Messiaen’s parody of Salve Regina in his Subtilité
des Corps Glorieux
The version of Salve Regina
used by Messiaen is that attributed to Hermann von Reichenau (1013-1054).
A recording is available on
Wiki, along with an alternative English translation.
A few introductory remarks
before the commentary on the parody is made. Since hearing Messiaen’s Et
exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum as a student, I have been intrigued by the
use of plainsong in 20th century music. In Et exspecto a plainsong
connection was aurally clear but I was puzzled by how the music was
transformed.The question repeated itself with my more extensive study of Peter
Maxwell Davies’s music, particularly “Ave Maris Stella”.
What follows is a
walkthrough the Subtilité for those listeners who
perhaps have asked the same question. I am not going to explore all the
characteristics of plainsong that Messiaen incorporates in his musical style,
the endeavour is simply to draw parallels between the pieces and where
differences occur to offer suggestions why they occur.
It is possible that the reader might say I am missing the most
important point, why does Messiaen use plainsong at all? Indeed why do a number
of 20th century composers look back to plainsong as a basis for
their music? The answers are as many as the number of composers involved, I
would suggest in Messiaen’s case it is a matter of religious upbringing and the
history of organ improvisation. If information on the latter is desired I would
suggest this excellent account by David Connolly:
If the reader is unfamiliar with Messiaen’s musical technique and
his modes of limited transposition in particular I suggest this link:
The main focus in this blog is on the second mode, which has three
stacks of 0,1,3 formations (C, D flat, E flat / E, F#, G and A, B flat, C –
octave above opening pitch).
Now to the content of the two pieces.
Section 1
Example 1
The first section is based throughout
on the second mode, transposed to C#; pitch content:
C#, D, E, F, G, B flat, B.
The opening tetrachord formed
from pairs of semitones has minimal connection with the plainsong, having two
pitches in common with the Salve phrase, this tetrachord does not trigger an
aural association with the plainsong but does make a dramatic opening statement.
The fall of a diminished fifth (A flat, D) becomes a repeated cadence figure
and D natural becomes the 'home-note' of the movement.
The two phrases that follow
are derived from the phrases Regina, mater misericordiae and the first (unlike
the tetrachord opening) has maximum similarity to the plainsong with only one
pitch difference (A natural becomes A flat). The C# D C# opening of the second
phrase suggests the movement of the second phrase will be similarly strong, but
the remainder of the phrase does not fulfil that expectation. The final
tetrachord F, E, A flat, D, repeated at mf suggests an echo, it is frequently
used - sometimes with pitch modification (e.g. F#, E flat, G#, D) – to divide
the plainsong phrases from which Messiaen takes his outlines.
Put in simple terms Messiaen
will modify the plainsong by extending the pitch range up or down a semitone,
but there are examples of placing a new (and unrelated) pitch or pitches to
create greater expression. This is most noticeable towards the close of the
movement. There are many instances where the inflections are organized to match
a mode of limited transposition, but there are exceptions too.
The maximum system of cohesion
relates to the MOLT 2, which has a symmetrical formation, this symmetry adds to
the sensation of stasis which makes a musical parallel with plainsong.
Section 2
Example 2
The pitch content of the second section continues with the second mode , but this time transposed up a semitone (D, E flat, x, F", A, B,C). After the first three pitches of the second line (ex.2) the harmony changes, this is aurally marked by three consecutive semitones, here G, A, G#.
After the cadence, a variant in content but not spirit of the first section cadences, there is a reworking of the opening of ex. 2, marked by blue brackets, which continues to use MOLT 2 up to the E natural in the third line (9th pitch).
The function of this pitch is puzzling in the context of pitch stability (i.e staying within the mode). To explain its use a reference to the plainsong outline may be the only alternative explanation.
Let us examine the third line of the plainsong from which this material is derived
Ad te clamamas, exsules, filii Hevae.
Ex. 3
If the high D in the
opening phrase is ignored the outline is quite clearly derived from the source.
This applies to the whole of the first line of ex. 2, but the second line
deviates, extending the pitch range.
This remaining music of ex.
2 closely follows the next line of the plainsong from Ad te suspiramus through
to lacrimacum, but deviates on the last syllable to prepare for the cadence
with A / E flat.
After this we have a
reprise of section 1. pitches 1-24.
