CHEONG WAI-LING

MESSIAEN'S TRIADIC COLOURATION: MODES AS INTERVERSION

About halfway through the Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus (1944), in `PremieÁre
communion de la vierge', Messiaen recalls the opening bars of La nativite du
Seigneur (1935).1 This introduces what might reasonably be called the Virgin's
theme (Ex. 1), since both movements allude to her presence, although in
Technique de mon langage musical Messiaen gives this pattern the rather
impersonal designation of a cadence.2 Unadorned as it is when it appears at the
outset of La nativiteÂ, its recurrence in Vingt regards, once again as Messiaen's
musical image of the Virgin, is played against a scintillating chain of chords
that, in a fashion typical of Messiaen, move in approximate but not strict
parallel motion.3
Not only does the Virgin's theme appear in Technique (Chap. 16, `Modes of
Limited Transpositions') as the `typical cadence' of mode 2, but this chain of
chords is also listed on the same occasion as mode 2 set `in [a] parallel
succession of chords' (Ex. 2a).4 This chapter is in many ways Messiaen's fullest
account of his modes, although any discussion of mode-colour relationship is
curiously missing.5 At the outset he dwells on the transpositional impos-
sibilities and tonal possibilities of his seven modes. Each of them is then
presented in scalar form, although typical chords and cadence formulas are
shown only for modes 2 and 3. In addition, Messiaen takes special care to
arrange the modes, with the exception of 1 and 5, as parallel chord series
(`parallel succession of chords' in Satterfield's translation; Ex. 2), one of which,
as we have seen, finds its way into `PremieÁre communion de la vierge'.
Messiaen's remark on these parallel chord series is typically brief. None of
these chord series are parallel in the strict sense, but, as he puts it, `each voice
[of the series] realizes the entire mode, starting on a different degree'. As a
result of this, each of them engages on a regular basis one or more different
chord types.6
Although the literature has rarely touched on these series, giving rather
more attention to Messiaen's adaptation of decËõÃ-taÃlas and birdsongs, we cannot
fail to grasp their import as we listen to their insistent presence in his music. As
far as his published musical works are concerned, Le banquet ceÂleste (1928)
contains the earliest use of such a parallel chord series (p. 2). This series is
based on mode 2. Parallel chord series based on modes 3 and 6 soon follow in
PreÂludes of 1929 (Technique, Exs. 302 and 352).7 By contrast, mode 4 is not
used in this way until La nativite (Technique, Ex. 156), while series based on

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54 CHEONG WAI-LING
Ex. 1 `PremieÁre communion de la vierge', p. 78
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Ex. 2 Parallel chord series listed in Technique

a mode 2 1 arranged as a parallel tetrad series (Technique, ex. 317, annotated)

4-Z29B
4-Z29A

b mode 3 1 arranged as a parallel pentad series (Technique, ex. 333, annotated)

5-26B
5-26A
5-Z37

c mode 4 1 arranged as a parallel tetrad series (Technique, ex. 346, annotated)

4-16A
4-Z29A
4-27B

d mode 6 1 arranged as a parallel trichord series in contrary motion (Technique, ex. 351, annotated)
8 va

5-34
3-9
6-35

e mode 7 1 arranged as a parallel pentad series (Technique, ex. 355, annotated)

5-28B
5-31B
5-33

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mode 7, while listed in Technique, are a rarity. In Le banquet ceÂleste, the parallel
trichord series is very much a by-product of voice-leading. As each voice traces
mode 2 in a stepwise fashion, parallel chords come naturally into play. It seems
likely that the idea of parallel chord series owes its origin to such works. By the
time of PreÂludes, however, the idea of these series as specific groupings of
discrete chords has firmly taken root. Visions de l'amen (1943), the latest work
associated with Technique, is notably rich in chord series. There is also a
profusion of them in Trois petites liturgies de la PreÂsence Divine (1944), Vingt
regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, Harawi (1945) and TurangalõÃla-symphonie (1946±8),
all immediate successors to Visions. These series are not evident in the
experimental works of the late 1940s but resurface in Messe de la PentecoÃte
(1950).8 And, although they appear less often than before in Messiaen's later
music, they continue to recur and we still hear them in Un sourire of 1989.
This article focuses on Messiaen's use of his modes in the form of parallel
chord series. Before narrowing down to these series, I shall address Messiaen's
modes in less specific terms. Past research on this particular facet of his `charm
of impossibilities' has dealt with the identification of modes and modal patterns
that bear motivic-thematic import.9 Concerns tend towards the inherent
symmetry of the modes and the issue of colour. In addition, emphasis has
always been laid on modes 2 and 3, much to the neglect of the others.
Griffiths's discussion of modes 4 and 5, for instance, barely goes beyond their
description as `exotic rarities'.10 This neglect of some modes does not take into
consideration the fact that Messiaen himself accorded different prominence to
his seven modes at different points of his career. Questions as to how the
composer's treatment of modes and his preference for certain modes change
over time are seldom raised.
In the first part of the article, I shall examine Messiaen's different listings of
his modes, the late-appearing mode 4, his comments on colour and his growing
emphasis on harmonies in order to put his parallel chord series in the context of
his changing treatment of modes. I shall then proceed to focus on the parallel
chord series. This second part of my discussion takes as its point of departure
series formally listed in Messiaen's writings, although consideration will also
be given to series that only appear in his music. These series are not set up as
abstract models, but rather are closely integrated into his music. However, they
do not always take shape as unbroken strings of parallel chords. There are
times when only a couple of chords are involved and these may be very
differently ordered. I shall therefore limit my scope to cases that use in
succession two or more chords that are referable to one parallel chord series,
although these need not be contiguous chords from the series. Following a
survey of their setting in different guises at different times, and of their musical
roles, I shall discuss the structures of these varying series, with emphasis on
Messiaen's quest for the triadic. To conclude, I shall speculate on the reasons

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underlying Messiaen's decision to set his modes in the form of parallel chord
series.

