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Chapter 25 - The Simplicity of Messiaen

from Part IV - Concepts and Legacy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 November 2023

By
Jacques Amblard (trans. Robert Sholl)
Edited by
Robert Sholl
Robert Sholl
Affiliation:
Royal Academy of Music and University of West London
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Summary

‘God is simple’, wrote Messiaen; here is an aesthetic model for this composer – sometimes called a theologian – that is present in diverse aspects of his music and that receives attention in this chapter. Simplicity is revealed in different forms and techniques, and in his ‘naïveté. It is so engraved in the composer’s works that it becomes almost a caricature. This chapter examines these ideals in Messiaen’s thought, character, and in the critical reception of his music.

Keywords

simplicityreceptionsimplicity
Type
Chapter
Information
Messiaen in Context , pp. 233 - 239
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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