Questions of Interest
Olivier Messiaen (1908-92) is one of the most important composers of the 20th century, his works now firmly anchored in the concert repertoire. His appeal to listeners and performers derives not only from his innovative and unmistakably personal musical style, characterized by the use of serial row structures, ancient Hindu rhythms, transcribed birdsongs, and its own harmonic “sound-color” system; more especially, in the religious milieu, Messiaen is known as a composer who placed his musical work entirely at the service of the Christian faith. Nearly all his works deal with Christian themes and are based on texts from the biblical-sacred tradition. This devout Catholic described his main compositional objective as “to bring the theological truths of the Catholic faith into the light.”1
A preoccupation with the sacrament and mystery of the Eucharist spans Messiaen’s organ output from a short first piece, Le Banquet céleste (“The Heavenly Banquet”), in 1928, to his monumental late work, the Livre du Saint Sacrement (“Book of the Holy Sacrament”), which he composed in 1984.2 It seems that the titular organist of the Parisian church of Sainte-Trinité (an office that Messiaen held for more than 60 years) was particularly interested, late in his life, in dedicating another work to the Eucharist – more precisely, the “mystery of the real presence of God, in which I firmly believe.”3 For the composer, the Livre du Saint Sacrement is one thing above all else: a musical “confession of faith in the real presence of Christ in the Host.”4
In terms of both content and music, this opus ultimum for organ represents a high point in Messiaen’s œuvre: with eighteen movements and a performance length of just under two hours, it is the composer’s most extensive organ work. Messiaen makes the most of the organ’s capabilities in terms of sound and compositional technique. To provide a theological foundation, he precedes the individual movements with a total of 27 quotations from traditional sacred traditional sources including Holy Scripture, the eucharistic hymns of Thomas Aquinas, De Imitatione Christi by Thomas à Kempis, and the book Christ in His Mysteries by Dom Columba Marmion. In addition, he writes a short musico-theological introductory commentary in which he explains the main ideas of the individual movements. As “the most magnificent musical shrine ever erected in honor of Holy Communion”; as a “masterpiece of adoration, of doxology, of mystical union”;5 as a “synthesis” or “summation”6 of his organ œuvre; as a “record for the organ literature”;7 as a musical prayer;8 and as a “manifestation of transcendence”9 – not to mention a few critical statements10 – the Livre du Saint Sacrement has found its way into the literature. The abundance of recordings and performances of the Livre testify to the attention it has received and to the great artistic value of the composition.11
To date, however, there has not been a comprehensive musicological or theological study of the Livre du Saint Sacrement. The aim of the present book is therefore to present the first in-depth musico-theological assessment of the Livre. The composition will be examined with regard to the dimensions of eucharistic theology and spirituality that it expresses. It is important to take into account the interpretation provided by the composer, especially the introductory commentary and the underlying theological quotations, as well as to analyze the musical score itself and relate it to the textual specifications. Information about the religious implications of Messiaen’s music has already been provided not only by his own extensive writings on his work, but also by the observations found in previous Messiaen research. The theological interpretation of his music is subject to hermeneutical limits, as echoed in Pascal Ide’s apt remark: “Messiaen tried to make the mystery of God, which is beyond all words, audible through a language that is in turn beyond all words: music.”12 Therefore, an exhaustive linguistic decoding of the composition’s eucharistic content cannot be the aim of this book. Rather, in contrast with an evaluation of a written eucharistic treatise, it is important to reflect on the nonverbal dimension added by music, as revealed in a direct listening and aesthetic experience.
Viewed from a broader perspective, the present book not only stands at the interface between theology and musicology, but also refers to the interrelationship between theology and contemporary culture and aesthetics. In his Poetic Dogmatics, Alex Stock emphasizes the importance of reflecting on religious art, literature, and music from a dogmatic perspective.13 Moreover, Stock assigns a considerable theological relevance and expressivity to liturgical and artistic testimonies in which experiences of faith are concentrated: “Songs and images, liturgies and beautiful literature offer themselves as sources of theological knowledge, in addition to Scripture and the documents of the magisterial tradition, to be taken seriously as fontes theologiae and not just as ornamenta ecclesiae.”14 For the Livre du Saint Sacrement to be taken seriously as a “sign of the times” (GS 4) and as a source of theology, the eucharistic theology and spirituality of the composition should therefore be considered against the background of today’s discussions of eucharistic theology, and questions should be raised about their inspirational potential as eucharistic theology in sound.
