Turangalîla-Symphonie

Concept#

While most of Messiaen’s compositions are religious in inspiration, at the time of writing the symphony the composer was fascinated by the myth of Tristan and Iseult. Turangalîla forms the central work in his trilogy of compositions concerned with the themes of romantic love and death; the other pieces are Harawi for piano with soprano and Cinq rechants for unaccompanied trios of soprani, alti, tenors, and basses. It is considered one of the greatest musical compositions of the twentieth century, being described by its commissioner as ’the most important piece of classical music ever written since Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring ‘. A typical performance runs around 80 minutes in length. Messiaen once summarised the entire symphony as being “a love song; a hymn to joy.” The title of the work, and those of its movements, were a late addition to the project, chosen after Messiaen made a list of the work’s movements. He described the name in his letters from 1947 to 1948. He derived the title from two Sanskrit words, () and Lila (Hinduism) (), which he explained thus: :“Lîla” literally means play – but play in the sense of the divine action upon the cosmos, the play of creation, destruction, reconstruction, the play of life and death. “Lila” is also love. “Turanga”: this is the time that runs, like a galloping horse; this is time that flows, like sand in an hourglass. “Turanga” is movement and rhythm. “Turangalîla” therefore means all at once love song, hymn to joy, time, movement, rhythm, life and death. Messiaen described the joy of Turangalîla as “superhuman, overflowing, blinding, unlimited”. He revised the work’s orchestration in 1990.

Instrumentation#

The piece is scored for a large orchestra, consisting of the following instruments: Woodwinds : 1 piccolo : 2 flutes : 2 oboes : 1 cor anglais : 2 clarinets : 1 bass clarinet : 3 bassoons Brass : 4 horns : 3 trumpets : 1 trumpet in D : 1 cornet : 3 trombones : 1 tuba Percussion (12 percussionists ) : vibraphone : keyed or mallet glockenspiels : triangle : temple blocks : wood block : crash cymbals : : tam-tam : tambourine : maracas : snare drum : provençal tabor : bass drum : tubular bells Keyboards :solo piano :ondes Martenot :celesta Strings : 32 violins : 14 violas : 12 cellos : 10 double basses Interestingly, the piece does not require timpani, notwithstanding the use of a very large percussion section. The demanding piano part includes several solo cadenzas.

Cyclic themes#

In writing about the work, Messiaen identified four cyclic themes that reappear throughout; there are other themes specific to each movement. In the score the themes are numbered, but in later writings he gave them names to make them easier to identify, without intending the names to have any other, literary meaning.

Structure#

The work is in ten movements, linked by the common themes identified above, and other musical ideas: The composer’s initial plan was for a symphony in the conventional four movements, which eventually became numbers 1, 4, 6, and 10. Next, he added the three Turangalîla movements, which he originally called tâlas, a reference to the use of rhythm in Indian classical music. Finally, the 2nd, 5th, and 8th movements were inserted. Early on, Messiaen authorized separate performance of movements 3, 4, and 5, as Three tâlas (not to be confused with the original use of the term for the three Turangalîla movements), but later came to disapprove of the performance of extracts.

Recordings#

No recording was made of the world premiere, and Bernstein himself did not return to the work in either concert performance or in the recording studio, but a recording exists of part of the rehearsals for the premiere in Boston, featuring the fifth and sixth movements. It was released in 2013 as part of a set of previously unissued Bernstein recordings (Music and Arts WHRA-6048).

See also#

• Classic 100 Music of France (ABC)
• Leela, a character from Futurama named after the Turangalîla-symphonie

External links#

• Turangalîla-Symphonie The Philharmonia Orchestra’s Olivier Messiaen Website. Featuring films, photos, documents and much more. An interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen, a look at the percussion used and a visit to the site of the premiere in Boston.
• Programme notes for the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Ronald Gallman
• About the ondes Martenot : facts, videos, pictures, recordings, players…
• Audio excerpts from all 10 movements of the Symphonie