ABSTRACT
Completed in 1969, Olivier Messiaen's Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte Trinite is an organ work of monumental proportions. There are two ways in which Messiaen incorporates theological elements into his Meditations. Quotations from St Thomas Aquinas are incorporated into the music by way of monophonic themes assigned to key words and a complex musical alphabet that actually spells the remaining words. Hill and Simeone say only that Charles 'was invited to preach', thus echoing Messiaen's terse explanation to Claude Samuel. Messiaen tells us that when the organ restoration at the Messiaen's account of the background to the centenary event at the Trinite makes clear two things. First, the extraordinary personal impact of Charles's preaching on him was the decisive factor in the composer's decision to invite him to preach at the event. Second, there was a significant level of collaboration between preacher and composer, and a mutual understanding about the substance of the spoken elements.