Particularly in the 20th century, important developments in eucharistic theology and spirituality brought about a certain “change in the understanding of the Eucharist.”15 The impulses of the biblical-patristic, liturgical, and biblical-ecumenical movements were taken up magisterially by the Second Vatican Council, which described the Eucharist as the “fount and apex of the whole Christian life” (LG 11). In so doing, the council made it possible to open up the narrowed and shortened neo-scholastic, post-Tridentine understanding of the Eucharist in favor of a holistic view, which is most visibly expressed in a renewed appreciation of the liturgy and a reconsideration of the essential questions of ecclesiology and ecumenism. The mystery theology of the Benedictine Odo Casel, whose approach is echoed in the discussion of a “paschal mystery” (SC 5), took an important step toward expanding the patristic view of the Eucharist, in which the sacrament is interpreted as a true symbol, as a Neoplatonic, realistic archetype of Christ.16 Alexander Betz differentiated between the “commemorative real presence,” the “principal real presence,” and the “somatic real presence” and thus contributed significantly to breaking a problematic fixation on the substantive presence of Christ under the bread and wine.17 The ecclesiological dimension of the Eucharist would be regained particularly through Henri de Lubac’s patristic studies on the “mystical body of Christ”18 – a concept that was expressed in the encyclical Mystici corporis (1943) of Pius XII. This resonated with and decisively shaped the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. Liturgical and liturgical-historical-patristic studies by Romano Guardini, Joseph Pascher, Josef Andreas Jungmann, Pius Parsch, and others opened access to the meal and community character, the anamnetic-epicletic dimension, and the eschatological valence of the Eucharist. The liturgical movement campaigned for the active participation of the faithful, which the Second Vatican Council expressed in the catchphrase “participatio actuosa” (SC 14). In the wider context of the council, an important impetus toward ecumenical understanding and promulgation of the message of faith came from attempts to explain the process of transformation through a personal or relational ontology, as summarized by the keywords “transignification” and “transfinalization.” Examples of this were the approaches of Piet Schoonenberg, Edward Schillebeeckx, Bernhard Welte, and Joseph Ratzinger.19 The ecumenical dialogue regarding an understanding of the Eucharist was reflected in such important joint declarations as Das Herrenmahl (The Lord’s Supper, 1978) from the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran denominations and the “Lima Declaration of Convergence” (1982) by the World Council of Churches. In parallel with the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church also reverted to patristic sources, so that today, the sacramental-theological momentum connecting the Catholic Church to the Eastern churches is particularly emphasized. Against the background of these eucharistic theological currents of the 20th century, the eucharistic theology and spirituality expressed in the Livre du Saint Sacrement – which was written in 1984 – will be classified and evaluated in the third part of this book.