Messiaen's seven modes

Messiaen first published his modes of limited transpositions in the preface to
La nativiteÂ. In his elaborations on the same topic in Technique, there is little
change as far as the philosophy of the modes is concerned. Messiaen repeated
his emphasis on the issue of transposition, and the modes retained for him the
`charm of impossibilities'. But if we leave aside the basic rationale of his modes,
two important discrepancies can be noted: disagreement on the total number of
modes listed and the way in which they are ordered. Technique lists altogether
seven modes in contrast to only four given in La nativiteÂ. The latter's omission
of mode 1 is trivial. The expansion comes solely with modes that are
transposable six times. While La nativite includes only two of these and names
them collectively as `4e modes', Technique makes a distinction between modes 4
and 6 and adds to this category modes 5 and 7. This expansion may have
prompted Messiaen to work out a more precise set of names, i.e. modes 4 to 7
instead of an expanded group of `4e modes'. But on what criteria is the
numbering of these modes based? Messiaen did not give a full answer,
although he admitted that the varying number of transpositions is a factor.11
Thus modes 1 and 2 (transposable two and three times respectively) come
before mode 3, which is transposable four times. Modes 4, 5, 6 and 7 go further
down the list, as six transpositions of each are available. But Messiaen did not
say whether the numbering of modes 4 to 7, all transposable six times, rested
on any particular criteria or was just arbitrarily decided.12
Leaving aside modes 1 and 7, a survey of Messiaen's music reveals mode 4 as
an obvious latecomer. Modes 2 and 3 and, to a lesser extent, mode 6 are
integrated into the PreÂludes, while mode 5 assumes an early presence in the
form of specific melodic formulae.13 But there is no prominent use of mode 4
until La nativiteÂ. Indeed, modes 2 and 3 are used in the majority of his early
works, but only two out of all twenty-odd published works leading up to
Visions use mode 4. Thus, the fact that Messiaen closely knits mode 4 into
Visions and all of its immediate successors ± Liturgies, Vingt regards, Harawi
and TurangalõÃla ± strikes us as a marked change.14 Messiaen's initial focus on a
handful of modes had in time been replaced by a more comprehensive
approach (even if modes 1 and 7 are still largely left out). But the prominence
accorded to these seven modes still varied to a remarkable extent.

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Limited transpositions versus colours

Messiaen, at the time of Technique, did not view his seven modes as equals. He
even went so far as to state that the issue of limited transpositions renders
modes 4 to 7 less interesting:

There are four other modes [i.e. modes 4 to 7], transposable six times, and
presenting less interest, for the very reason of their too great number of
transpositions.15

Messiaen did not spell out this lack of interest in more specific terms. It is not
clear how the `too great number of transpositions' should be seen as a problem
in compositional terms. Nevertheless, this statement does seem to sum up his
predilection up to this point, as modes 4 to 6 (again leaving aside the
problematic mode 7) are indeed very much overshadowed by the prominence
assigned to modes 2 and 3. But Messiaen's interest in modes 4, 5 and 6
gradually grows, and we are prompted to ask what could have initiated this
change. Since it is coupled with a significant growth in the composer's
comments on colour, Messiaen's synaesthetic experience may relate, if only
obliquely, to this question.
La nativite did not even touch on the colour affinities of the modes, and yet
about a decade later, in the preface to Liturgies, Messiaen gave detailed
descriptions of colour effects. This is unprecedented, in that not even
Technique, which predates it by two years, recorded the colour associations of
his modes.16 Indeed I wonder if the description in Liturgies is not a late addition
to the score since its tone bears resemblance to later elaboration on this topic in,
for instance, his notes to Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956±8) and Des canyons aux
eÂtoiles (1971±4). In his interview with Samuel, Messiaen points out that colour
changes not only with different modes but also with different transpositions of
the same mode.17 But this point has already been anticipated in Liturgies, where
the colours of different transpositions of the same mode are noted. Most
strikingly, when Messiaen describes to Samuel the colour identities of his
modes, he repeats down to the finest details what has already been stated in
Liturgies. These are descriptions of great complexity. The colour affinity of
mode 21 is, for example, defined in the interview as `blue-violet rocks speckled
with little gray cubes, cobalt blue, deep Prussian blue, highlighted by a bit of
violet-purple, gold, red, ruby, and stars of mauve, black, and white. Blue-violet
is dominant'.18 This literally restates Liturgies's description.19
A documentation of Messiaen's view of such colour identities shows an
overall change from barely any comment in the early days to giving out a great
number of details later in his career.20 This may reflect a growth of interest in
sound-colour association, but there is evidence that he simply became much
more outspoken in later years. In Hommage aÁ Olivier Messiaen, for instance, the

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composer makes it plain that the PreÂludes already bear close affinity to the
colours of modes:

I was already twenty at the time [of PreÂludes] and had not yet undertaken my
experiments in rhythm which were to transform my whole life. I had a passion
for birds but did not yet know how to notate their songs. However, I was
already familiar with tone-colour. By means of harmonic modes of a limited
number of transpositions from which they derive their individual coloration I
had managed to put discs of colour in opposition, interweave rainbows and
discover `complementary colours' in music. The titles of the `PreÂludes' hide the
studies in music.21

In other words, Messiaen had already been composing with this notion of
colour in mind, despite his notable silence around this time. That he gradually
and belatedly developed an interest in sound-colour association is thus more
apparent than true. But the relative importance he gave to the modes' attribute
of limited transpositions as opposed to their colour affinities could have
changed. So it remains plausible that the composer who formerly viewed
modes 4 to 7 as `presenting less interest, for the very reason of their too great
number of transpositions', could have grown to value these modes more for
their colours.

