ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on general biographical and stylistic studies of Messiaen's music, as well as more specialized discussions. It also includes essay collections, program booklets, and special periodical issues devoted to the composer. The chapter presents refreshing musical and socio-cultural viewpoints on Messiaen and his music. It assesses the reception of the composer's work, as well as the role of birdsong in his compositional aesthetics. Not only considers the presence of Romanticism–in the form of timbre–in Messiaen's music, but also offers a decidedly different perspective on the composer's approach to rhythm, arguing that it is more homorhythmic in nature, ultimately signifying a verticalized "monorhythm". The chapter traces the influence of Jolivet's innovative music of the 1930s–as reflected by Mana, and ideas regarding harmonic generation derived from acoustics, on Messiaen's music of the late 1930s to 1950s. It emphases on Messiaen's compulsion to communicate with the outside world through music characterized by vivid musical utterances and symbolic encodings.
