ABSTRACT
Composed in 1989 as Messiaen's contribution to the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart bicentenary, Un Sourire heralds the almost Classical restraint that characterizes Eclairs. It is notable among Olivier Messiaen's orchestral works for being well within the capabilities of many non-professional orchestras. In fact, ambiguities would be more accurate because there is ambiguity at every level: between tonal and modal systems, within each of the systems and also between melody and harmony. Both the modal analysis and the quasi-tonal analysis have their values and shed light on these 12 bars but neither one is particularly adequate in explaining the compositional thought behind the music. The string passages in Un Sourire become progressively more adventurous harmonically, developing aspects of the first phrase as if inspired to be slightly more daring by the exuberant birdsong that punctuates each unfolding of the melody.
