Turangalîla-Symphonie

The Turangalîla-Symphonie is a large-scale piece of orchestral music by Olivier Messiaen (1908–92). It was written from 1946 to 1948 on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Turangalîla-Symphonie
by Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen in 1986
Period	20th-century music
Composed	1946–1948 (rev. 1990)
Duration	about 80 minutes
Movements	Ten
Scoring	Large orchestra
Premiere
Date	2 December 1949
Location	Boston
Conductor	Leonard Bernstein
Performers	Boston Symphony Orchestra Yvonne Loriod (piano) Ginette Martenot (ondes Martenot)

The premiere was in Boston on 2 December 1949, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. The commission did not specify the duration, orchestral requirements or style of the piece, leaving the decisions to the composer.[1] Koussevitzky was billed to conduct the premiere, but fell ill, and the task fell to the young Bernstein.[2] Bernstein has been described as "the ideal conductor for it, and it made Messiaen's name more widely known".[3] Yvonne Loriod, who later became Messiaen's second wife, was the piano soloist, and Ginette Martenot played the ondes Martenot for the first and several subsequent performances.

From 1953, Yvonne's sister Jeanne Loriod was the ondes Martenot player in many performances and recordings.[4]

Concept

While most of Messiaen's compositions are religious in inspiration, at the time of writing the symphony the composer was fascinated by the myth of Tristan and Isolde, and the Turangalîla Symphony forms the central work in his trilogy of compositions concerned with the themes of romantic love and death; the other pieces are Harawi for piano with soprano and Cinq rechants for unaccompanied choir.[5] It is considered a 20th-century masterpiece and a typical performance runs around 80 minutes in length. When asked about the meaning of the work's duration in its ten movements and the reason for the use of the ondes Martenot, Messiaen simply replied, "It's a love song."[6]

Although the concept of a rhythmic scale corresponding to the chromatic scale of pitches occurs in Messiaen's work as early as 1944, in the Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus, the arrangement of such durations into a fixed series occurs for the first time in the opening episode of the movement "Turangalîla 2" in this work, and is an important historical step toward the concept of integral serialism.[7]

The title of the work, and those of its movements, were a late addition to the project, chosen after Messiaen made a list of the work's movements. He described the name in his letters from 1947–1948.[8] He derived the title from two Sanskrit words, turanga and līlā, which he explained thus:[6]

"Lîla" literally means play — but play in the sense of the divine action upon the cosmos, the play of creation, destruction, reconstruction, the play of life and death. "Lila" is also love. "Turanga": this is the time that runs, like a galloping horse; this is time that flows, like sand in an hourglass. "Turanga" is movement and rhythm. "Turangalîla" therefore means all at once love song, hymn to joy, time, movement, rhythm, life and death.

Messiaen described the joy of Turangalîla as "superhuman, overflowing, blinding, unlimited".[6] He revised the work in 1990.[4]

Instrumentation

The piece is scored for:

Solo piano Ondes Martenot Woodwinds 1 piccolo 2 flutes 2 oboes 1 cor anglais 2 clarinets 1 bass clarinet 3 bassoons Brass 4 horns 3 trumpets 1 trumpet in D 1 cornet 3 trombones 1 tuba

Percussion (8 to 11 percussionists[4]) Vibraphone Keyed or mallet glockenspiels Triangle Temple blocks Wood block Cymbals (crash and three types of suspended) Tam tam Tambourine Maracas Snare drum Provençal tabor Bass drum Tubular bells Celesta Strings 32 violins 14 violas 12 cellos 10 double basses[4]

The demanding piano part includes several solo cadenzas.

Cyclic themes

The ondes Martenot, an electronic instrument, is used in sensuous and dramatic parts of the Turangalila such as the "love theme"

In writing about the work, Messiaen identified four cyclic themes that reappear throughout; there are other themes specific to each movement.[6] In the score the themes are numbered, but in later writings he gave them names to make them easier to identify, without intending the names to have any other, literary meaning.

Introduced by trombones and tuba, this is the statue theme. According to Messiaen, it has the oppressive, terrible brutality of ancient Mexican monuments, and has always evoked dread. It is played in a slow tempo, pesante.[lower-alpha 1]

This is the flower theme. It is introduced by two clarinets.

This theme, the most important of all, is the love theme. It appears in many different guises, from hushed strings in movement 6, to a full orchestral treatment in the climax of the finale.

A simple chain of chords, used to produce opposing chords on the piano and crossing counterpoints in the orchestra.