Research Status
Source Texts
Messiaen himself left behind an extensive body of literature on his musical work in addition to his compositions.20 Along with the Technique de mon langage musical21 and the seven posthumous volumes of the Traité de rythme, de couleur et d’ornithologie,22 in which he explains the main features of his musical language and offers analyses of his works, there are, most notably, innumerable interviews of Messiaen. The conversations documented by Brigitte Massin23 and Claude Samuel,24 as well as the Contributions to the Spiritual World of Olivier Messiaen by Almut Rössler,25 deserve special attention. Methodologically, however, one must account for the problem that Messiaen exercised a certain control over the image he presented in public by tending toward almost verbatim repetitions of important statements or points of view.26 In particular, numerical figures sometimes appear to be slightly exaggerated to emphasize a point. Moreover, Messiaen rarely commented on subjects that were not part of his usual conversational repertoire.27
The Status of Theological Research on Olivier Messiaen
From the abundance of publications on the life and work of the composer and the wide range of musicological studies, those focusing on theological reflections in Messiaen’s music will be singled out here.28 Aloyse Michaely, who was the first to devote himself explicitly to the theological dimension of Messiaen’s music, has done a comprehensive appraisal showing the influences of religious writings on Messiaen’s compositions.29 Michaely’s approach can be considered decisive for the present book. Pascal Ide and Jean-Rodolphe Kars point in several articles to the theological and spiritual dimension of Messiaen’s work.30 The two volumes titled La cité céleste, which were created as part of an exhibition and symposium under the leadership of Thomas Daniel Schlee, cover a broad interdisciplinary spectrum in which Messiaen’s musicological and aesthetic as well as theological sources are investigated in a highly informative manner.31 Siglind Bruhn has treated Messiaen’s musical œuvre extensively in several lucid volumes, uncovering the theological background and symbolic content of Messiaen’s musical language.32 The conference volume Music of the Invisible: The Composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) at the Intersection of Theology and Music can also be understood as a synthesis of his theological and musical approaches, focusing particularly on the themes of the Cross, Resurrection, and glory in Messiaen’s musical output.33 Julian Christoph Tölle, Christian Lenze, and Thomas Schrader have produced studies that deal convincingly with the theological content of individual compositions.34 The musicologically enlightening essay collection Messiaen the Theologian, compiled in 2010 by Andrew Shenton as part of the Boston University Messiaen Project (BUMP), purports to be devoted to theology as a neglected aspect of research into the life and work of Messiaen.35 The contributions tend to focus on historical context, however, and largely overlook the theological programs that Messiaen himself assigned to his works. The musicologist Sander van Maas, in The Reinvention of Religious Music: Olivier Messiaen’s Breakthrough to the Beyond, also takes up the distinction between musicological and theological approaches to Messiaen’s music.36 For the first time, van Maas discusses – with reference to Hans Urs von Balthasar, Jean-Luc Marion, and the Church Father Augustine – the aesthetic question of whether and to what extent Messiaen’s music can actually bring the listener into contact with another reality. Wolfgang W. Müller reviews Messiaen’s major works from a profound theological perspective.37
The Status of Research on the Livre du Saint Sacrement
Smaller-scale studies of the Livre du Saint Sacrement are considered and discussed in the context of the detailed movement analyses. Early French-language overviews by Gilles Cantagrel and Susan Landale offer a theologically and musicologically informative initial orientation to the individual movements, even including statements by the composer.38 The descriptions of the movements by Messiaen’s student Harry Halbreich, in program-book style, seem to be closely based on the previous work of Cantagrel.39 The organist Gillian Weir touches on the individual movements of the Livre in The Messiaen Companion, as part of her overall survey of Messiaen’s late organ works.40 In the first German-language publications on the composition, Rössler, the organist of the Livre premiere, combines her own shrewd observations with valuable details from her work with the composer, and is the first to provide a German translation of the introductory commentary.41 Jon Gillock offers a comprehensive performance-practice approach in the form of “masterclasses” – including detailed information about the musical parameters and useful advice on interpretation of the piece – which will be interesting not merely to organists.42
Several musicological contributions regarding the work or individual movements were offered during Messiaen’s centennial year in 2008. Special mention should be made of the study by Michael Heinemann, who for the first time extensively discusses the eighteen movements of the Livre du Saint Sacrement, as part of an overview of Messiaen’s organ works, and undertakes a further translation of the text material.43 Michaely develops theological parallels to the writings of Balthasar in a thorough analysis of the three Resurrection movements (VII, X, and XI).44 Jordi A. Piqué i Collado discusses the fifth and eighteenth movements of the Livre in theological terms.45 Luke Berryman deals with the genesis and compositional techniques of the work and documents previously unpublished letters between the composer and the commissioner.46 In his essay Messiaen ou la lumière, Philippe Olivier classifies Messiaen’s organ works against the background of ecclesiastical developments and the succession of popes, taking up the Livre du Saint Sacrement in this context.47 The art historian James D. Herbert makes important aesthetic points with reference to Marmion and Marion, seeking to demonstrate that the formal aspects and hiddenness of the music correspond to the hidden presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist.48 More recently, the musicologist Christopher Dingle addresses the Livre du Saint Sacrement as part of his remarks on Messiaen’s late work, drawing attention to important parallels with the opera Saint François d’Assise.49 A short contribution by Agustí Bruach provides an appropriately fragmentary approach to interpretation of the work, emphasizing the importance of the connection between sound and color in the Livre du Saint Sacrement.50
A Walk Through the Book
This book is guided primarily by theological concerns, necessitating certain priorities in its approach and structure. Since there is not yet a comprehensive musicological study of the Livre du Saint Sacrement, the piece will be analyzed in detail using methods of music theory. A thorough reading of the musical score is the prerequisite for a serious theological interpretation of the music and, moreover, for a useful classification of the composition in view of today’s questions of eucharistic theology. Nevertheless, a detailed musical analysis is offered only to the extent that it serves to promote theological understanding.
