Form Analysis of Messiaen's Le Merle Noir

Ok so for this particular Form Analysis (yes I am in fact going to change the name) I will be going from big to small. Just so you know.

Le Merle Noir, pour Flute et Piano by Olivier Messiaen

General analysis things to note:
This piece is atonal.
There is no time signature.

Cool things to note:
Messiaen loved bird song, he notated it every spring over a period of sixty years in countries throughout the world. (The source here being the back of my score published by Alphonse Leduc)
The two flute cadenzas are just that, transcriptions of actual bird song.


First things first, here are some examples of the song of the Blackbird:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELlFOthB918&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm0RkeLkeug&feature=related

ok so this one is depressing cuz hes in a cage but he certainly has a wonderful singing voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePXInfDyqAc&feature=related

To listen to a recording of Le Merle Noir, specifically my own performance of it at my senior recital, please go to www.katharineparker.com


So in its most condensed form (and of course to the eye of the ever self consumed solo flautist) We have six major sections. They are (drum roll please...)

Cadenza A
Duet
transition A
Cadenza B
Duet in Cannon
Transition A1
Ending Segment

Ive called the transitions A and A1, because A1 is A transposed up a perfect 4th.

Now lets add a little bit more detail...(you will note that I broke up each transition into two separate transitions) I'm also ditching the 'A' and 'B' notation. It makes it look too much like a math equation. Sometimes A and B are quite usefull, but for this work I think 'first' and 'second' are equally as functional. (haha look I made a math pun...kinda...)

Also Im going to add the translated text at the beginning of each section in parenthesis--its important! Especially from the performers perspective (mine).

One bar piano intro (moderato)
first flute cadenza (a little sharp, with imagination)
twenty-one bars of melodic (yet still atonal) piano and flute duet (Almost slow, tender)
transition out of the duet for six bars
transition into the next flute cadenza for eight bars (a little sharp)
one bar piano intro (moderato)
second flute cadenza (a little sharp, with imagination)
twenty-two bars of the first piano and flute duet with the timing displaced so the flute and
piano are in cannon (Almost slow, tender)
transition out of the canon duet for seven bars
transition into ending segment for eight bars (a little sharp)
ending segment for thirty-five bars (sharp)

Now I will attempt even more detail...

The first thing you hear is the one bar piano intro,









this low rumble sets the audience in a mood of unease and expectation.

Next comes the flute cadenza, here is the opening bit,






this cadenza is so much fun to play. Its all about imitation. Messiaen loved bird song, so all you have to do is be a bird! I learned to do this by listening, and trying to imitate birdsong myself. I looked up clips of bird song and tried to imitate it on my flute. When I came back to playing this piece you cant even imagine the difference it made. Birds love to change dynamics on a dime, so I brought in that effect to my performance. They also have a thing for changing articulations. And repeated figures? They have an unattainable mastery I tell you. One of the things I noted the most was the way a lot of the calls were open ended, like someone else was supposed to take it up and finish. Lots of questions, not always an answer.
This section isn't written with any kind of implied key signature or time signature, it is a cadenza through and through.

Next section is the duet section, it is structured in somewhat of a call and answer form,

















This section definitely has a melody to it, atonal though it is. It also is very rhythmical, though doesn't follow any particular time signature. In your head it is helpful to think of the divisions in sixteenth notes.


The transition out of this section is very strange,







its very sad sounding, peaceful though. It seems to be a chance to just revel in the sounds of the tone clusters (if I dare call them that)



then comes some tension with the transition into the second flute cadenza,





and yes, this is just the flute part--the piano trills a note for each bar if you were curious. This is best played not focusing on speed, but on the sharp attack of the notes. It should sound biting and impatient, and use fast vibrato when you hit the final long note (it helps reflect the tension you just created).

Then the one bar piano intro again, repeated note for note from the first bar of the piece.
This low rumble again sets the audience in a mood of unease and expectation.

Next comes the second flute cadenza, here is my favorite bit,



Again its all in the imitation here. I love this particular section of the cadenza because you get to show off your own skill with dynamics as well as the agility of the flute (and you get to be as loud and annoying as you please for once up there in the high register)

Now for the duet in cannon!








let me tell you this is HARD to play in time with the piano. I spent more time rehersing this section than any other in the piece. Its a great effect though, it mixes the eerie melody with the tension and forward motion the cannon produces. Its interesting, one of the things cannons usually do is create dissonances, but given that this piece is full of them to begin with you dont hear it so much. You truly hear two separate moving parts at once without thinking about how they clash. It frees the lines in a way.

Then the transition out of the cannon, which is very similar to the first out going transition, it only has a few notes added or changed.

Then the transition into the end segment, which is an exact transposition of the first incoming transition (up a perfect fourth).

And now for the End Section! To give you a taste,






I didn't want to apply the term Coda here because I feel that this segment is more of a continuance of thought rather than a 'regathering' of the work.
This is not only difficult, but FUN. All those little grace notes along with the accompaniment make such a cacophony of sounds. I think here Messiaen is trying to evoke the sounds of an aviary in the morning. Huge numbers of birds all speaking at once. Each vying for attention at the same time.

The compositional skills I think are most apparent here. He starts with the single cell,








and keeps expanding and adding to it untill he gets here,








runs with it for a while, then ends with a bang!











My question? What would Messiaen have written had he listened to this guy? (watch the whole thing, it gets even better towards the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y