Structure

The work is in ten movements, linked by the common themes identified above, and other musical ideas:

1. Introduction. Modéré, un peu vif
   A "curtain raiser" introducing the "statue theme" and the "flower theme", followed by the body of the movement, which superimposes two ostinato groups with rhythmic punctuations. A reprise of the "statue" theme closes the introduction.
2. Chant d’amour (Love song) 1. Modéré, lourd
   After an atonal introduction, this movement is built on an alternation of a fast and passionate theme dominated by the trumpets, and a soft and gentle theme for the strings and ondes.
3. Turangalîla 1. Presque lent, rêveur
   Three themes are stated: one starting with a solo clarinet, the second for low brass and strings, and the third a sinuous theme on the woodwinds. The movement then develops and, later, overlaps the themes, with the addition of a new rhythm in the percussion.
4. Chant d’amour 2. Bien modéré
   Introduced by a scherzo for piccolo and bassoon, this movement is in nine sections, some of which recall and develop music heard earlier. A calm coda in A major brings it to a close.
5. Joie du sang des étoiles (Joy of the Blood of the Stars). Vif, passionné avec joie
   A frenetic dance whose main theme is a fast variant of the "statue theme". For Messiaen, it represented the union of two lovers seen as a transformation on a cosmic scale. The dance is interrupted by a shattering piano cadenza before a brief orchestral coda.
6. Jardin du sommeil d’amour (Garden of Love’s Sleep). Très modéré, très tendre
   The first full rendition of the "love" theme in the strings and ondes is accompanied by idealized birdsong played by the piano, and by other orchestral coloristic effects. According to Messiaen, "The two lovers are enclosed in love's sleep. A landscape comes out from them..."
7. Turangalîla 2. Un peu vif, bien modéré
   A completely atonal movement that is intended to invoke terror, with a predominant role for the percussion ensemble.
8. Développement d’amour (Development of Love). Bien modéré
   For Messiaen, the title can be considered in two ways. For the lovers, it is terrible: united by the love potion, they are trapped in a passion growing to the infinite. Musically, this is the work's development section.
9. Turangalîla 3. Bien modéré
   A theme is introduced by the woodwind. A five-part percussion ensemble introduces a rhythmic series that then sustains a set of superimposed variations on the woodwind theme.
10. Final. Modéré, presque vif, avec une grande joie
    The movement is in sonata form: A brass fanfare, coupled with a fast variation of the "love theme", is developed and leads to a long coda, a final version of the "love" theme played fortissimo by the entire orchestra. The work ends on an enormous F♯ major chord. In Messiaen's words, "glory and joy are without end".

The composer's initial plan was for a symphony in the conventional four movements, which eventually became numbers 1, 4, 6, and 10. Next, he added the three Turangalîla movements, which he originally called tâlas, a reference to the use of rhythm in Indian classical music. Finally, the 2nd, 5th, and 8th movements were inserted.[9] Early on, Messiaen authorized separate performance of movements 3, 4, and 5, as Three tâlas (not to be confused with the original use of the term for the three Turangalîla movements), but later came to disapprove of the performance of extracts.

