Skip to content

Booksellers & Trade Customers: Sign up for online bulk buying at trade.atlanticbooks.com for wholesale discounts

Booksellers: Create Account on our B2B Portal for wholesale discounts

Olivier Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques [With CD (Audio)]

by Peter Hill , Nigel Simeone
Save 35% Save 35%
Current price ₹11,623.00
Original price ₹17,881.00
Original price ₹17,881.00
Original price ₹17,881.00
(-35%)
₹11,623.00
Current price ₹11,623.00

Imported Edition - Ships in 12-14 Days

Free Shipping in India on orders above Rs. 500

Request Bulk Quantity Quote
+91
Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9780754656302
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: Routledge
  • Publisher Imprint: Routledge
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 140
  • Original Price: GBP 135.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: N/A
  • Item Weight: 359 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Individual Composer & Musician

What makes Oiseaux exotiques so important is that it is arguably the first of Messiaen's major works to create a successful synthesis between his music and his passion for ornithology. The earliest composition to use birdsong to a significant extent was the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (1940-41). A newspaper interview a few years later (France-Soir, 1948) demonstrates Messiaen's growing desire to move away from the stylization that had characterized the Quatuor towards a much greater realism, based on a close observation of birds in their natural habitat. At the same time, Messiaen continued to regard birdsong as music - and divinely inspired music at that - a belief that led for a time to an obsession with truth-to-nature. Against this background, Oiseaux exotiques proves to be a landmark, the work in which Messiaen the musician began to regain the upper hand over Messiaen the ornithologist. The introductory chapter (Chapter 1) outlines the background to Oiseaux exotiques, discussing Messiaen's relations with the 1950s avant garde - in particular with his former pupil Pierre Boulez - and his involvement with the concerts of the Domaine musical, for which Oiseaux exotiques was composed. In Chapter 2, access to Messiaen's sketches enables the authors to analyse his compositional methods in unprecedented detail; a generous number of music examples refer to birdsong recordings actually used by Messiaen (which can be heard on the accompanying CD), and trace step-by-step the evolution of musical ideas from first notation to finished score. Chapter 3 provides a commentary on the music, investigating issues of continuity and texture, and revealing the processes underlying the score's dazzling profusion. In two further chapters Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone recount the reception history of Oiseaux exotiques, and compare recorded interpretations, taking as their point of departure the historic premiere, included in full on the CD. Finally, the Conclusion considers

Peter Hill is Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield. A former student of Messiaen, he is editor of The Messiaen Companion (1995), and co-author, with Nigel Simeone, of the ground-breaking biography, Messiaen (2005). As a pianist he is a leading performer of Messiaen's music, and has recorded the composer's complete works. Nigel Simeone is Professor of Historical Musicology at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of Paris: A Musical Gazetteer (2000), two books on Messiaen, and co-author, with Peter Hill, of the acclaimed biography Messiaen (2005).

Trusted for over 49 years

Family Owned Company

Secure Payment

All Major Credit Cards/Debit Cards/UPI & More Accepted

New & Authentic Products

India's Largest Distributor

Need Support?

Whatsapp Us