Week 299: “O Sacrum Convivium” by Olivier Messaien

messaien

Two things strike me about Olivier Messaien:

a) He really liked birds, almost to a Portlandia-ish degree. He wrote at least 20 pieces about them. And not just the pretty birds; his 1958 Catalogue D’Oiseaux includes pieces entitled “The Black-eared Whetear” and “The Buzzard”.

b) He really liked messing with time. Unusual time signatures, palindromic rhythms…in once piece, he gives the performer the slightly un-nerving instruction that the tempo should be “infinitely slow.”

This piece, while it doesn’t mention birds explicitly, does have a nice feathery feel to it, and a fascinating time structure. It’s a bit over my head to describe his use of time here, but I think it alternates between five-four and…uh…Pi. Or something.

What makes this a beautiful song:

1. The chords are sometimes pleasant and soothing, sometimes dissonant and weird. It’s like a barbershop quartet whose sheet music got smudged.

2. The dynamics range from pianissimo to forte so smoothly that you barely notice it’s happening.

3. The long “alleluia” that begins at 2:38 descends slowly and smoothly, like a buzzard landing on a dead horse dove landing on an olive branch.

Recommended listening activity:

Using a feather to conduct an invisible choir.

Buy it here.