The short first part of the book places Messiaen within the intellectual perspective of the 20th century, with a focus on religious movements.51 Even though Messiaen’s compositional and theological thinking reveals a high degree of individuality and though he himself never missed an opportunity to emphasize his autonomy and independence,52 the composer is not free from the influences of his time. What role did the family environment play in Messiaen’s religious development? To what extent does he take inspiration from religious renewal movements such as the Renouveau catholique and the Nouvelle Théologie? How does Messiaen feel about the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), which he perceived primarily from the perspective of the titular organist at the Parisian church of Sainte-Trinité? Thanks to the Fondation de France and Bibliothèque nationale de France, a research visit was made to record the inventory of theological literature in Messiaen’s former private apartment on the Rue Marcadet in Paris. This gave the author useful insights into Messiaen’s preferred religious reading. In the first part of this book, Messiaen’s spiritual roots in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are illuminated, and his selective engagement with contemporary theological authors and developments is addressed.
The second part is devoted to a comprehensive discussion of the Livre du Saint Sacrement in musical and theological terms. After introductory remarks on the origin, structure, and genre of the composition, setting out an initial framework for interpretation, Messiaen’s theological sources will be examined in detail. His selection of texts suggests a particular approach to the sacrament of the altar: besides having a strong biblical foundation, his sources tend to display a scholastic-eucharistic theology and the character of personal prayer. To encourage an appreciation of the individuality and heterogeneity of the sources – which originate from different centuries and are not necessarily well known – they are briefly discussed in their theological and spiritual historical contexts, and their basic eucharistic theological content is summarized. Messiaen’s specific reading and reception of the sources can then be examined in detail during the discussion of the individual movements. Messiaen uses abundant musical techniques in the Livre to turn eucharistic theology into sound. To allow a closer examination of his musical grammar and vocabulary and to gauge the symbolic and theological levels of meaning in his musical language, the most typical design elements are described in an overview.
Based on this preliminary musico-theological understanding, the heart of the second part is a detailed analysis of the eighteen individual movements, considered one by one. The framework for interpretation is built from the rhetorical specifications of the composition – i.e., the underlying quotations, the composer’s introductory commentary, and other statements by Messiaen that have a thematic connection to the Livre or that relate directly to individual movements. Also referenced is the theological literature with which Messiaen would have been familiar and that serves as critical reinforcement. The subsequent musical analysis looks at the compositional means by which Messiaen implements the textual statements, as well as the theological levels of meaning, beyond the basic rhetorical framework, that are expressed in music. Important musical parameters such as harmony, melody, rhythm, tempo, timbre, and texture are examined and evaluated using common methods of musical analysis. In addition, cross-references are made to earlier works by Messiaen.
