le merle noirby messiaen
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Le Merle Noir by Olivier Messiaen is a fascinating example of his
interest in birdsong. He was enamoured with conventionally notating various birds' song and the song of the European Blackbird inspires the two cadenza-like sections for flute in this piece. The other sections follow
the usual structures of 12 tone compositional technique.
In the 1951 Le Merle Noir (the blackbird) Messiaen makes faithful transcription of blackbird's song and then integrates it into a musical language uniquely his own. Historically the natural first choice for many a musical "bird" character, the flute proved the obvious 'voice of choice' for Messiaen's virtuoso display. Albert Roussel (taught Var`e) and Andre Jolivet (strongly affected by Var`e) were adventurous travelers, influenced by the myths and musics of indigenous peoples encountered along the way (as was, again - Debussy). The explorations of 20th Century pioneers have brought us closer to our roots in the global community - the sounds of lost chords resonate in the cavernous recesses of our souls. Music has the power to take us beyond the wisdom our words remember and transport us to the ancients and expressions of the human experience predating speech. The flute holds a Messiaen was one of the great composers and teachers of the modern era, yet he freely declared, I am not ashamed of being a romantic. Enraptured and dazzled by the infinity of God, Messiaen's spiritual devotion permeates his compositions...