-values.

    33

    Messiaen: "In old French songs, and especially in Russian folklore, we find some remarkable melodies.
    Let us remember them, to pass them through the deforming prism of our language. The Russian song, Point n'tait de vent,
    haunted my youth; we find there again the five notes of Boris that inspired our first formula of melodic cadence:

    36

    Let's apply the "deforming prism" of Messiaen's language to Old McDonald Had a Farm:

    44

    But Mode 2 could give us this:

    etc.

    etc.

    Here is Old McDonald, just the opening, with Mode 2 harmonies, added values, and Mode 2 melodic alteration.

    48

    (Could keep these


    four notes if we want in Mode 2, 1st transposition.)

    55

    61

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