Melodies versus harmonies

Messiaen's varying reliance on his seven modes parallels changes in his setting
of modes. The commitment to one mode at a time in a melody-plus-
accompaniment layout (common around the time of PreÂludes) comes to be
superseded by polymodality (already in use in PreÂludes and discussed in
Technique) and the more complex merging of both modal and non-modal
materials. Messiaen's works from the 1940s provide copious examples of this
kind of multi-layered polymodal writing. Around this time there is also a
notable tendency to incorporate modes as chords rather than lines. Although
they are not always tied down to the very restricted arrangement of parallel
chord series, structures of this sort are obviously favoured, as can be seen from
the manifold use of such series in, for example, Liturgies and TurangalõÃla
(Ex. 3). In Messiaen's late works there are still passages based on only one
mode, although the melody-plus-accompaniment setting typical of earlier
works is more commonly replaced by solemn series of modal block chords.
This shift of emphasis towards modal harmonies, as opposed to melodies,
could have stemmed from Messiaen's synaesthetic experience. His comments
on the colours of modes relate repeatedly to the question of setting up modes as
harmonies.22 In his interview with Samuel, Messiaen asserted that the modes
were for him a constant source of harmonies and colours:

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Ex. 3 `Psalmodie de l'ubiquite par amour', pp. 134±6
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Some have spoken, with just cause, of the `harmonic use' of these modes;
indeed, some people think of the modes as ladders . . . whereas I don't use my
modes in a melodic fashion. I'll go further and say that I use them as colors. They
aren't harmonies in the classic sense of the term. They obviously aren't tonal
harmonies, and not even recognized chords. They are colors. . . .23
But Messiaen's denial of his use of modes as melodic materials is in open
contradiction to cases such as the `Vocalise, pour l'ange qui annonce la fin du
temps' (1941), where some thirty-nine bars of pure melody flow from mode
31.24 His view around the time of Technique was certainly less dogmatic,
although his preference for harmony was already in evidence:
All the modes of limited transpositions can be used melodically, and especially
harmonically, melody and harmonies never leaving the notes of the mode.25
While it is understandable that the notes of a mode evoke colour when they are
gathered together as chords, this is not the only possible setting; the melody-
plus-accompaniment layout typical of Messiaen's early modal writings
provides an obvious alternative. This approach was soon discarded, however;
as Messiaen moved on to polymodality, parallel chord series come to the fore to
wed colour with order.

II
The three sources
Messiaen's listing of parallel chord series is currently found in three sources:
the preface to La nativiteÂ; Technique (Ex. 2); and the much-neglected preface to
Liturgies (Ex. 4).26 We may reasonably expect a discussion of these series from

Ex. 4 Parallel chord series listed in Liturgies (preface) but not Technique
a mode 3 2 arranged as a parallel hexad series (Liturgies, preface, annotated)

6-15B
6-21B
6-14B

b mode 6 1 arranged as a parallel octad series (Liturgies, preface)

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Table 1 A comparison of parallel chord series listed in the three sources

La nativite (preface) Technique Liturgies (preface)

mode 1 nil nil nil

mode 2 parallel tetrad series same parallel tetrad same parallel tetrad series
series (Ex. 317)
mode 3 parallel pentad series same parallel pentad parallel hexad series
series (Ex. 333)
mode 4 nil parallel tetrad series same parallel tetrad series
(Ex. 346)
mode 5 nil nil nil
mode 6 (still called mode 4) parallel trichord series parallel octad series
in contrary motion
(Ex. 351)
mode 7 nil parallel pentad series nil
(Ex. 355)

the forthcoming seventh volume of Traite de rythme, de couleur, et

d'ornithologie. Of the three published listings, Technique is the most
comprehensive in approach, and it covers all that La nativite includes,
although Liturgies has something different to offer (Table 1).27 The objectives
of these writings vary. While Technique summarises Messiaen's compositional
techniques as they had developed up to that time, the scope of the prefaces to
La nativite and Liturgies is, understandably, more narrowly defined. They are
primarily conceived as introductory notes to the music at hand, and the listed
series are therefore expected to have local references only.
Parallel chord series based on modes 2 and 3 appear in all three sources, but
those referable to modes 4 and 6 are recorded only in Technique and Liturgies.
Mode 7's chord series appears only in Technique. La nativite lists under mode 2
and mode 3 respectively strings of tetrads and pentads arranged in scalar form.
There is barely any verbal commentary. It comes as a surprise that the tetrad
series (mode 2) is not used in La nativiteÂ, while the pentad series (mode 3)
appears only briefly in the ninth movement (pp. 1±2), assuming a fanfare-like
gesture. This is not to say that La nativite as a whole stands aloof from parallel
chord series. On the contrary, a number of modal series are used which do not
even appear in the preface; the relationship of the listing of chord series to the
music itself is particularly intriguing in this work.28 La nativite notwithstanding,
the mode 2 tetrad series appears in Messiaen's oeuvre many times.29 The same is
true of the pentad series, certainly one of mode 3's most-used series.30
The tetrad series reappears in the listing of both Technique (see Ex. 317) and
Liturgies, under mode 2. But the pentad series, although repeated in Technique,
is replaced in Liturgies by a hexad series. This particular series can be
interpreted as an expanded form of the pentad series, as the latter is neatly

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embedded in it. Technique and Liturgies list the same parallel tetrad series
under mode 4. Messiaen's treatment of mode 6 is more peculiar. We find in the
preface to Liturgies the listing of an octad series, while in Technique he includes
under mode 6 not a single parallel chord series but a structure that
superimposes two such series in contrary motion.31
Some of these modal series appear in music cited in Technique, but no
explanatory note is found anywhere. In a similar vein, Liturgies does not
comment on these series, although it describes in some detail the colour effects
of modes. As Messiaen draws attention to the modal basis of passages selected
from its three movements, he accordingly lists different transpositions of
different modes. Surprisingly, none of them assumes a scalar format. Instead
they are laid out in ways that suggest series of parallel chords in arpeggiation,
rather than vertically aligned. Indeed, the preface to Liturgies is highly
perplexing. With a single exception, the passages of the work discussed therein
correspond to the notes of the modes but not to the layout as given in the
preface. The one exception is the arrangement of mode 4 as a series of tetrads,
an arrangement which does in fact appear in the relevant passage (on p. 134).32
At this point one may be tempted to question why the modes are presented
as they are in the preface since they seldom appear in this way in the music
cited. The same sort of discrepancy was noted earlier in connection with La
nativiteÂ. Perhaps the relevance of the series in the preface to Liturgies is best
understood if we go beyond the selected passages to examine the whole work.
The mode 2 tetrad series, although not used in the few bars quoted, appears
very prominently in the movement as a whole (pp. 112±16, pp. 155±9, pp. 209±
13). The more complex series, on the other hand, may have been presented as a
master series from which small-scale series could be derived. A truncated form
of the mode 3 hexad series ± a pentad series ± is much used in the third
movement (pp. 85±6, pp. 134±6, pp. 141±3, pp. 188±90, pp. 195±7).33 The
mode 4 tetrad series, as noted above, is the only series integrated into the
designated excerpt, and it also features prominently in other parts of the work
(p. 86, pp. 88±91, pp. 93±4, pp. 134±6, pp. 141±3, pp. 188±90, pp. 195±7).34
This leaves the mode 6 octad series as an oddity. The parallel tetrad series of
mode 6 featured in Liturgies (pp. 22±7, pp. 85±6, pp. 88±91, pp. 179±80) are not
literally embedded in this octad series. Indeed, nowhere in the music is this
series or a derivative of it used.35

Configuration
The component chords of a series are, theoretically, laid out in an orderly
fashion. In practice, however, parallel chord series do not always assume the
same scalar format. There are times when only a handful of non-adjacent
chords is used to form a gapped series, and adjacent chords may also be

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reordered, resulting in a sort of meandering gesture. In `Action de graÃces'

trichords based on modes 2 and 3 are superimposed at the outset (Technique,
Ex. 49), but the fact that they are referable to distinct parallel chord series is
somewhat concealed, as they involve only selected chords from the series and
these are not always grouped together as contiguous chords. The ensuing entry
of mode 6 is, however, presented in an orderly fashion as parallel trichord
series in contrary motion.36
The grouping of selected chords from a series as a harmonic pedal (or `pedal
group' as he calls it) is commonly found in works from the late 1930s to mid
1940s. These pedal groups are often treated in rhythmic canons or merged with
rhythmic pedals, and superimposed (see again Technique, Ex. 49 and also
Ex. 43). The arrangement of these chords in notes of equal duration as an
extended unbroken ascent or (even more commonly) descent is typical of
Visions, Liturgies, Vingt regards, Harawi and TurangalõÃla.37 Parallel chord
series of this sort are at times stationed at structural points to assume cadential
function,38 but most of them form fast-moving decorative strands in a
multilayered music. Liturgies gives an example: the superimposition of differ-

Ex. 5 `SeÂquence du verbe, cantique divin', pp. 85±6

mode 4 6 parallel tetrad series

Pianos

cresc. molto

glissando
Onde glissando

cresc. dim.
mode 6 4 parallel tetrad series mode 6 4 parallel tetrad series, modified
1 5
2 6
1 3
5 7
cresc.
1st Vns cresc. molto
3 7
4 8
2 4
6 8
cresc.

2nd Vns

cresc.

Vlas cresc. cresc. molto

cresc.
mode 3 3 parallel pentad series

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ent series (referable to modes 3, 4 and 6 respectively) creates a collage that may
be likened to colour effects described in Messiaen's liner notes (Ex. 5). Orderly
ascents or descents, even if they find their way into Messiaen's early works, are
often expressed in unequal rather than equal durations (see Technique, Ex.
156); straightforward scalar settings tend to be avoided in favour of less rigidly
ordered series. This kind of irregularity becomes inevitable when Messiaen
adapts series of parallel chords to harmonise melody. In Messiaen's late works
there is a notable tendency for parallel chord series to slow down and to explore
the lower register. In Des canyons VIII (pp. 297±300), the strings play in
sustained long notes, in contrast to the quick and equal durations of Visions and
Liturgies, an orderly descent of parallel chords, thereby creating a mellow
backdrop for the engaging birdsongs. Parallel chord series, arranged in an
ordered fashion, are laid bare in Livre du Saint Sacrement VI (pp. 35±6, 40±41).
No longer treated as subsidiary events or mere decorative strands, they assume
a new role as the essence of the music.39

Structural basis
While for Messiaen parallel chord series have an obvious presence in both
theory and practice, he writes about only a chosen few ± those that come up
most often in his music.40 Why does he choose the ones he does? The
discussion of the `typical chords' of modes 2 and 3 in Technique offers us a clue:
it seems likely that parallel chord series listed under modes 2 and 3 are
preferred because they incorporate structures closely related to the typical
chords of those modes (Ex. 6). The mode 2 parallel tetrad series begins with
the typical chord of mode 2, albeit somewhat abridged. Mode 3's typical chord,
similarly abridged, also appears as the first chord of the pentad series listed in
both La nativite and Technique. The mode 3 parallel hexad series displayed in
Liturgies begin with this typical chord as well.41 However, Messiaen does not
identify typical chords for modes 4 to 7, and the structural basis of the chord
series for these modes may lie rather in their quest for triadic resources within
their respective limits. The parallel tetrad series of mode 4 takes up all of its
embedded `dominant-seventh' chords. The pair of major triads derivable from
mode 6 is likewise integrated into its parallel trichord series.42 Lastly, four of
the six `dominant-ninth' chords of mode 7 show up in its parallel pentad series.
The typical chords of modes 2 and 3 help explain the parallel chord series
listed under the same modes. But how should we understand the structures of
these typical chords and hence these series? So far, Messiaen's writings have
not been seen to touch on any technical details. The only exception concerns
the mode 2 tetrad series. In Technique, he points out that this series `alternates
the six-four chord with added augmented fourth and the dominant seventh
chord with added sixth'. If we follow this line of thought, in view of the close

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Ex. 6 Typical chords (modes 21 and 31)

typical chord of mode 2 1

(Technique, ex. 319)

5-25A

typical chord of mode 3 1

(Technique, ex. 335)

6-15B

link between the listed series and the typical chord of mode 2, we can interpret
the latter as a six-four chord with added augmented fourth and added sixth. In
a similar vein, we can interpret the mode 3 typical chord, a component of the
mode 3 hexad series, as a `dominant-seventh' chord with added sixth and
added seventh. The mode 3 pentad series contains an abridged version of this
typical chord and it is precisely this seventh that is omitted. This effort to read
a triadic basis into the mode 3 typical chord and listed series is not, however,
backed up by Messiaen's verbal comments. It rests rather on the assumption
that triadic structures, which assert themselves as important building blocks in
the other typical chord and listed series, are no less important here. As
mentioned above, the series listed under modes 4, 6 and 7 contain chord types
that can be interpreted unambiguously as tertian in make-up. These include
the [0, 4, 7, 10] of the mode 4 tetrad series, the [0, 4, 7] of the mode 6 trichord
series and the [0, 4, 7, 10, 1] of the mode 7 pentad series.
All these dominant-type chords lead us to reconsider Messiaen's inter-
pretation of the mode 2 parallel tetrad series and whether they can be
adequately described as triadic in basis. For a purely triadic approach would
have rendered the two tetrads of the series as [0, (3), 6, 10, 1] and [0, 3, 7, (10),
1] instead of Messiaen's proposed [0, 4, 7] + 6 and [0, 4, (7), 10] + 9.
Understandably, there are other possible triadic readings if we alter the
number of added notes and absentee pcs that are read into these structures.
Theoretically, the more the number of added notes and absentee pcs, the less
convincing the interpretation is likely to be, although statistics as such cannot
always be a reliable arbiter. To take an example at hand, we can hardly choose

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Table 2 A triadic reading of the typical chords and listed series

Listed series Chord type (no. used) Triadic reading

mode 2 typical chord 5±25A [0, 4, 7] + 6 + 9

mode 2 parallel tetrad series 4±z29B (4) [0, 4, 7] + 6
4±z29A (4) [0, 4, (7), 10] + 9
mode 3 parallel pentad series 5±26B (3) [0, 4, 7, 10] + 8
5±26A (3) [(0), 4, 7, 10, 2] + 6
[0, 4, (7), 10, 1] + 8
5±z37 (3) [0, 4, 7] + 8/9
mode 3 parallel hexad series 6±15B (3) typical chord [0, 4, 7, 10] + 8 + 11
6±21B (3) [(0), 4, 7, 10, 2] + 6 + 8
[0, 4, (7), 10, 1/2] + 8
6±14B (3) [0, 4, 7] + 8/9 + 11
mode 4 parallel tetrad series 4±16A (4) nil
4±z29A (2) [0, 4, (7), 10] + 9
4±27B (2) [0, 4, 7, 10]
mode 6 parallel trichord 5±34 (4) [0, 4, 7, 10, 2]
series in contrary motion 3±9 (2) nil
6±35 (2) [0, 4, (7), 10, 2] + 6 + 8
mode 6 parallel octad series 8±25 (8) [0, 4, 7, 10, 1/2] + 6 + 8
mode 7 parallel pentad series 5±28B (4) [0, 4, (7), 10] + 6 + 9
5±31B (4) [0, 4, 7, 10, 1]
5±33 (2) [0, 4, (7), 10, 2] + 6
[0, 4, (7), 10, 2] + 8
[0, 4, (7), 10] + 6 + 8

between [0, 4, 7] + 6 and [0, (3), 6, 10, 1] since both readings involve the same
number of added note or absentee pc. A preference for [0, 4, (7), 10] + 9 over
[0, 3, 7, (10), 1] is even more perplexing as the latter is closer to what we
understand as a normative triadic structure. It seems likely that Messiaen's
interpretation of the mode 2 parallel tetrad series is based on criteria other than
purely triadic ones. In order to arrive at his reading, we need to prioritise
dominant-type chords over other triadic structures and take into consideration
factors other than intervallic ones, not least the conventionality of the spellings
and spacing involved.
Table 2 summarises the result of an attempt to extend what we understand
as the principles underlying Messiaen's interpretation of the mode 2 parallel
tetrad series to a reading of all the typical chords and listed series. With two
exceptions (4±16A and 3±9), all the different chord types can be interpreted as
a complete major triad, a `dominant-seventh' chord or a `dominant-ninth'
chord, with at most one absentee pc each. All other pcs are treated as added
notes, and it emerges that these are restricted to tritones and sixths. The
addition of a major seventh occurs only in the mode 3 hexad series. The listed
series of mode 3 also stands aloof from most other series, in that two of the

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component chords, 5±26A and 6±21B, have questionable triadic origins. It is

not clear if 5±26A should be interpreted as [(0), 4, 7, 10, 2] + 6 or [0, 4, (7), 10,
1] + 8. This analytical problem persists as the pentads become embedded in
the hexad series. A triadic reading of 6±21B, the hexad counterpart of 5±26A,
can lead to [(0), 4, 7, 10, 2] + 6 + 8 or [0, 4, (7), 10, 1/2] + 8 and thus, under
our present theoretical constraints, neither stands out as a better interpretation.
This problem cannot be solved by taking into account the issue of spellings as
the series contains a conventionally spelt version of both readings. Spacing,
however, seems to offer a clue here as only [(0), 4, 7, 10, 2] + 6 + 8 is spaced
conventionally.
If we treat the seventh of the mode 3 parallel hexad series as an oddity,
added tritones, added sixths, complete major triads, `dominant-seventh' chords
and `dominant-ninth' chords with at most one absentee pc each stand out as
important factors in all these typical chords and listed series. They are arguably
the ruling principles of these structures. In the following discussion, all these
factors will be combined in setting up a referential structure, a vantage-point
from which Messiaen's seven modes will be compared. Defined as a
`dominant-ninth' chord appended with a tritone and/or a sixth, this structure
is allowed some flexibility as the availability of a major sixth, a minor sixth, a
major ninth and a minor ninth varies. Table 3 shows the referential structures
derivable from modes 1 to 7, but only the most conventionally spelt versions
are displayed here. The seven modes are unanimous in their inclusion of a
referential structure, but there are subtle differences, too. The referential
structures of modes 4 and 5 are short of a sixth. Mode 6 is unique in that its
eight pcs can be neatly absorbed into a conventionally spelt [0, 4, 7, 10, 1/2]
furnished with a tritone and a minor sixth. This may explain the outstanding
spelling pattern of mode 6 and also the listing of a parallel octad series in
Liturgies under the same mode.43 The vertical sequence of pcs does not change,
though the spacing of the octad is perpetually altered as different notes take
turn to appear in the treble or indeed any other part. Only an incomplete major
triad is retrievable from modes 1 and 5, which are also deprived of any listed

Table 3 A comparison of the referential structures of the modes

Mode Referential structure

1 [C, D, E, F], G], A]] [E, G], (B), D, F]] + A] + C

2 [C, D[, E[, E, F], G, A, B[] [C, E, G, B[, D[] + F] + A
3 [C, D, E[, E, F], G, A[, B[, B] [C, E, G, B[, D] + F] + A[
4 [C, D[, D, F, F], G, A[, B] [G, B, D, F, A[] + D[
5 [C, D[, F, F], G, B] [G, B, (D), F] + D[
6 [C, D, E, F, F], G], A], B] [E, G], B, D, F/F]] + A] + C
7 [C, D[, D, E[, F, F], G, A[, A, B] [G, B, D, F, A[/A] + D[ + E[

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series. Whether the absence of this triad is related to that of the listed series can
only be left to speculation. What remains clear is that all the listed series,
regardless of sources, contain at least one chord type that delineates, in whole
or in part, the referential structure of the mode. With modes 2, 3, 4 and 6, all
available transpositions of a referential structure can be lined up in a parallel
chord series.44 This constitutes a kind of master series from which most of the
parallel chord series I have tackled in this study, not least the listed series
(except of course the one in contrary motion), can be derived. The size of the
master series is surely an important factor, but the multifarious inclusion
relations remain, nonetheless, significant.
With two notable exceptions, the many parallel chord series excluded from
Messiaen's writings assume a shadowy presence, appearing only infrequently
in his music. The exceptions, parallel trichord series based on modes 2 and 3,45
include all the major triads of the respective modes and are subsumable to the
tetrad series of mode 2 and the pentad and hexad series of mode 3. With
expansive series, the involvement of major triads at some point becomes almost
inevitable. In the case of small-scale parallel chord series such as these trichord
series, it would be hard not to understand this as a conscious decision on the
composer's part, as the number of available trichords is by no means limited.46
The concluding movement of Visions (p. 95) engages such a parallel trichord
series, from mode 21. A few bars later these trichords are converted into the
parallel tetrad series listed in all three sources under mode 2. This kind of
expansion is also at work in Verset pour la feÃte de la deÂdicace (1960). On p. 7 a
parallel tetrad series taking up all the `dominant-seventh' chords of mode 3 is
succeeded by the same number of pentads, each of which can be understood as
an expanded form of the corresponding tetrad. The expansion is less overt here
than in Visions, as these tetrads and pentads refer to different transpositions:
mode 32 and mode 33 respectively.
It goes without saying that this sort of inclusion relation is indicative of a
tendency to expand on small-scale series. Indeed, the parallel chord series of
mode 6 strongly suggest a line of expansion from trichord to octad series
(Ex. 7). The latter, as used in Livre du Saint Sacrement, includes as its
uppermost trichords the parallel trichord series of `Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour
l'ange qui announce la fin du temps' (p. 37). In a similar vein, it includes as its
uppermost tetrads, pentads and hexads the corresponding series of
TurangalõÃla. This inclusion relation is clouded considerably, however, by the
fact that mode 6 is transposed differently in the tetrad and the hexad series.
Lastly, the uppermost heptads of the parallel octad series can be mapped onto
the parallel heptad series of `La rousserolle effarvatte', though these heptads
differ in their vertical orderings of pcs. This is nonetheless an important
discrepancy. If orderings as such were not considered a decisive factor, the
parallel octad series of mode 6 would have included all other series of the same

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Ex. 7 Parallel chord series (mode 6): a hypothetical line of expansion

mode and the present discussion of inclusion relations would be deprived of

much of its significance. With the exception of the heptad series, however, the
parallel chord series discussed here closely follow a hypothetical line of
expansion and the [0, 4, 7] of the parallel trichord series could have grown step-
by-step into the [0, 4, 7, 10, 1/2] + 6 + 8 of the parallel octad series. From
another perspective, it seems equally plausible that an inclusion relation as
such happens within the control of an overriding master series, with the
parallel octad series standing out as an important point of departure.

