Oliver Messiaen: Treatise on Rhythm, Color, and Ornithology, Vol. 1 (1994/1998)

A translation of the first volume of Messiaen’s 7-volume music theory treatise. Where possible, all musical examples have been reproduced in their entirety. This volume addresses several of Messiaen’s ideas on musical as well as non-musical rhythm. He discusses time, rhythm, greek metrics, hindu rhythms, and analyzes the 39 choruses of Le Printemps by Claude Le Jeune.

Originally published as Traité de rythme, de couleur, et d’ornithologie, Tome 1, Alphonse Leduc, Paris, 1994
With a Preface by Pierre Boulez
Translated by Melody Baggech
as her Dissertation thesis
Graduate Faculty of the School of Music, The University of Oklahoma, 1998
426 pages
via Charles Turner

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