The third part serves to consolidate these findings, exploring the significance of the composition, which was written more than 30 years ago, within today’s discussions of both eucharistic theology and aesthetics. In this context, it is important to keep in mind that Messiaen refers mainly to pre-conciliar source material, and that decisive eucharistic theological impulses arising from the spiritual environment of the Second Vatican Council, including the ecclesiological dimension, receive little attention in the Livre du Saint Sacrement. On the other hand, Messiaen brings up theological considerations that seem to have been largely forgotten in the decades since the council. Among these, the doxological, cosmological, and eschatological dimensions of the Eucharist also play an important role in the Eastern Church and thus offer the potential for ecumenical communication. Through Messiaen and beyond him, the Livre’s sonic eucharistic theology and spirituality can be used to articulate inspirations for contemporary theology. The extent to which the aesthetic level of the music harmonizes with the contentual eucharistic theological level is also examined. A short “Perspective” deals with Messiaen’s musical aesthetic and the question of the added value of music as compared to a eucharistic theology formulated in language. With reference to George Steiner and Jean-Luc Marion, whose works combine aesthetic and eucharistic theological considerations, the author reflects on the extent to which the composition not only proclaims the real presence in terms of content, but also allows an inaccessible divine presence to be experienced – how, through listening, music can enable a transformative encounter with Christ, bringing the music close to the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Messiaen, quoted in Samuel, “Nouveaux Entretiens,” 37; cf. similar quotation from Messiaen in Rössler, Contributions, 89: “What can be said is that I believe and that I’ve tried to bring the realities and the mysteries of faith into my music.”
The 1928 organ work Le Banquet céleste is a revised version of an excerpt from the orchestral work Le Banquet eucharistique, which Messiaen created in 1926 for the composition class of Paul Dukas; see Messiaen, quoted in Hill and Simeone, Messiaen, 39: “This ‘Banquet’ was inspired entirely, as is Les Offrandes oubliées, by the mystery of the Eucharist.” Messiaen also dedicated himself to the Eucharist in subsequent works such as the Hymne au Saint Sacrement for orchestra (1932); the posthumously discovered organ work Offrande au Saint Sacrement; and Les Offrandes oubliées, a symphonic meditation from 1930. For eucharistic echoes in Messiaen’s works other than the Livre du Saint Sacrement, see Michaely, Die Musik Olivier Messiaens, 497-512; see also the chapter “Eucharistie” in Olivier, Messiaen ou la lumière, 141-46.
Messiaen, quoted in Meltzheim and Ide, “Der Musiker der Freude,” 20.
Messiaen, quoted in Massin, Olivier Messiaen, 74.
Kars, “Olivier Messiaen,” 370.
See Landale, “Olivier Messiaen: Livre du Saint Sacrement,” 24: “Le Livre du Saint Sacrement est en quelque sorte la synthèse de l’œuvre d’orgue, en peu comme l’opéra, Saint François d’Assise peut être considéré comme le couronnement de toute son œuvre.” Cf. Dingle, Messiaen’s Final Works, 51: “Not surprisingly, Livre du Saint Sacrement can also be regarded as a work of summation . . . , a synthesis of Messiaen’s techniques, combining the divergent elements of his language.”
Rössler, Disc notes to Livre du Saint Sacrement.
Thomas Daniel Schlee speaks extensively of a “meticulously designed theological structure” in his summary: “It is not only an aid to prayer, it has become the prayer itself. Virtually nowhere in the 20th century can one find another example in which music has reached this ultimate and highest level” (Schlee, “Die Stellung Olivier Messiaens,” 188).
According to Jorge A. Piqué i Collado, the aesthetic perception of the music of the Livre du Saint Sacrement is capable of bringing the listener in touch with the mystery of the Eucharist; see esp. Piqué i Collado, “Livre du Saint Sacrement.”
A sober contrast is provided by the organist Gillian Weir in her description, at some length, of the Livre du Saint Sacrement in “Organ Music II,” 379-86. Luke Berryman’s remarks that the Livre has prompted expressions of praise mainly from former students may not be wrong, yet his own assessment of it as an unusually problematic work of Messiaen, in which he completely ignores the theological dimension, is not very convincing; see Berryman, “Messiaen as Explorer.”
See esp. the recordings of Almut Rössler, Susan Landale, Olivier Latry, Jennifer Bate, Jörg Abbing, Winfried Berger, Elisabeth Zawadke, Paul Jacobs, and Jon Gillock.
Ide, “Olivier Messiaen,” 453.
Stock, Poetische Dogmatik.
Stock, Leib und Leben, 9.