Parallel chord series as interversion

Viewed linearly, all these parallel chord series are characterised by the
alternation of different chord types. Viewed vertically, the constituent pcs of
these parallel chord series are also subjected to systematic reorderings. All

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Ex. 7 (Cont.)

these orderings and reorderings, complex at times, originate from the simple
fact that a parallel chord series is obliged to delineate, in all its constituent
parts, the engaged mode in strict order. Thus, any one chord belongs to only
one series and dictates the structure of every other chord.47 Once the structure
of one chord is decided, the vertical alignment of pcs becomes fixed and chords
of different intervallic make-up join in an orderly circulation. The number of
times a certain chord type recurs depends on the number of transpositions that
is possible for the mode and also on the structure of the chord type involved.
Each mode is composed of a recurring intervallic pattern and therein lies its

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attribute of limited transposition. Differentiating the notes of a mode according

to the way they relate to one another intervallically, different groups of notes
emerge, each of which supports the same chord types. Nevertheless, depending
on the structure of a chord type, it may also appear elsewhere. Since any one
chord moves to another chord in the series by moving all of its constituent pcs
by the same number of scale degrees, the same chord type will recur if the same
interval is thereby traversed. The mode 3 parallel trichord series that takes an
augmented triad as its point of departure is a case in point. Each time an [0, 4,
8] moves up or down any number of scale degrees, the same interval is
traversed by its constituent pcs, leading invariably to an augmented triad. The
series is thus left with only one chord type and the vertical sequence of pcs does
not change.48
In most other cases, however, the device of parallel chord series adds to
Messiaen's repertory of modes a permutation of notes on the one hand and a
permutation of chords on the other. To borrow Messiaen's term for
permutation, the vertical interversion of notes converges with the linear
interversion of chords.49 This networking of vertical and linear orderings is
also a hallmark of the kind of interversion unveiled in IÃle de feu II, and the
complex use of multiple pedals that precedes it. A parallel chord series is in
many ways reminiscent of the exemplary use of pedals in `Liturgie de cristal'
and `Amen de la creÂation'. The internal order of each pedal is, by definition,
fixed but the superimposition of repeating pedals creates intricate orderings
that are vertically rather than linearly conceived. These simultaneities in turn
build up a sequence that can be likened to the rotation of chord types typical of
the parallel chord series.
All these dealings with pedals fade as interversion, a more sophisticated
manifestation of the same basic approach, takes its place. The essence of
interversion lies in its manipulation of order, but an important fact that easily
escapes us is that it arises out of a need to repeat the same components, be
they pitches, durations or other features, many times over. Curiously, an
interversion is seldom used in isolation; rather, Messiaen usually combines
two or more interversions. As they state and restate the same pool of materials
with all legitimate orderings derived from the same permutation pattern,
interversions act collectively as a pedal, though with a shifting rather than
fixed internal order. In IÃle de feu II, the earliest work with which the term
interversion associates itself, all ten possible interversions derivable from one
permutation scheme are superimposed and exhausted in an orderly manner,
spinning out a bewildering permutation of permutations. As this wealth of
events does not originate from the superimposition of pedals of different
lengths but from that of a `pedal' of changing internal order, the networking
of vertical and linear permutation is made at once more unified and com-
plex.50

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Table 4 Parallel chord series that involve all scale degrees in adopting a unified
vertical permutation scheme. (Integers tabled here denote scale degrees of modes
2, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Modes 2, 4 and 6 are grouped together as they share the same
number of scale degrees. The vertical sequence of scale degrees can be reversed
without affecting the uniformity of the arrangement.)

Modes 2, 4 and 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3
3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6
4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1
5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4
6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2
8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5

Mode 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2
4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3
5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4
6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5
7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6
8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Mode 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2
6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5
7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1
9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4
10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

However, the possibilities opened up by the parallel chord series are of a

different order. There are cases where different chord series smoothly succeed
one another, being incurred by a momentary change of direction in one or more
parts of a parallel chord series (see Ex. 5). In `Offertoire' (p. 8), one part of a
parallel trichord series assumes a sudden leap before continuing to unfold in a
stepwise manner, bringing with it a `modulation' to a different parallel chord
series and thus a varied permutation of both notes and chords. Perhaps
Messiaen's treatment of modes as interversion is manifested at its most

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complex when parallel chord series come to be mapped in contrary motion. He

has likened this to the closing of a fan,51 adopting a metaphor that had been
used earlier in association with the interversion of Livre d'orgue I (1951).
Although Messiaen did not refer to his parallel chord series as interversion, the
use of the same metaphor suggests that the two concepts are related.
This `closing-fan' approach makes possible changes in the pattern of chordal
repetition prescribed by the modes' limits of transposition and the chord type
involved. A setting of the mode 6 trichord series in contrary motion, for instance,
enables its only pair of `dominant-ninth' chords to appear twice as frequently as is
possible with a parallel chord series (see Ex. 2d). This series was encountered in
the earlier discussion of `Action de graÃces'; with this particular repetition scheme,
the `dominant-ninth' chord of A major is twice presented with a brief inter-
vention of only three consecutive chords. Messiaen's intriguing remark that this
short fragment places `the entire passage in A major'52 is surely related to this.
The same series recurs in Vingt regards, in which the mode 2 parallel tetrad
series is also set in contrary motion, adopting a pattern that is equally indicative

Ex. 8 `Le baiser de l'enfant-JeÂsus', p. 115

Poco rall.
cresc. 8va

cresc.

parallel tetrad series (mode 2 1 ) in contrary motion

6–30B [0, 4, 7, 10, 1] + 6

7–31B [0, 4, 7, 10, 1] + 6 + 9

4–Z29B [0, 4, 7] + 6

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of Messiaen's alleged intention to bring out selected `dominants' of a mode

through interversion (Ex. 8). With this particular permutation of notes and
chords, half of the chords of the series is taken up by a particular `dominant-
ninth' chord of mode 2, though its identity is considerably blurred by the
presence of added notes. In `Action de graÃces' and Vingt regards, the setting of
parallel chord series in contrary motion has brought about changes both in the
repetition pattern of the component chords and in the number of chord types
involved. The composer has put these to good use, as `dominants' of the modes
are time and again highlighted through repetition made possible only by this
kind of arrangement. Again, Messiaen's quest for the triadic within the
constraints of modal interversion is evident.

