Messiaen Perspectives 2: Techniques, Influence and Reception

'Both Dingle (Birmingham Conservatoire, UK) and Fallon (Carnegie Mellon Univ.) are lifelong devotees of Messiaen, having researched him extensively and published on his life and work. This is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and invaluable source of information for anyone interested in the composer. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty/professionals.' Choice ’These twenty-nine essays, over two volumes, make a valuable contribution to our understanding of Messiaen the composer. From mechanized composition to music inspired by mountains and bird songs, from questions of influence in Canada, Italy, and Spain to aesthetic convergence with the likes of Ohana, Xenakis, and the spectralists, the authors explore new terrain that compels us to rethink Messiaen’s musical legacy.’ Jann Pasler, University of California, USA ’An erudite and fascinating collection of essays which offer bold new perspectives on one of the towering, and enigmatic, figures of European musical modernism.’ Mark Carroll, University of Adelaide, Australia ’This pair of volumes ... raises the level of insightful scholarship to new heights. The editors and publishers must be congratulated on the production of these handsome volumes, replete with extensive musical illustrations of high quality, surely a compliment to the perfectionist philosophy of their extraordinary subject’. The Musical Times