MESSIAEN, OLIVIER

(10 December 1908, Avignon, France – 27 April 1992, Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine)

Composer, teacher, andorganistof world renown, Messiaen wrote little explicitly liturgical music—an unpublishedmassdates from 1933 and anorgan massfrom 1951—but a high proportion of his music owes its inspiration to Christian theology and aims to project its mystical aspects, e.g.,Le Banquet Céleste("The Celestial Banquet," organ, 1928);L’Ascension: Majesté du Christ Demandant Sa Gloire à Son Père("The Ascension: the majesty of Christ demanding His Glory from His Father," for orchestra, 1933);Et Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum("And I await the resurrection of the dead," for woodwinds, brass, and percussion, 1964);Trois Petites Liturgies de la Présence{}Divine("Three small liturgies of the Divine Presence," 1945, text by Messiaen); andVingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus, ("Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus," for piano, 1945). His idiosyncratic rhythms are influenced by those ofIgor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ancient Greekmeters, and an extensive study of Hindutālas.