Ex. 4
The opening of section 3
derives from Eis ergo, Advoca ta nostra, illos tuos and can be mapped over
pitches 1-22 of the extract above. The opening hexachord collection is new and
loosely connected to Eis ergo, though we do have the diminished 5th
which prepares us for the much more closely aligned pitch relationship to Advoca
ta nostra, illos tuos. The second line
of ex. 4 transposes the mode onto D for the opening phrase and then the music
adopts the 3rd MOLT for the next 5 phrases. However we have 3 A naturals in the
music, each time contributing to the formation of and movement towards a
cadence, I am taking these as a composer's privilege to alter a scheme for
musical clarity.
The red line marks the
start of the second half of section 3, the first phrase forms a 016 collection
which identifies with the start of section 1 and as might be anticipated the
remainder follows the precise pitch structure of the now familiar phrase. In
all the phrase (which has maximum similarity to the plainsong) is heard four
times to contribute to the formal structure of Subtilité.
Section 4
Ex. 5
The final section presents
the listener with the most dramatic and expressive phrases of the movement,
these terms may surprise the reader when we consider that the music is a parody
of the plainsong style which is dominated by a MOLT which produces
non-progressive harmony.
To avoid repetition I will
restrict my comments to brief observations from this point.
The opening two phrases (of
which the second is an extension of the first) are derived from Oclemens Opia.
We then have two long phrases framing the repeat of section 1 material, one ff, one f.
The hexachord formed at the Start Of the third line is a superset of the opening tetrachord of section 1, so despite pitch alteration it logically connects to the repeat of material from section 1 pitches 5-23.
We then have two long phrases framing the repeat of section 1 material, one ff, one f.
The hexachord formed at the Start Of the third line is a superset of the opening tetrachord of section 1, so despite pitch alteration it logically connects to the repeat of material from section 1 pitches 5-23.
The 0167 formation opens
the next long phrase (one might prefer the term melismatic decoration) which
contains two chromatic pentachords which aurally indicates how far this music
has progressed from the restrained opening.
The close as expected is a
reworking Of O dulcis Virgo Maria, and the association is made with t3 Of Mode
2, which provides the G#-D cadence figure, but not the E natural grace note
which is the plainsong's territory.
Some simple observations.
The reworking of the original plainsong is not a note for note alteration by
close pitch association. The music is not a superimposition of one form on
another, the plainsong is at best a substructure. The repeat of the opening 4
times in Subtilité demonstrates the
difference. The commentary has placed the greater emphasis on pitch,
observations on rhythm are outside the scope of a 1k blog.
Does a knowledge of the original enhance the understanding of Subtilité?
That is a personal matter, for myself I believe that it does, just as in a jazz
reworking of a standard one has to work at making connections, and repeated
listening brings the two versions ever closer.
Nurtan added some additional comments to the blog which I am happy
to share:
The fundamental
question you raised ‘’why plainsong in 20th century’’ is both
challenging and absolutely not amenable to glib answers such as ‘‘just
because’’, ‘’lilting melody’’ etc. Messiaen’s organ improvisation and his
religious upbringing are good conjectures; but I think it answers a different
question which pertains to his enormous success with using modes of limited
transposition and their cohesive nature even when applied to plainsong outlines.
One possible conjecture is tied to both plainsong and MOLT. If we consider two
facts 1) rhythmic repetition (with or without variation) is an essential
characteristic of music which makes a simple or complex piece recognisable,
and 2) harmonic structure provides a deeper series of contrasts which contribute
to the emotional character of a piece. One might be able to reason that MOLT
provides a tool kit of well controlled variations of a (harmonic) rhythmic
repetition. In increasing the aesthetic value, the contour of the plainsong
would indeed be an important restraint. A composer uses the familiar sounds embedded
in his or her mind as a resource (religious upbringing).
One might argue
that production of pieces like parody of Salve Regina had an influence on other
composers to try the technique (James McMillan, Maxwell Davies, and John Tavener
from the UK). Also MOLT does not use artificially forced harmony and/or
introduced unnecessary notes of serial system – a much harder technique – to
avoid either breaking the rules {Alban Berg} or writing very tense music
all the time.
I would like to thank Aldo Bova for his interpretation of the Salve Regina on bass recorder available on You Tube here:
https://youtu.be/ZaOOTynbJOY
and an author's transcription for violin, cello, clarinet, harp and gongs is available here:
https://youtu.be/ilLU_t2FQfA
I would like to thank Aldo Bova for his interpretation of the Salve Regina on bass recorder available on You Tube here:
https://youtu.be/ZaOOTynbJOY
and an author's transcription for violin, cello, clarinet, harp and gongs is available here:
https://youtu.be/ilLU_t2FQfA
