The Life of Messiaen

An accessible study of the life and works of the twentieth-century composer Olivier Messiaen.

Christopher Dingle (Author)

9780521635479, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 March 2007

274 pages, 27 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1.5 cm, 0.39 kg

'… this neatly assembled and marvellously readable volume in the Cambridge Musical lives series. … surprises with several new investigative strands and more than satisfies with a cogent and entertaining commentary … a thoroughly researched, beautifully executed display if lightly-handled scholarship that makes one feel simultaneously admiring of such an all too rare facility and thoroughly envious of it.' Classical Music

Olivier Messiaen stands as one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century and among the foremost religious artists of any era. When he died in 1992, the prevailing image was of a deeply religious man whose only sources of inspiration were God and Nature, and of a composer whose music progressed along an entirely individual path, impervious to contemporaneous events and the whims both of his fellow artists and the critics. The Life of Messiaen paints a more nuanced picture of the man and the musician, peering behind Messiaen's public persona to examine the private difficulties and creative struggles that were the true backdrop to many of his greatest achievements. Based upon the latest research, including previously overlooked sources, this book provides an excellent introduction to Messiaen's life and work, presenting a fascinating new perspective of a man whose story is more remarkable than the myths surrounding it.

1. The burgeoning artist: 1908–1931
2. Le jeune français: 1931–1939
3. Occupying time: 1939–1945
4. Songs of love and death: 1945–1948
5. For now we see through a glass darkly: 1949–1952
6. A natural retreat: 1951–1959
7. The statue remains on its pedestal: 1960–1969
8. A passion for opera: 1970–1983
9. Tous les oiseaux des étoiles: 1984–1992.

Subject Areas: Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH]