| Monodie | |
|---|---|
| by Olivier Messiaen | |
 Olivier Messiaen in 1986 | |
| Catalogue | A.44 |
| Composed | 1963: Paris |
| Performed | 19 May 1998: London |
| Published | 1997: Paris |
| Scoring | Organ |
Monodie ( French for 'Monody') is the shortest stand-alone published composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen.
The Monodie was composed in 1963 at the request of Jean Bonfils, who was Messiaen's assistant at the church of the Sainte Trinité, Paris, where he was the main organist. It was written for Bonfils's and Noémie Pierrot's organ method book entitled Nouvelle méthode de clavier. Messiaen presumably did not have his own organ at La Trinité because of a major refurbishment. [1] It was then published as a part of that book in 1963 by the Schola Cantorum. Musicologist Nigel Simeone alleges that Messiaen could have composed the Monodie as a part of a sight-reading examination at the Schola Cantorum. [2] The piece was later republished posthumously by Éditions Alphonse Leduc in 1997, as most other short works that were lost, forgotten, or never intended for publication. [1] It was formally premiered on May 19, 1998, at Westminster Cathedral, in London, with Gillian Weir at the organ. [3]
This composition has a total duration of 6 minutes and a total of 17 bars of variable length. As was customary in many works by Messiaen, the monodie has no time or key signature. It starts with a single staff (as opposed to a three-staff system, which is typical of organ works). Messiaen used the tempo marking "Très modéré". The stop configuration used in the piece is stable throughout: Flute 8 (or Quintaton 16), Cor de Nuit 8, Nazard 2⅔, and Octavin 2. The piece features multiple triplets, quintuplets and sextuplets. [4]
Following is a list of some of the most notable recordings:
| Organ | Record company | Year of recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olivier Latry | Deutsche Grammophon | 2002 | CD [5] |
| Gillian Weir | Priory Records | 2004 | CD [6] |
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Messe de la Pentecôte is an organ mass composed by Olivier Messiaen in 1949–50. According to the composer, it is based on twenty years of improvising at Église de la Sainte-Trinité, where Messiaen was organist since 1931.
Des canyons aux étoiles... is a large twelve-movement orchestral work by the French composer Olivier Messiaen. American Alice Tully commissioned the piece in 1971 to celebrate the bicentenary of the United States Declaration of Independence 1976.
La Nativité du Seigneur, neuf méditations pour orgue is a work for organ, written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen in 1935 in Grenoble.
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L'Ascension is a suite of four symphonic meditations for orchestra which, with the exception of its third movement, were later arranged for pipe organ in 1933-1934. The work was written by the French composer Olivier Messiaen from 1932 to 1933 in Paris, Neuchâtel, and Monaco. It was premièred under the direction of Robert Siohan at the Salle Rameau in Paris on 9 February 1935. It is one of his first major works ; and, in both of its iterations, among his most well-known.
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum is a suite for wind orchestra and percussion instruments by Olivier Messiaen, written in 1964 and first performed the following year. It is composed of five movements.
Noëlie Marie-Antoinette Pierront was a 20th-century French organist, concertist and music educator.
Jean-Baptiste Marcel Éloi Bonfils was a 20th-century French organist, music educator, musicologist and composer.
Livre d'orgue is a work for organ by the French composer Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1951–52. A major work of Messiaen, its place in Messiaen's output can be compared to that of Bach's The Art of Fugue.
O sacrum convivium! is a short offertory motet for four-part mixed chorus by French composer Olivier Messiaen, setting "O sacrum convivium". It was composed and published in 1937.
The Verset pour la fête de la Dédicace is a short composition for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It was completed in 1960.
The Prélude, usually affixed with the subtitle pour orgue, is an organ piece in E major by French composer Olivier Messiaen. The work, which dates from the 1920s, is, along with the Offrande au Saint Sacrement, the earliest surviving organ work of the composer. Scholars differ as to the exact date and purpose as to when and why it was composed.
Diptyque : essai sur la vie terrestre et l'éternité bienheureuse is a piece for organ by French composer Olivier Messiaen.
Offrande au Saint Sacrement is a meditation in A major for organ in two sections by French composer Olivier Messiaen. It is one of his earliest works for the instrument, and was posthumously published in 2001 following its discovery by Yvonne Loriod.