Recordings

Maurice Le Roux conducting the Turangalila-Symphonie

Recordings of Turangalîla-Symphonie

Conductor	Orchestra	Piano	Ondes martenot	Label	Catalog	Released	Format	Notes
Roger Désormière	Orchestre National de la RTF	Yvonne Loriod	Ginette Martenot	INA		1950		Live recording on 25 July 1950, of the European premiere at the Aix-en-Provence Festival
Hans Rosbaud	SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden	Yvonne Loriod	Ginette Martenot	Wergo		1951
Maurice Le Roux	Orchestre National de la RTF	Yvonne Loriod	Jeanne Loriod	Vega/Accord	VAL 127 Vega C 30 ST 20033/4 Vega C 35 X 940	1962	Box set 10-inch LPs	Recording supervised by Messiaen in 1961. Released in France
Jean Fournet	Netherlands Radio Philharmonic	Yvonne Loriod	Jeanne Loriod	Q Disc		1967		Live
Seiji Ozawa	Toronto Symphony Orchestra	Yvonne Loriod	Jeanne Loriod	RCA		1967
André Previn	London Symphony Orchestra	Michel Béroff	Jeanne Loriod	EMI	SLS 5117	1977	Double LP
Louis de Froment	Orchestre Symphonique de RTL	Yvonne Loriod	Jeanne Loriod	Forlane		1982		Live
Esa-Pekka Salonen	Philharmonia Orchestra	Paul Crossley	Tristan Murail	CBS Masterworks Sony	I2M 42126 G010003836824C	1985 2018	2 LPs CD
Simon Rattle	City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra	Peter Donohoe	Tristan Murail	EMI	EX270468-3 747463-8	1986	LP CD
Myung-Whun Chung	Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille	Yvonne Loriod	Jeanne Loriod	Deutsche Grammophon	0289 431 7812 9	1990	CD	First recording of the revised version, supervised by Messiaen.
Riccardo Chailly	Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra	Jean-Yves Thibaudet	Takashi Harada	Decca	London 436 626-2	1993 2012	CD
Marek Janowski	Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France	Roger Muraro	Valérie Hartmann-Claverie	RCA		1992
Yan Pascal Tortelier	BBC Philharmonic	Howard Shelley	Valérie Hartmann-Claverie	Chandos	CHAN9678	1998	CD
Antoni Wit	Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra	François Weigel	Thomas Bloch	Naxos	8.554478-9	December 1998	CD
Hans Vonk	Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra	Garrick Ohlsson	Jean Laurendeau	Pentatone		1999		Live
Kent Nagano	Berliner Philharmoniker	Pierre-Laurent Aimard	Dominique Kim	Teldec	8573-82043-2	2001	CD	Live recording in March 2000 in Berlin
Norichika Iimori	Tokyo Symphony Orchestra	Kazuoki Fujii	Takashi Harada	Canyon		2001
Ryusuke Numajiri	Japan Philharmonic Orchestra	Ichiro Nodaira	Takashi Harada	Exton		2002		Live
Thierry Fischer	BBC National Orchestra of Wales	Roger Muraro	Jacques Tchamkerten	BBC Music		2006		Live
Hiroyuki Iwaki	Melbourne Symphony Orchestra	Kaori Kimura	Takashi Harada	ABC Classics	4812873	2007	CD	Live recording in 1985. Re-released 2007.
Sylvain Cambreling	SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg	Roger Muraro	Valérie Hartmann-Claverie	Hänssler Classic	93.225	2008	CD
Juanjo Mena	Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra	Steven Osborne	Cynthia Millar	Hyperion	A67816	2012	CD
Hannu Lintu	Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra	Angela Hewitt	Valérie Hartmann-Claverie	Ondine	ODE12515	2014	CD
Yutaka Sado	Tonkünstler Orchestra	Roger Muraro	Valérie Hartmann-Claverie	Tonkünstler Orchestra	TON2005	2018	CD

See also

• Classic 100 Music of France (ABC)
• Leela (Futurama) (character named for the Turangalila-Symphonie)

Notes

1. This example is taken from the CD booklet included with the Chung recording.[6] It was written in Messiaen's own hand, and has the low D (D₂) assigned to the third trombone as shown. However, in the published 1990 score,[4] the note is written an octave higher (D₃).

References

1. Program notes provided with the Naxos Records recording by the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra with François Weigel (piano), Thomas Bloch (ondes Martenot) and Antoni Wit (conductor).
2. Thomas Barker, "The Social and Aesthetic Situation of Olivier Messiaen's Religious Music: Turangalîla-Symphonie." International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. 43, no. 1 (2012): 53–70; citation on 53
3. Andrew Ford (2012). Try Whistling This: Writings about Music. Collingwood, Victoria.: Black Inc. p. 261. ISBN 9781863955713.
4. Full score, pub, Durand.
5. Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone (2005). Messiaen. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10907-5.
6. Messiaen, Olivier (2004) [1991]. Turangalîla-Symphonie (CD liner booklet). Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille, Myung-whun Chung, Yvonne Loriod, Jean Loriod. Deutsche Grammophon. p. 1. DG 431 781–2.; Page, Tim (20 February 2002). "Live Online: Classical Music Forum". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
7. Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Messiaen, revised and updated edition (Berkeley: University of California Press. 1989): 94, 192.
8. Hill 2005, 172
9. Hill 2005, 171

External links

• Turangalîla-Symphonie The Philharmonia Orchestra's Olivier Messiaen Website. Featuring films, photos, documents and much more. An interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen, a look at the percussion used and a visit to the site of the premiere in Boston.
• Programme notes for the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Luke Berryman
• About the ondes Martenot : facts, videos, pictures, recordings, players...
• Audio excerpts from all 10 movements of the Symphonie