Comments on: The Olivier Messiaen Centennial http://www.theasc.com/blog/2009/09/28/the-olivier-messiaen-centennial/ John Bailey's thoughts on cinematography and artistic expression Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:12:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Ron Hansen http://www.theasc.com/blog/2009/09/28/the-olivier-messiaen-centennial/#comment-20 Ron Hansen Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:51:01 +0000 http://www.ascmag.com/blog/?p=167#comment-20 John Bailey has always seemed to me a renaissance man, as comfortable with art, music, and literature as he is with film-making, and his essay on Messiaen demonstrates all his learning, sensitivity, and writing talent. I hope ASC will continue to publish his wonderfully insightful work. John Bailey has always seemed to me a renaissance man, as comfortable with art, music, and literature as he is with film-making, and his essay on Messiaen demonstrates all his learning, sensitivity, and writing talent. I hope ASC will continue to publish his wonderfully insightful work.

]]> By: Robert Primes, ASC http://www.theasc.com/blog/2009/09/28/the-olivier-messiaen-centennial/#comment-19 Robert Primes, ASC Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:46:24 +0000 http://www.ascmag.com/blog/?p=167#comment-19 Neither I nor my wife, pianist/organist Theodora Primes, have ever been big fans of Olivier Messiaen. We have certainly heard his music a number of times, most recently from an exceptional organist in an intimate setting. But it somehow never 'set' with either of us. It seemed to pass through my consciousness without leaving any trace, a series of tonalities that, while unusual and therefore somewhat interesting, never made enough of a statement to warrant being remembered. But John's article, and more specifically his references, has begun to change all that. To be honest, the interminable wide shot of the 5th movement of Massiaen's 'Quartet for the End of Time' ended with me sitting at my lap top so completely asleep that I mistook the channel setting on my TV for the time and thought I was late for an appointment. The sparse 'cello and piano piece was certainly beautiful, but after awhile my brain decided there was nothing more to hear and just shut down. But then I played the organ improvisation and something entirely different occurred. I'm sure that playing it on a big screen and through full range speakers helped, but I'm convinced the reason it held my interest so compellingly was because I could actually see Messiaen's intent clearly on his face and even in his finger movement. Music is such an inherently abstract medium that I confess to sometimes needing a 'hint', often visual, to 'get' unfamiliar musical forms. It's really pretty miraculous that just watching the man's expression and gestures could make such a difference, but there it was: the work became a series of beautifully organized and related textures with surprises, revelations and structural unity. What a delight. Moreover, just knowing that Messiaen's “From the Canyons to the Stars” was inspired by Bryce and Zion allowed me to visualize cognates for the music. I could feel the textures of the canyons and some time-lapsed rhythms directly from the music and while i would hopefully be amongst the last to advocate that Music, perhaps the mother-art, needed visuals to sustain itself, perhaps a little light is permissible, at least until you find the path. Neither I nor my wife, pianist/organist Theodora Primes, have ever been big fans of Olivier Messiaen. We have certainly heard his music a number of times, most recently from an exceptional organist in an intimate setting. But it somehow never ‘set’ with either of us. It seemed to pass through my consciousness without leaving any trace, a series of tonalities that, while unusual and therefore somewhat interesting, never made enough of a statement to warrant being remembered.

But John’s article, and more specifically his references, has begun to change all that. To be honest, the interminable wide shot of the 5th movement of Massiaen’s ‘Quartet for the End of Time’ ended with me sitting at my lap top so completely asleep that I mistook the channel setting on my TV for the time and thought I was late for an appointment. The sparse ‘cello and piano piece was certainly beautiful, but after awhile my brain decided there was nothing more to hear and just shut down.

But then I played the organ improvisation and something entirely different occurred. I’m sure that playing it on a big screen and through full range speakers helped, but I’m convinced the reason it held my interest so compellingly was because I could actually see Messiaen’s intent clearly on his face and even in his finger movement. Music is such an inherently abstract medium that I confess to sometimes needing a ‘hint’, often visual, to ‘get’ unfamiliar musical forms. It’s really pretty miraculous that just watching the man’s expression and gestures could make such a difference, but there it was: the work became a series of beautifully organized and related textures with surprises, revelations and structural unity. What a delight.

Moreover, just knowing that Messiaen’s “From the Canyons to the Stars” was inspired by Bryce and Zion allowed me to visualize cognates for the music. I could feel the textures of the canyons and some time-lapsed rhythms directly from the music and while i would hopefully be amongst the last to advocate that Music, perhaps the mother-art, needed visuals to sustain itself, perhaps a little light is permissible, at least until you find the path.

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