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Media KitExtracts
Video extracts (in french)
 Avignon, December 10, 1908 Paris, April 28, 1992 Born into a literary family (his father translated Shakespeare's plays into French, and his mother was the acclaimed poet Cécile Sauvage) Olivier Messiaen's precocious talent was soon evident: at his request, he received, for his tenth birthday, the score to Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, which was a revelation for him. At the tender age of 11, he entered the Paris Conservatory, where he studied under Paul Dukas (composition) and Marcel Dupré (organ) among others; he soon won five first prizes. Possessing an exceptional curiosity, he also studied Gregorian plainchant, Hindu rhythms, birdsong, Greek music, Catholic liturgical scriptures, and surrealist poetry, all sources of inspiration for work to come. His first publish opus, Le Banquet céleste (1928), a piece for organ in the franckiste tradition, brought him public attention, and his improvisations at the Église de la Trinité, where he held the position of organist, were now well-attended. Success came quickly with Les Offrandes oubliées (1931), where he began to avail himself of some of his research, rapidly creating the cornerstone of a new and highly personal language that would become apparent later in L'Ascension (1932), his four symphonic meditations, and later in his decidedly innovative organ cycles, La Nativité du Seigneur (1935). In 1936, on discovering the originality of the music of Jolivet, he joined forces with him and two other young avant-garde musicians, Baudrier and Daniel-Lesur, to form the group ?Jeune France,? with the objective of promoting new music. While a prisoner of war in Görlitz (1940-42), he composed one of his masterpieces, the Quatuor pour la fin du temps, which was first performed in the camp in 1941. Following his liberation, he returned to the music world with his Visions de l'Amen, for two pianos (1943), performed with the pianist Yvonne Loriod (whom he would later marry), but his new works, notably the Trois petites Liturgies de la Présence Divine (1944), created a furor and unleashed a rare storm of hostilities from the critics. Messiaen's influence over Boulez and other leading young musicians of the time became considerable, however, particularly since his nomination to the Paris Conservatory where a new class in analysis and musical aesthetics (1947) was created especially for him. It was soon attended by all those in the forefront of the European avant-garde, notably Boulez, Xenakis, P. Henry, and Stockhausen, who were entranced by the originality of his musical language. Nonetheless, he went through a difficult period, which he surmounted by drawing from a new source of inspiration: Listening to and copying the songs of birds in their native habitats would produce the Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956-58). In 1963, he returned to religiously-inspired composition and wrote, in quick succession, Couleurs de la Cité céleste and Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1963), dedicated to the memory of victims of war. Celebrated henceforth, awash in prizes and honours (elected to the Institut [Académie des Beaux Arts] in 1967), he was finally entrusted with the title of Professor of Composition at the Paris Conservatory. Commissions were flowing in now ? Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur (1965-69), Des canyons aux étoiles (1970-74) ? while Messiaen returned to his preferred instrument, the organ ? Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité (1969), Le livre du Saint Sacrement (1984). From the revolutionary and misunderstood iconoclast of the years 1945-50, Messiaen has become a universally-acclaimed and much-performed musician and composer today, despite the ?reactionary? moniker sometimes given to his last works: witness the polemic that ensued after the premiere of his last great masterpiece, the opera Saint François d'Assise (1983). The originality of Messiaen's musical language largely derived from his exhaustive research into the notions of duration and of colour in a way that no composer before him had ever undertaken. His aesthetic was guided by the concept of ?added value,? a term he himself would often use. He freely drew his inspiration from all possible sources, without fusing or intermingling them as others were doing, but by layering them, adding them on to create a highly decorative style: ondes martenot (an early electronic instrument), brilliant piano stylings, and instrumental virtuosity accumulated in a rich and lavish harmony, always tasteful, always clearly under the sure hand of a master musician. Translated excerpts from the publication Les Bibliothèques de France à l'étranger, published by the ministère des Affaires Étrangères intended for France's multimedia libraries and foreign resource centres. Messiaen and Canada Messiaen's openness of spirit, curiosity, respect for individual freedom, and humanity, recognized in him by all, inspired many musicians, both French and otherwise, to explore all manner of works and aesthetics, to reflect on a variety of rich and diversified forms of music and, more importantly, to discover their own voices. He left his indelible mark on countless who studied under him. Messiaen's impact in Canada, and particularly in Quebec, is undeniable. At the present juncture, music in this country is just beginning to structure and organize itself. Several of the leading young composers and performers of today ? Gilles Tremblay, Serge Garant, André Prévost, Jacques Hétu, Steven Gellman, etc.? will travel to France and benefit from Messiaens's teachings, and when they return to North America, these musicians be tuned to the same avant-garde wavelength; they will be the ones who will participate in the first contemporary music concerts, create the new ensembles and festivals, and obtain postings as composition teachers in the foremost Canadian music institutions. As well as counting Messiaen among its influences, Canadian music can perhaps be seen in some ways to mirror the relationship the composer had with his students: open, influenced by artists of many nationalities, and ready to embrace a diversity of aesthetic notions.
