Messiaen, Olivier : Cantéyodjayâ
Work Overview
Instrumentation:Piano Solo
Genre:character pieces
Total Playing Time:13 min 00 sec
Copyright:Under Copyright Protection
Commentary (1)
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Last Updated: March 12, 2018
[Open]
Author : Hirano, Takatoshi
Messiaen, who composed two large-scale piano collections,Visions de l'Amen (1943) andVingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus (1943), in the early 1940s, released the song cycle Harawi (1945, for soprano and piano), the Turangalîla-Symphonie, and the choral work Cinq Rechants (1948, for mixed choir) in the late 1940s, completing a grand cycle on the theme of "Liebestod" (the "Tristan Trilogy"). Subsequently, Messiaen embarked on a kind of experiment: controlling the various musical elements (parameters) of duration, pitch, attack, and intensity through the manipulation of series. This compositional method was applied and systematized as total serialism byBoulez in the 1950s, profoundly influencing young composers of the time, particularly those who participated in the contemporary music courses held in Darmstadt, Germany.
In June 1949, after conceiving Mode de valeurs et d'intensités in Darmstadt, Messiaen composed Cantéyodjayâ in Tanglewood, USA, where he was giving composition lectures from July to mid-August of the same year. Subsequently, Neumes rythmiques was also composed in Tanglewood, and both Mode de valeurs et d'intensités and Neumes rythmiques became part ofQuatre Études de rythme (1949–1950).
Cantéyodjayâ was published by Universal Edition in 1953 and premiered by Yvonne Loriod on February 23, 1954, at a concert of the Domaine musical held at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris.