Exploring the many dimensions of Messiaen's life, thought and music, this book provides fresh perspectives on the contexts within which the composer worked, the intellectual currents that influenced him, and the influence he himself exerted on twentieth-century music. It enables a holistic understanding of this 'mondial' French composer in relation to the wider world, including his engagement with and refiguration of theology through music, the performance and reception of his work, the ways in which his aesthetics and conceptual universe have been understood by his students, and how his legacy continues to evolve.
Reappraising known facts and adding new interpretations from a variety of inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary viewpoints, Messiaen in Context provides a fresh understanding and engagement with one of the most significant musicians of the twentieth century.
Part I. Mondial Messiaen: 1. Introduction: the image of Messiaen Robert Sholl; 2. Messiaen's family Nigel Simeone; 3. Yvonne Loriod Matthew Schellhorn; 4. Messiaen and the Paris conservatoire Christopher Brent-Murray; 5. Messiaen and classical India and Greece Peter Asimov; 6. Messiaen and the USA Nigel Simeone; 7. Messiaen and the idea of Japan Peter Burt; 8. Messiaen and China Wei-Ling Cheong; 9. Messiaen and Australia: the composer as Lyrebird Charles Bodmin Rae; Part II. Messiaen and Theology: 10. Messiaen and tournemire Jenifer Donelson; 11. Theology in the interwar works of Olivier Messiaen Elizabeth McLain; 12. Revitalising the spiritual: Messiaen and La Jeune France Caroline Rae; 13. The theology and aesthetics of Thomas Aquinas in the compositions of Olivier Messiaen Siglind Bruhn; 14. Messiaen's musical language of religious symbolism Siglind Bruhn; 15. The composition of glory: Olivier Messiaen and Hans Urs von Balthasar Jennifer Newsome Martin; 16. Messiaen and the franciscan spirit Robert Fallon; Part III. Composers, Performers and Critics: 17. Before Le Cas: Messiaen in the musical press Stephen Broad; 18. Messiaen and borrowing Christopher Brent-Murray, Yves Balmer and Thomas Lacôte; 19. Messiaen and criticism Arnold Whittall; 20. Messiaen as organist of la Trinité Andrew Shenton; 21. Messiaen and the organ recordings Andrew Shenton; 22. 'Un sens artistique très développé': Messiaen's cahiers as performance aid Roderick Chadwick; 23. Pianism and virtuosity in Messiaen's vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus Caroline Rae; 24. Messiaen as orchestrator Christopher Dingle; Part IV. Concepts and Legacy: 25. The simplicity of Messiaen Jacques Amblard; 26. Messiaen and synaesthesia Duncan Carmichael; 27. The opposite of time: What birds meant for Messiaen David Rothenburg; 28. Messiaen and surrealism Robert Sholl; 29. An explosive confrontation: Messiaen and the post-war avant-garde Amy Bauer; 30. Messiaen and Jacques Charpentier Robert Sholl; 31. Messiaen and Boulez Arnold Whittall; 32. Messiaen and spectralism Marilyn Nonken; 33. Olivier Messiaen and Jean-Louis Florentz: a filiation? Michel Bourcier; 34. Messiaen in France today Jacques Amblard.
Robert Sholl teaches at The Royal Academy of Music and the University of West London. He is the editor of Messiaen Studies (2007) and James MacMillan Studies (with George Parsons, 2021) and Contemporary Music and Spirituality (with Sander van Maas, 2017). As a performer, he has played all of Messiaen's organ music, recorded improvisations to film on the organ and piano, and has given recitals at major venues in London and Paris.
Reviews for Messiaen in Context
'[An] absorbing and always readable collection.' Richard Whitehouse, Gramophone
