A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of a Modernist Work Composed in Captivity: Olivier Messiaen, "Quartet for the End of Time"

Sercan Dere; Onur Nurcan

Makale detayları

A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of a Modernist Work Composed in Captivity: Olivier Messiaen, "Quartet for the End of Time"

Yazarlar:

Sercan Dere | Onur Nurcan

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Müzik

Dergi:

Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance Issue 23, pp.195-228

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309105

pISSN:

2651-4818

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 French composer Olivier Messiaen, who joined the French army as a medic in the Second World War, was imprisoned by the Germans as a prisoner of war in Görlitzs Stalag VIII A camp in June 1940. Because he did not actively fight in the war as a medic, a German officer sympathized with Messiaen, secretly delivering him paper, pencils and erasers and even having a room in the rectory cleared for him to compose. Quatuor pour la fin du temps Quartet for the End of Time was composed in such an environment. The fact that the piece includes a non-standard instrumental combination consisting of piano, cello, violin, and clarinet as a quartet is a result of the existing instruments in the camp and the presence of competent musicians playing them. The structural design of the work includes both musical and mystical qualities on the axis of Messiaens personal belief. The work, which consists of eight parts in total, symbolizes timelessness, that is, eternity, by depicting the seven days of creation and the eighth day when God rests, as represented in the Bible. The premiere of the work took place on January 15, 1941, in front of an audience of four thousand prisoners and guards. In this article, the non-musical motivations and the composition techniques used in the work titled Quatuor pour la fin du temps are examined in relation to each other. The main purpose of the research is to discover the determining effects of the non-musical motivation, which guides the compositional process of the work, on the musical elements of the work. In addition to some technical aspects such as Indian rhythmsIndian modes, Greek rhythms, medieval classical rhythmic principles, French organ music tradition, synthetic modessynthetic rhythms, and total serialism, Quatuor pour la fin du temps is also analyzed in terms of phenomena and concepts such as Catholicism, ornithology, and synesthesia. In the Introduction chapter, Messiaens life is summarized on the basis of his personality as a composer, the compositional process of the Quartet is reviewed in the historical framework, and the research purpose, including the research methods used in this article are explained. In the following chapters, all movements of the Quartet are analyzed one by one. The compositional techniques used by the composer are examined in detail through the written out text analysis of the musical passages detailing them with footnotes whenever necessary, and these prose analyses are supported by musical examples of the relevant musical passages quoted from the Quartets score. The Conclusion chapter consists of the inferences and evaluations made from the findings.

 French composer Olivier Messiaen, who joined the French army as a medic in the Second World War, was imprisoned by the Germans as a prisoner of war in Görlitzs Stalag VIII A camp in June 1940. Because he did not actively fight in the war as a medic, a German officer sympathized with Messiaen, secretly delivering him paper, pencils and erasers and even having a room in the rectory cleared for him to compose. Quatuor pour la fin du temps Quartet for the End of Time was composed in such an environment. The fact that the piece includes a non-standard instrumental combination consisting of piano, cello, violin, and clarinet as a quartet is a result of the existing instruments in the camp and the presence of competent musicians playing them. The structural design of the work includes both musical and mystical qualities on the axis of Messiaens personal belief. The work, which consists of eight parts in total, symbolizes timelessness, that is, eternity, by depicting the seven days of creation and the eighth day when God rests, as represented in the Bible. The premiere of the work took place on January 15, 1941, in front of an audience of four thousand prisoners and guards. In this article, the non-musical motivations and the composition techniques used in the work titled Quatuor pour la fin du temps are examined in relation to each other. The main purpose of the research is to discover the determining effects of the non-musical motivation, which guides the compositional process of the work, on the musical elements of the work. In addition to some technical aspects such as Indian rhythmsIndian modes, Greek rhythms, medieval classical rhythmic principles, French organ music tradition, synthetic modessynthetic rhythms, and total serialism, Quatuor pour la fin du temps is also analyzed in terms of phenomena and concepts such as Catholicism, ornithology, and synesthesia. In the Introduction chapter, Messiaens life is summarized on the basis of his personality as a composer, the compositional process of the Quartet is reviewed in the historical framework, and the research purpose, including the research methods used in this article are explained. In the following chapters, all movements of the Quartet are analyzed one by one. The compositional techniques used by the composer are examined in detail through the written out text analysis of the musical passages detailing them with footnotes whenever necessary, and these prose analyses are supported by musical examples of the relevant musical passages quoted from the Quartets score. The Conclusion chapter consists of the inferences and evaluations made from the findings.