Claude Vivier The music of Claude Vivier (1948-1983) is a reflection of his personal life. Although a student of Stockhausen, Vivier ignored the avant-garde dictum against the expression of individuality through music. Both directly and indirectly, the themes of his compositions were inspired by his unknown family origins, his search for his mother, his religious vocation, his homosexuality and even his premature death. The forty-nine works composed during his brief career comprise the impressive legacy of an individual as passionate about life as he was about music. Born in Montreal of unknown parents, Vivier was adopted at the age of three. He discovered music at the seminary which he entered at sixteen, and from which he was expelled two years later for ?immature behaviour?. For a period of four years he studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal; composition with Gilles Tremblay and piano with Irving Heller. Of the works from this period, Prolifération, written in an elaborated post-serialist language, has known the most success. In 1971, as recipient of a Canada Arts Council award, Vivier left to study in Europe. The first year was spent at the Institute of Sonology (Utrecht, The Netherlands) where he took classes in electroacoustic composition with Gottfried Michael Koenig. Following that, in Cologne, he studied with Hans Ulrich Humpert and Karlheinz Stockhausen. With regards to compositional technique (quantification of parameters, permutative structures, ring modulations), Vivier was influenced considerably by the latter, although he nonetheless developed a highly personalized language. As such Chants, composed during this period, represents for him "the first moment of my existence as a composer". Back in Canada, his reputation as a composer began to take hold. He taught at the University of Ottawa and was granted several commissions, among others by The Canadian Music Awards (seven short, idiomatic pieces), the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (Liebesgedichte) and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (Siddhartha). In the fall of 1976, Vivier undertook a long trip through Asia. It was during his stay on the island of Bali that his ideas concerning the role of the artist in society were solidified. This initiated a new period in the stylistic evolution of his music, a period characterized by affirmation and certainty. He said upon his return: ?I realize that this journey was, above all, one of self-discovery?. This was the period of his brilliant Shiraz, of Orion, of the opera Kopernikus. Most importantly, it was in the cycle of pieces for voice and instrumental ensemble, particularly Lonely Child and Prologue pour un Marco Polo, that the unique style of Vivier crystallized. This style is characterized by the voice, by words sung in a language invented by the composer, by striking melodies. Harmonized by complex overtone series, these modal melodies pierce different textures, their points of departure and arrival most often homorhythmic. The tonal core, with leading note, differs from one phrase to another, rendering it panchromatic. This all occurs in time according to a complex arithmetical grid. His outstanding development as a composer earned Vivier the title of ?Composer of the Year? in 1981, awarded by the Canadian Music Council. Benefiting once again from a Canada Council grant, he settled in Paris, where he composed Trois Airs pour un opéra imaginaire, a piece that embodies the superb synthesis of his mature style. His last work is the unfinished Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele whose thematic development converges in a dramatic way with the violent death of the composer. The interweaving of his personal and professional life, of the real and the imaginary, reveal an outstanding global awareness and define a possible future for humankind, for whom Vivier was a messenger, an aerolite passing through our world. Jaco Mijnheer, 1993, translated by Elisabeth Wood
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Montréal, 1948