Gerken, Theologie der Eucharistie, 166.
See esp. Casel, Das christliche Kultmysterium. Odo Casel emphasizes the real presence in the ritual celebration of the redeeming salvific mysteries of Christ’s life and death. The implementation of the ritual act is envisioned to include God’s unique redeeming act in Christ, who in His salvific effect is made accessible to participants in the liturgy. Casel thus focuses on the aspect of Christ’s salvific presence in the liturgy, which was later formulated by Betz as the “commemorative real presence” and also found expression in the encyclical Mediator Dei (1947) of Pius XII; see Schilson, “Mysterientheologie.”
See Betz, Die Aktualpräsenz. According to Alexander Betz, the scholastic understanding of the Eucharist focused one-sidedly on the “somatic real presence,” the true presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, as related to the question of actualization of the change at a point in time. The ancient Church, emanating from Neoplatonic archetypes, understood the eucharistic event as a reality-fulfilling portrayal in a threefold sense. In addition to participation in the eucharistic gift of the real life of Jesus Christ (“somatic real presence”), the eucharistic meal of the community with its Head was seen as an archetype of His relationship as the risen Lord who makes Himself present in the celebration of the liturgy (“principal real presence”). The salvific events of the Death and Resurrection of Christ, which are remembered in the structure of the liturgy, take on their redemptive content through His presence in the eucharistic celebration (“commemorative real presence”).
De Lubac, Corpus mysticum.
See examples in the overview by Gerken, Theologie der Eucharistie, 176-99.
A systematic catalogue of works can be found in Simeone, Olivier Messiaen, and in Benitez, Olivier Messiaen, 325-54. Benitez offers an extensive and helpful overview of primary sources and studies of Messiaen’s life and works.
Messiaen, Technique; in English, The Technique of My Musical Language, trans. Satterfield. An earlier and more concise groundwork for Messiaen’s musical language, it consists of a volume of text and a volume of musical examples.
Messiaen, Traité; vol. 1 in “An English Translation,” trans. Baggech.
Massin, Olivier Messiaen.
Samuel, Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen; in English, Conversations with Olivier Messiaen, trans. Aprahamian. Also see Samuel, Musique et couleur: Nouveaux entretiens.
Rössler, Beiträge zur geistigen Welt; in English, Contributions to the Spiritual World, trans. Dagg, Poland, and Tikker.
Massin, Olivier Messiaen, 19: “Olivier Messiaen est, en dépit de sa délicieuse courtoise et de sa grande disponibilité, un créateur difficile à interviewer. Non, qu’il ne veuille pas, mais il a souvent un discours prêt d’avance, plusieurs fois redit, dont il éprouve beaucoup de réticences à s’écarter.”
Thus, Samuel observes with a certain irony in Permanences d’Olivier Messiaen, 49: “Donc, Messiaen calibrait inconsciemment ses réponses. L’ayant si souvent interrogé à différentes occasions, je savais que l’attirer sur un terrain qui ne le concernait (par exemple: ‘Estimez-vous que le compositeur doive s’intéresser à la vie politique de son pays?’, ou même: ‘Que pensez-vous du jazz?‘) n’aurait abouti qu’à un fiasco. En revanche, non seulement ses sujets de prédilection – les oiseaux, le son-couleur, les combinaisons rythmiques du Sacre du printemps – déclenchaient d’emblée des exégèses détaillées, mais leur formulation ne subissait, à travers le temps, par la moindre variation. Cette constance dans l’expression, mais aussi dans les convictions, était impressionnante. Et, au cours d’entretiens publics ou radiodiffusés, je savais toujours sur combien de minutes je pouvais compter en prononçant le mot ‘oiseau’ ou la formule ‘son-couleur.’”
See esp. the significant musicological and biographical works by Theo Hirsbrunner, Harry Halbreich, Christopher Dingle, Andrew Shenton, Michael Heinemann, Stefan Keym, Paul Griffiths, and Klaus Schweizer. The extensively researched biography, Hill and Simeone, Messiaen, deserves special mention because it was the first to provide access to the personal documents and journals of the composer. Also noteworthy are Hill, The Messiaen Companion, and the Messiaen compendium in two volumes of Rathert, Schneider, and Rickenbacher, Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen’s organ works up to and including Les Corps glorieux have been analyzed in Latry and Mallié, L’œuvre d’orgue. For a detailed list of studies of Messiaen’s life and works, see Benitez, Oliver Messiaen, 126-324.
