ABSTRACT
The complexity of 'l'Oiseau-Lyre et la Ville-Fiancee' may be attributable to the ebullient diversity of the Lyrebird's song, but the Olivier Messiaen's unifying voice is also apparent in abundance. 'l'Oiseau-Lyre et la Ville-Fiancee' is a transcription of the exceptional song of a remarkable bird and, therefore, it is an extremely complex movement both in terms of its structure and rhythmic, harmonic and timbral material. In fact, as is clear from Messiaen's cahier, the transcription that forms the basis of 'l'Oiseau-Lyre et la Ville-Fiancee' records a remarkable encounter on 11 June 1988 at Tidbinbilla with three Oiseaux-Lyre Superbes, answering each other. Like much of his birdsong writing, a remarkable feature of 'l'Oiseau-Lyre et la Ville-Fiancee' is Messiaen's ability to create a cogent whole out of a wealth of apparently disparate material. As with the Cossyphe d'Heuglin in Un Sourire, Messiaen imbues much of the song with a clear harmonic sense, with a clear focus of the E major triad.
