Olivier Messiaen
1908 – 1992
Messiaen was a devout Catholic who heard God in birdsong and color. His music is ecstatic, mystical, and unlike anything else. Complex rhythms from India, transcribed bird calls, and stained-glass harmonies.
Essential Listening
Quartet for the End of Time - Praise to the Eternity of Jesus
Written in a Nazi prison camp. The cello sings an infinitely slow melody of transcendent beauty.
L'Ascension - Prière du Christ montant vers son Père
Christ ascends to the Father. Brass chords of hieratic beauty — music as prayer.
Turangalîla-Symphonie - Joie du sang des étoiles
Cosmic joy in ten movements. The 'Joy of the Blood of the Stars' explodes with ecstatic energy.
Discover Messiaen in These Journeys
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