Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards Sur L’Enfant-Jésus Ⅴ,Ⅸ

As a unique French composer in the twentieth century,Olivier Messiaen(1908-1992)influenced generations of avant-garde younger composers.His works cover almost every genre,most of which were composed for piano and organ,and are inspired by religious beliefs.The large piano cycle Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jesus was composed in 1944 and was dedicated to his student and later wife,the pianist Yvonne Loriod.Messiaen expressed his mystical love and religiousness in this work.Messiaen’s other compositions at this time pushed his early style to its peak.Messiaen published his treatise Technique de mon Langage Musical in the same year as Vingt Regards,in which he mentioned he inadvertently realized a mathematical impossibility in music,which he called the "charm of impossibilities." The charm of impossibilities is embodied by the two aspects of non-retrogradable rhythms and modes of limited transpositions.This charm of impossibilities became the unique musical language of his works.Messiaen often juxtaposed or superposed the non-retrogradable rhythms with the retrogradable rhythms,therefore using modes of limited transpositions and reflecting the charm of interweaving impossibilities with possibilities.Messiaen reckoned that the charm of impossibilities brought people to the realm of a "theological rainbow."This paper will explain the charm of impossibilities,and discuss how the coexistence of impossibilities and possibilities function in movements V and IX of Vingt Regards.It will also examine the religious meaning and performing interpretation of the work.This paper consists of four chapters.The first chapter looks at Messiaen’s religious background,and the compositional and religious background of Vingt Regards.The second chapter introduces Messiaen’s "charm of impossibilities" based on Technique de mon Langage Musical and other related literature,which is embodied by two aspects of non-retrogradable rhythms and modes of limited transpositions.Chapter three will analyze,from a performance perspective,Vingt regards V(Regard du Fils sur le Fils)and IX(Regard du temps)with examples to demonstrate the coexistence of impossible and possible elements,and Messiaen’s religious meaning.Chapter four compares the interpretation of the work by Messiaen’s wife Loriod and two pianists,and gives performance suggestions regarding the coexistence of impossibilities and possibilities.