Michaely, Die Musik Olivier Messiaens; “Verbum Caro”; and Messiaens Saint François d’Assise.
See, for example, Ide, “Olivier Messiaen théologien?” and Kars, “Spiritualité de l’œuvre d’orgue de Messiaen.”
Schlee and Kämper, Olivier Messiaen: La Cité celeste; Wassermann Beirăo, Schlee, and Budde, La Cité celeste.
Bruhn, Messiaens musikalische Sprache; Olivier Messiaen, Troubadour; and Messiaens “Summa theologica.”
Hastetter, Musik des Unsichtbaren; “Klingende Relecture”; and “Horch! Mein Geliebter!”
Tölle, “Éclairs sur l’Au-delà”; Lenze, “Es wird keine Zeit”; and Schrader, “Was kein Ohr gehört hat.”
See Shenton, Messiaen the Theologian, 1: “The conference participants endeavoured to move away from what Messiaen himself said about his life and work and instead offered a rich context for listening to his music with understanding.” Hence, it must be considered surprising that information from relevant European studies of the theological dimension in Messiaen’s work are missing, with only a single contribution by a theologian, Karin Heller.
See van Maas, The Reinvention of Religious Music, 4: “This book ventures to overcome the split between these respective musicological and theological approaches to Messiaen’s music, and, in the wake of this, to give an impulse to the thought on the musicosacral or the sacromusical.” The text initially appeared in Dutch in van Maas, Doorbraak en idolatrie.
Müller, Klingende Theologie.
Cantagrel, “Livre du Saint Sacrement”; Landale, “Olivier Messiaen: Livre du Saint Sacrement.”
Halbreich, L’œuvre d’Olivier Messiaen.
Weir, “Organ Music II.”
Rössler, Disc notes to Livre du Saint Sacrement; see also Rössler, “Livre du Saint Sacrement,” and amended version republished in Rathert, Schneider, and Rickenbacher, Olivier Messiaen, vol. 2, 184-93.
Gillock, Performing Messiaen’s Organ Music. Jon Gillock, one of the first performers of the Livre, often enriches his analysis with personal, subjective remarks and interpretative approaches.
Heinemann, “Livre du Saint Sacrement,” or with minor alternations, “Summa organistica.”
Michaely, “Der Gang zum Vater.”
Piqué i Collado, “Livre du Saint Sacrement”; see also his dissertation in Spanish, Teología y música.
Berryman, “Messiaen as Explorer.”
Olivier, Messiaen ou la lumière; on the Livre du Saint Sacrement, see esp. 134-39.
Herbert, “The Eucharist.”
Dingle, Messiaen’s Final Works, esp. 45-59.
Bruach, “Beziehungen zwischen Farbe.”
Messiaen’s reception in the context of the compositional history of the 19th and 20th centuries could be the subject of its own investigation. It is striking that Messiaen is not mentioned alongside important 19th-century German and Austrian composers with religious perspectives, such as Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner. Moreover, it is astonishing that he is also not considered among significant French composers and organists of his time – for example, Camille Saint-Saëns, Alexandre Guilmant, Louis Vierne, and Charles-Marie Widor. Does a desire for musical demarcation lie behind this oversight? Revealing insights can be gained from a compilation of composers cited by Messiaen in the volumes of the Traité, as found in Balmer, “Religious Literature,” 26-27.
See Messiaen, quoted in Massin, Olivier Messiaen, 179: “But I personally never stood in a group or faction representing a certain kind of religious thinking – Thomistic or not – nor have I even approached it. Neither my family nor my friends had any part in my formation or my considerations in this area. I alone educated myself. When I say that I was born a believer, it is undoubtedly a somewhat exaggerated image, but it is also true. The same applies musically: I was always all alone.”