 French composer Olivier Messiaen, who joined the French army as a medic in the Second World War, was imprisoned by the Germans as a prisoner of war in Görlitzs Stalag VIII A camp in June 1940. Because he did not actively fight in the war as a medic, a German officer sympathized with Messiaen, secretly delivering him paper, pencils and erasers and even having a room in the rectory cleared for him to compose. Quatuor pour la fin du temps Quartet for the End of Time was composed in such an environment. The fact that the piece includes a non-standard instrumental combination consisting of piano, cello, violin, and clarinet as a quartet is a result of the existing instruments in the camp and the presence of competent musicians playing them. The structural design of the work includes both musical and mystical qualities on the axis of Messiaens personal belief. The work, which consists of eight parts in total, symbolizes timelessness, that is, eternity, by depicting the seven days of creation and the eighth day when God rests, as represented in the Bible. The premiere of the work took place on January 15, 1941, in front of an audience of four thousand prisoners and guards. In this article, the non-musical motivations and the composition techniques used in the work titled Quatuor pour la fin du temps are examined in relation to each other. The main purpose of the research is to discover the determining effects of the non-musical motivation, which guides the compositional process of the work, on the musical elements of the work. In addition to some technical aspects such as Indian rhythmsIndian modes, Greek rhythms, medieval classical rhythmic principles, French organ music tradition, synthetic modessynthetic rhythms, and total serialism, Quatuor pour la fin du temps is also analyzed in terms of phenomena and concepts such as Catholicism, ornithology, and synesthesia. In the Introduction chapter, Messiaens life is summarized on the basis of his personality as a composer, the compositional process of the Quartet is reviewed in the historical framework, and the research purpose, including the research methods used in this article are explained. In the following chapters, all movements of the Quartet are analyzed one by one. The compositional techniques used by the composer are examined in detail through the written out text analysis of the musical passages detailing them with footnotes whenever necessary, and these prose analyses are supported by musical examples of the relevant musical passages quoted from the Quartets score. The Conclusion chapter consists of the inferences and evaluations made from the findings.

 İkinci Dünya Savaşında Fransız ordusuna sıhhiyeci olarak katılan Fransız besteci Olivier Messiaen, Haziran 1940ta Almanlar tarafından Polonyada Görlitzin Stalag VIII A kampında savaş esiri olarak tutsak edilmiştir. Bir sıhhiyeci olarak savaşta aktif olarak çarpışmamasından dolayı, bir Alman subayı Messiaene sempati duymuş, ona gizli bir şekilde kâğıt, kurşun kalem ve silgi ulaştırmış ve hatta papaz bloğundaki bir odayı temizleterek ona beste yapabileceği bir ortam sağlamıştır. Quatuor pour la fin du temps Zamanın Sonu İçin Kuartet böyle bir ortamda bestelenmiştir. Eserin bir kuartet olarak piyano, viyolonsel, keman ve klarnetten oluşan standart-dışı bir çalgı kombinasyonu içermesi, kamptaki mevcut çalgıların ve bunları seslendiren yetkin müzisyenlerin varlığının bir sonucudur. Eserin yapısal tasarımı Messiaenin kişisel inanç ekseninde hem müzikal hem de mistik nitelikler içermektedir. Toplamda sekiz bölümden oluşan eser, İncilde temsil edilen yedi yaratılış gününü ve Tanrının dinlendiği sekizinci günü betimleyerek zamansızlığı yani sonsuzluğu sembolize etmektedir. Eserin prömiyeri 15 Ocak 1941de dört bin mahkûm ve gardiyanlardan oluşan izleyici-dinleyici kitlesinin önünde gerçekleşmiştir. Bu makalede, Quatuor pour la fin du temps başlıklı eserde yer alan müzik dışı motivasyonlar ve eserin yazı dilinde kullanılan besteleme teknikleri birbirleriyle bağlantılı olarak mercek altına alınacaktır. Araştırmanın temel amacı, eserin besteleniş sürecini güdümleyen müzik dışı motivasyonun eserin müziksel unsurlarına olan belirleyici etkilerinin saptanmasıdır. Hint ritimleriHint modları, Yunan ritimleri, Orta Çağa ait klasik ritim ilkeleri, Fransız org müziği geleneği, sentetik modlarsentetik ritimler ve total serializm gibi teknik unsurlarla birlikte Katolisizm, ornitoloji kuş-bilimi ve sinestezi gibi olgu ve kavramlar da Quatuor pour la fin du temps bağlamında analiz edilen konular arasında yer almaktadır. Giriş bölümünde Messiaenın hayatı, besteci kişiliği temelinde özetlenerek Kuartetin besteleniş süreci tarihsel çerçevede ele alınmış, ayrıca araştırmanın amacı ve araştırmada kullanılan temel yöntemler açıklanmıştır. Takip eden bölümlerde ise eserin tüm bölümleri mercek altına alınmış, bestecinin kullandığı teknikler, eserde yer alan pasajlar üzerinden düz yazı analizle hem metin içerisinde hem de gereken noktalarda dipnotlar ile detaylandırılarak çözümlenmiş ve ilgili müzik pasajlarının partitürden alıntılanan notaları ile örneklendirmeler yapılmıştır. Sonuç bölümünde ise elde edilen bulgulardan yapılan çıkarımlar yer almaktadır.

Makale detayları

A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of a Modernist Work Composed in Captivity: Olivier Messiaen, "Quartet for the End of Time"

Yazarlar:

Sercan Dere | Onur Nurcan

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Müzik

Dergi:

Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance Issue 23, pp.195-228

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309105

pISSN:

2651-4818

Messiaen

Modernism

Ornithology

Synesthesia

QuartetMessiaen

Modernizm

Ornitoloji

Sinestezi

Kuartet

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Sercan Dere | Onur Nurcan

Yayıncı: Ege University

Ana Başlıklar: Müzik

Dergi: Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance Issue 23, pp.195-228

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 12/2023

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2001309105

pISSN: 2651-4818

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Sercan Dere | Onur Nurcan

Yayıncı:

Ege University

Ana Başlıklar:

Müzik

Dergi:

Eurasian Journal of Music and Dance Issue 23, pp.195-228

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

12/2023

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001309105

pISSN:

2651-4818