ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that the tombeau occupies a fruitful intersection between musical reception and production, to present the lists of works that undeniably show Messiaen's influence, to unpack the variety of ways that such works honour him. With Yvonne Loriod serving in bookend roles as muse and interpreter, Messiaen's contribution to the piano repertory of the twentieth century rivals, if not surpasses, that of Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Bartók. Before surveying the more notable compositions written for Messiaen, it is well worth recognizing that his influence has extended to musicians working in non-classical idioms. Tombeaux reveals that Messiaen is received by composers largely as a paragon of compositional craft rather than a model for spirituality, as a titan of technique rather than a guru of musical nature and supernature. In the way, Messiaen is a modernist legacy, appealing to later composers principally on an aesthetic basis rather than one consciously mediated by contexts and concepts.
