MESSIAEN Olivier (1908 - 1992)

Lot 127
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Estimation :
25000 - 30000 EUR
MESSIAEN Olivier (1908 - 1992)
MANUSCRIT autograph "Olivier Messiaen", Vingt Leçons d'harmonie (1940); 1 f. title + 48 pages of music in-fol. (on double sheets), and 1 f. title + 6 pages of text in-4. Important contribution in music to the history of musical harmony, in homage of Messiaen to the masters he admires. It was in the summer of 1939 that Messiaen began to collect and order these exercises written in the previous years for his courses at the École Normale and the Schola Cantorum, in styles ranging from Monteverdi to Messiaen himself, and of which he had already given a sample in the Monde musical in February-March 1937. The publication took place at Alphonse Leduc in May 1940. Messiaen composed a draft of the title page: "Olivier Messiaen / Twenty Harmony Lessons / In the style of some important authors of the "Harmonic History" of music, from Monteverdi to Ravel. / Preceded by a note from the Author and Remarks on the realization of each lesson in particular / Increased price: 30 francs / According to a new method of work, this volume is useful both to the Master and to the pupil"... The author's note explains: "These lessons are intended for students who have already finished "learning" the Treatise on Harmony. Their difficulty is more or less the same as that of the harmony competitions of the Paris Conservatoire. In order to encourage the student to read the works of the ancient and modern masters, to find the source of the rules that are imposed and the licenses that are tolerated, they have been conceived in the style of some important authors of the "harmonic history" of music, from Monteverdi to Ravel. It is not a question of pastiches, but of the study in four voices of different styles"... Etc. Follows explanatory remarks on each of the 20 lessons... The musical manuscript is realized in black ink on paper with 16 lines. It includes : 1. Chant donné (in the style of Monteverdi) (p. 1-3), Modéré un peu vif. 2. Chant donné (in the style of a Passepied by Rameau) (p. 4-5), Vif et gracieux. 3. Bass given (in the style of J.S. Bach's chorales) (p. 6), Decisive, a little lively. 4. Bass given (in the style of a Prelude by J.S. Bach) (p. 7-8), Well-moderated. 5. Basse donnée (in 3 voices, in the style of J.S. Bach's organ sonatas and trio) (p. 9-10), Bien modéré. 6. Song given (in the style of Gluck) (p. 11), A little slow, noble. 7. Bass given (in the style of Mozart's string quartets) (p. 12-14), Gay, moderate. 8. Song given (in the style of Mozart's string quartets) (p. 15-17), Very slow and tender. 9. Bass given (in the style of Schumann) (p. 18-19), Very lively and light. 10. Song given (in the style of César Franck's canons) (p. 21-22), Very slow, expressive and collected. 11. Bass given (half-Schumann, half-Lalo style) (p. 23-24), Lively and light. [p. 25 false start scratched] 12. Chant donné (half-Chabrier, half-Massenet style) (p. 26-27), Passionate, almost lively. 13. Basse donnée (in the style of Fauré's Sicilienne) (p. 28), Moderate. 14. Song given (very hybrid style: a little Schumann, a little Fauré, a little Albeniz) (p. 29-31), Almost lively, and light. 15. Chant donné (style mi-Franck, mi-Debussy) (p. 32-33), A little slow, expressive and collected. 16. Chant donné (style mi-Massenet, mi-Debussy) (p.34-35), Slow and tender. 17. Chant donné (style mi-Chabrier, mi-Debussy) (p. 35-36), Balanced, a little lively. 18. Chant donné (in the style of Pelléas et Mélisande by Cl. Debussy) (p. 37-39), Moderate, deeply expressive. 19. Chant donné (à 5 voix, dans le style de Maurice Ravel) (p. 40-43), Almost lively, and caressing. 20. Chant donné (very special style, somewhat similar to Hindu cantilènes) [original title crossed out: in the style of the author's Poèmes pour Mi] (p. 44-47), Moderate, with charm. BIBLIOGRAPHY Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone, Olivier Messiaen (Fayard, 2008), pp. 112-113 and 550-551.
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