Peter Hill's keynote addresses Messiaen's use of birdcalls

Nature into music:  Messiaen and birdsong in the 1950s

Peter Hill, University of Sheffield, UK, keynote address

During the 1950s Messiaen’s approach to using birdsong in his compositions was in a constant state of evolution. This paper surveys the period 1952 to 1957, which began with Messiaen’s meeting with the ornithologist Jacques Delamain.

This was followed by the composition of Réveil des oiseaux (1952-3) in which Messiaen transferred material from his field notes to the score often with minimal alteration. With Oiseaux exotiques(1955-6), Messiaen used recordings for the first time, leading to a radical change of method.

The paper then examines Messiaen’s earliest sketches for Catalogue d’oiseaux and his use of source material in ‘L’Alouette lulu’ together with other pieces from the first wave of composition (September 1956 to February 1957). Differences of approach
will be highlighted between these pieces and those composed in the summer of 1957, including ‘La Bouscarle’, ‘Le Traquet stapazin’ and ‘Le Merle bleu’.

Peter Hill is Acting Head of Department and Professor of Music at the University of Sheffield, England.