Olivier Messiaen
Notable works by Olivier Messiaen.
Apparition de l'église éternelle
Apparition de l'église éternelle (Apparition of the eternal church) is a work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1932. The piece is in arch form, beginning in pianissimo ()
Read → WorkCatalogue d'oiseaux
Catalogue d'oiseaux ("Catalogue of birds") is a work for piano solo by Olivier Messiaen consisting of thirteen pieces, written between October 1956 and September 1958. It is devoted to birds and
Read → WorkConcert à quatre
Concert à quatre (Concerto for four) is the final work of the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is a concerto written for four solo instruments (piano, cello, flute, oboe) and
Read → WorkDes canyons aux étoiles...
Des canyons aux étoiles... (From the canyons to the stars...) is a large twelve-movement orchestral work by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. American Alice Tully commissioned the piece in 1971
Read → WorkDiptyque (Messiaen)
Diptyque : essai sur la vie terrestre et l'éternité bienheureuse () is a bipartite essay for organ in C minor by French composer Olivier Messiaen. Written from 1929 through 1930, it is inspired by
Read → WorkÉclairs sur l'Au-Delà...
Éclairs sur l'Au-Delà... (Lightning Over the Beyond... ) is the final completed work of the composer Olivier Messiaen. Scored for a very large orchestra of over a hundred players and unusually
Read → WorkEt exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (And I await the resurrection of the dead) is a suite for wind orchestra and percussion instruments by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1964 and first performed the
Read → WorkFête des belles eaux
Fête des belles eaux (French: Festival of the beautiful waters) is a 1936 suite of incidental music by French composer Olivier Messiaen. The suite, commissioned for the 1937 Paris Exposition, has
Read → WorkHarawi (Messiaen)
Harawi – Chant d'amour et de mort ("Harawi – A Song of Love and Death") are a song cycle for "grand, dramatic" soprano and piano whose music and libretto were composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1945.
Read → WorkL'Ascension
L'Ascension (, ; official translation: "Ascension Day") is a suite of four symphonic meditations for orchestra that, with the exception of its third movement, were later arranged for pipe organ in
Read → WorkLa Nativité du Seigneur
La Nativité du Seigneur, neuf méditations pour orgue (The Birth of the Lord, nine meditations for organ) is a suite for organ written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1935 in Grenoble. The
Read → WorkLa Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ
La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ ("The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ") is an oratorio written between 1965 and 1969 by Olivier Messiaen. Based on the account found in the
Read → WorkLes Corps glorieux
Les corps glorieux, Sept visions brèves de la Vie des ressuscités (French: The Bodies Glorious, Seven Brief Visions of the Life of the Resurrected) are a large cycle for organ composed in the summer
Read → WorkLivre d'orgue (Messiaen)
Livre d'orgue ("Organ book") is a work for organ by the French composer Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1951–52. A major work of Messiaen, its place in Messiaen's output can be compared to that of
Read → WorkLivre du Saint-Sacrement
Livre du Saint Sacrement ("Book of the Holy Sacrament") is a collection of pieces for organ on the subject of the Eucharist by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was composed mainly in 1984,
Read → WorkMéditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité
Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité (French: "Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity") is a suite for organ by Olivier Messiaen. The Méditations were composed from 1967 to 1969 at
Read → WorkMesse de la Pentecôte
Messe de la Pentecôte ("Pentecost Mass") is an organ mass composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1949–50. According to the composer, it is based on twenty years of improvising at Église de la
Read → WorkMonodie
, written in 1963, is a brief composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is his shortest stand-alone published
Read → WorkO sacrum convivium!
O sacrum convivium! () is a short offertory motet for four-part mixed chorus (with organ accompaniment ad libitum) by French composer Olivier Messiaen, setting "O sacrum convivium," a text attributed
Read → WorkOffrande au Saint Sacrement
Offrande au Saint Sacrement () is a meditation in A major for organ in two sections by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is one of his earliest works for the instrument, and was posthumously
Read → WorkOiseaux exotiques
Oiseaux exotiques (Exotic birds) is a piece for piano and small orchestra by Olivier Messiaen. It was written between 5 October 1953 and 3 January 1956 and was commissioned by Pierre Boulez. It is
Read → WorkPetites Esquisses d'oiseaux
Petites Esquisses d'oiseaux, is a piano work by Olivier Messiaen composed in 1985, dedicated to his wife Yvonne Loriod. It has six parts, three of which are devoted to
Read → WorkPoèmes pour Mi
Poèmes pour Mi (Poems for Mi) is a song cycle for dramatic soprano and piano or orchestra by Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1936 and 1937 and dedicated to his first wife, Claire Delbos. The text are
Read → WorkPrelude for Organ (Messiaen)
The Prélude, usually affixed with the subtitle pour orgue, is an organ piece in E major by French composer Olivier Messiaen. The work, which dates from the 1920s, is, along with the Offrande au Saint
Read → WorkPreludes (Messiaen)
The Préludes (Preludes) are a 1928–1929 set of eight pieces by French composer Olivier Messiaen, which were written when the composer was 20 years old and studying at the Conservatoire de Paris.
Read → WorkQuatre Études de rythme
Quatre Études de rythme (Four Rhythm Studies) is a set of four piano compositions by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1949 and 1950. A performance of them lasts between 15 and 20
Read → WorkQuatuor pour la fin du temps
Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (), originally Quatuor de la fin du Temps ("Quartet of the End of Time"), also known by its English title Quartet for the End of Time, is an eight-movement piece of
Read → WorkRéveil des oiseaux
Réveil des oiseaux (Awakening of the birds) is a work by Olivier Messiaen for piano and orchestra written in 1953. Messiaen invoked birdsong in this composition, as he had in the earlier Quatuor pour
Read → WorkSaint François d'Assise
Saint François d'Assise : Scènes Franciscaines (English: Franciscan Scenes of Saint Francis of Assisi), or simply Saint François d'Assise, is an opera in three acts and eight scenes by French
Read → WorkSept haïkaï
Sept haïkaï — esquisses japonaises (Seven Haiku: Japanese Sketches) is a composition for piano and small orchestra by Olivier Messiaen. It was published by Alphonse Leduc in 1966 and subsequently
Read → WorkTrois Petites Liturgies de la présence divine
The Trois Petites Liturgies de la présence divine (English: Three Small Liturgies of the Divine Presence) form a tripartite cantata by Olivier Messiaen. One of his most pivotal and controversial
Read → WorkTurangalîla-Symphonie
The Turangalîla-symphonie is the only symphony by the French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992). It was written for an orchestra of large forces from 1946 to 1948 on a commission by Serge
Read → WorkVerset pour la fête de la Dédicace
The Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace () is a short composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was completed in
Read → WorkVingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
The Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus ("Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus") is a suite of 20 pieces for solo piano by the French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992). The suite is a
Read → WorkVisions de l'Amen
Visions de l'Amen ("Visions of the Amen") is a suite of seven pieces for two pianos by the French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992), commissioned for the Concerts de la Pléiade that were held
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