Page 130 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2020. Konservatoriji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela ▪︎ The conservatories: professionalisation and specialisation of musical activity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 4
P. 130
konservator iji: profesionalizacija in specializacija glasbenega dela
way, also because he was a student myth (simply as an exceptionnal student
himself) inside the Conservatoire.16
The student myth of musical perfection was also reinforced by anoth-
er myth, that of “perfect kindness.” Messiaen may have been a perfect gen-
tleman, sometimes even called saint Olivier.17 A former pupil of his in com-
position, Jacques Petit, confirmed that he never heard Messiaen “criticize
a work by old, new composers or student-composers. Everything seemed al-
ways possible, even works which were obviously atrocious.”18 Pierrette Mari,
another pupil (in 1965), believed in Messiaen’s “candor, extreme kindness.”19
Candor? For composer Jean-Claude Risset, Messiaen was a great com-
poser, but also someone a little “wily,”20 much too calculating. But we can
also doubt that Messiaen calculated his attitudes in his class as in a “pre-
press conference” for his career.
YouTube shows a short video of Messiaen’s class. The date is not spec-
ified. But it was probably in the end of the 1960s (or the beginning of the
1970s). On this video one can see Messiaen teaching in the Conservatoire.
We may notice his famous “friendliness,” and perhaps also the charm – and
sometimes jokes – of a pedagogue.
Messiaen: “Ladies and gentlemen, dears friends, fellow citizens,
please be seated.
This morning I’ve brought you Pelleas and Melisande.
What strikes you in this passage? Two things strike me instantly.
There are two important words.
Pupil girl: “Far?”
Messiaen: Thank you. The word “ far.” Melisande says “I’m not from
here. I was born far from here. Far.” She repeats it over and over,
16 Finally, the promotion of the Conservatoire itself stongly worked for Messiaen’s de-
velopment. Several generations of teenagers, all former pupils, obviously worked for
Messiaen, since the war and still today for some of them. It certainly seems difficult
to precisely evaluate the part of this “school mediation” in Messiaen’s career and la-
ter (until nowadays), in the still vivid reception of Messiaen. It might be considerable
though.
17 Wolfgang Rathert titled “Olivier Messiaen: a saint (Franciscus)”. See Wolfgang Rat-
hert, “Olivier Messiaen: Ein Heiliger (Franziskus) der Musikgeschichte des 20. Jahr-
hunderts?” in Religion und Glaube als künstlerische Kernkräfte im Werk von Olivier
Messiaen, ed. Albrecht Götze (Hofheim: Wolke, 2010), 9–24.
18 Quoted by Pascal Arnault and Nicolas Darbon, Messiaen ou les sons impalpables du
rêve (Lillebonne: Millénaire III, 1999), 5.
19 See Boivin, La Classe de Messiaen, 169.
20 Ibid., 65.
128
way, also because he was a student myth (simply as an exceptionnal student
himself) inside the Conservatoire.16
The student myth of musical perfection was also reinforced by anoth-
er myth, that of “perfect kindness.” Messiaen may have been a perfect gen-
tleman, sometimes even called saint Olivier.17 A former pupil of his in com-
position, Jacques Petit, confirmed that he never heard Messiaen “criticize
a work by old, new composers or student-composers. Everything seemed al-
ways possible, even works which were obviously atrocious.”18 Pierrette Mari,
another pupil (in 1965), believed in Messiaen’s “candor, extreme kindness.”19
Candor? For composer Jean-Claude Risset, Messiaen was a great com-
poser, but also someone a little “wily,”20 much too calculating. But we can
also doubt that Messiaen calculated his attitudes in his class as in a “pre-
press conference” for his career.
YouTube shows a short video of Messiaen’s class. The date is not spec-
ified. But it was probably in the end of the 1960s (or the beginning of the
1970s). On this video one can see Messiaen teaching in the Conservatoire.
We may notice his famous “friendliness,” and perhaps also the charm – and
sometimes jokes – of a pedagogue.
Messiaen: “Ladies and gentlemen, dears friends, fellow citizens,
please be seated.
This morning I’ve brought you Pelleas and Melisande.
What strikes you in this passage? Two things strike me instantly.
There are two important words.
Pupil girl: “Far?”
Messiaen: Thank you. The word “ far.” Melisande says “I’m not from
here. I was born far from here. Far.” She repeats it over and over,
16 Finally, the promotion of the Conservatoire itself stongly worked for Messiaen’s de-
velopment. Several generations of teenagers, all former pupils, obviously worked for
Messiaen, since the war and still today for some of them. It certainly seems difficult
to precisely evaluate the part of this “school mediation” in Messiaen’s career and la-
ter (until nowadays), in the still vivid reception of Messiaen. It might be considerable
though.
17 Wolfgang Rathert titled “Olivier Messiaen: a saint (Franciscus)”. See Wolfgang Rat-
hert, “Olivier Messiaen: Ein Heiliger (Franziskus) der Musikgeschichte des 20. Jahr-
hunderts?” in Religion und Glaube als künstlerische Kernkräfte im Werk von Olivier
Messiaen, ed. Albrecht Götze (Hofheim: Wolke, 2010), 9–24.
18 Quoted by Pascal Arnault and Nicolas Darbon, Messiaen ou les sons impalpables du
rêve (Lillebonne: Millénaire III, 1999), 5.
19 See Boivin, La Classe de Messiaen, 169.
20 Ibid., 65.
128