Parallel chord series as graphics and as ordered colours

Whether set in contrary motion or some other fashion, a parallel chord series,
once initiated, becomes somewhat autonomous, `unmotivated by human
agency', as Griffiths puts it.53 One corollary of this is that series acquire
peculiarly fixed features. Both spellings and spacing are practically frozen,
leading to a singular graphic effect.54 For instance, even though the parallel
tetrad series listed under mode 21 (Ex. 2a) alternates, as Messiaen puts it, a
`six-four chord with added augmented fourth' and a `dominant seventh chord
with added sixth', its embedded triads and `higher dominants' are often spelt in
ways that differ substantially from the conventional formats with which these
structures associate themselves. These spellings are, however, perfectly in line
with what Messiaen presents as mode 21. Here linear considerations overrule
vertical ones and there is a strong sense that the series expresses mode 21 rather
than the many triadic materials it happens to include. But the spelling of mode
21 ± and indeed all other modes ± is not arbitrarily devised. Rather, it is evident
that spellings are carefully worked out to highlight the import of individual
structures, depending on the varying contexts.
Messiaen's notation of his seven modes in La nativite and Technique, which,
with the single exception of mode 4, does not differ from that recorded in
Liturgies, is faithfully maintained throughout his output.55 A quest into the
notation of modes lies beyond the scope of this study but it is worth discussing
the exception encountered here. In contrast to the listing of mode 41 in La
nativite and Technique as [C, D[, D, F, F], G, A[, B], the preface to Liturgies
spells mode 43 as [D, E[, E, G, A[, A, B[, D[]. While these two spellings give
the same intervallic pattern, neither of them represents a transposition of the
other in notational terms.56 And their triadic implications are very different.
Only one of the two `dominant-seventh' chords embedded in mode 41 Ð [G, B,
D, F] Ð is present in its conventional form: its tritonal counterpart is spelt [D[,
F, A[, B]. In the alternative mode 43 spelling, however, [E[, G, B[, D[] is given

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graphic precedence over its opposite number, which here is spelt [A, D[, E, G].
By adopting A[ and D[ instead of G] and C] respectively, mode 43 is stripped
of any suggestion of A major and its relationship to E[ major is emphasised.
Here the question of centricity emerges; it is surely no coincidence that [E[, G,
B[, D[] appears at all key points of Liturgies's many ascents and descents
outlined by the tetrad series of mode 43 (see Ex. 3).57
If Messiaen's treatment of spelling is perplexing, then his approach to
spacing is just as intriguing. The spacing of some of his series hardly ever
changes. An example is the mode 2 parallel tetrad series ± certainly one of his
favourites. Its appearances in the three sources and on many other occasions in
his music never seem to call for any adjustment in spacing.58 Indeed, this fixity
has led Jonathan Bernard to scrutinise Messiaen's spacing in his tireless effort
to establish how harmonies relate to colours, although Bernard's abstract
expression of spacing in terms of semitones has considerably complicated his
argument. According to Messiaen, even different transpositions of the same
mode evoke different colours. Bernard seems to have taken a cue from this in
proposing that spacing patterns typical of Messiaen's music are associated with
particular transpositions of a mode or other structures. But we have witnessed
how the various parallel chord series, together with their distinctive patterns of
spacing, are characteristic of the mode rather than of the individual level of
transposition. The same parallel tetrad series, for instance, can be derived from
all three transpositions of mode 2 to evoke different colours.59
Messiaen's colour perception is not affected only by the intervallic structure
of the individual mode; the grouping of specific pitches is a decisive factor as
well. This invites the following question. If a mode is represented by just a few
notes, or, alternatively, if all the notes of a mode are involved but they are
distributed over an extended period of time, can the mode still retain its
identity and create the same colour effect? Does it cease to evoke colours? A
host of uncertainties creep in here. For the identity of a mode to be
unambiguously perceived, it seems vital that most, if not all, of its notes be
played rather closely together. This consideration may have been what
attracted Messiaen to harmonies, as opposed to melodies, in composing with
the modes. The formulation of parallel chord series, which offers a unique way
to engage a mode ± at once fully, exclusively and in an orderly fashion, within a
relatively short span of time ± may have been seen as a way of marrying the
composer's cherished notion of interversion to a vivid display of colours.60
While the concept of interversion is usually associated with Messiaen's
rhythmic innovations, an examination of his use of parallel chord series has
shown that the concept is equally applicable to his use of modes, and is evident
as early as the PreÂludes of 1929. Seen in this light, his cultivation of
interversion, which reached its apogee in 1960 in Chronochromie, began long
before the work in which it is generally thought first to appear, IÃle de feu II of

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1950. While Messiaen's interest in sounds at once modal and triadic is shared
by many contemporaries, his perception of modes as colours and his treatment
of the same as interversion remains unique. Imbuing his colourful charm of
impossibilities with crystallising order, Messiaen's parallel chord series have
left an unforgettable imprint on his artistry. For well over sixty years, they
stayed with him always, testifying to the `shining revelation' of Sainte
Chapelle, a miracle of dazzling colours, ordered.61

Appendix 1
A list of works adopting the parallel tetrad series of mode 2:62
Hymne au Saint Sacrement, p. 6
Fantaisie burlesque, pp. 8±9
L'ascension (organ), p. 11, p. 13, p. 16, p. 20
Vocalise, pp. 2±3
PoeÁmes pour Mi VII (`Les deux guerriers'), p. 8; IX (PrieÁre exauceÂe'), p. 1663
Chants de terre et de ciel, p. 10, p. 11, p. 18
Quatuor pour la fin du temps, p. 9, pp. 11±12
Visions de l'amen, pp. 14±17, pp. 20±24, p. 49, p. 67 , p. 70, pp. 74±6, pp. 96±8
Trois petites liturgies de la PreÂsence Divine, pp. 112±16, pp. 155±9, pp. 209±13
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, p. 78, p. 156
Harawi, pp. 4±6, pp. 10±11
TurangalõÃla-symphonie, p. 116, pp. 118±19, p. 141, pp. 143±4, p. 162, pp. 420±
21
Couleurs de la cite ceÂleste, p. 56
MeÂditations sur le mysteÁre de la Sainte TriniteÂ, p. 53, p. 57
Livre du Saint Sacrement, p. 71, p. 74

Appendix 2
A list of works adopting the parallel pentad series of mode 3:
Apparition de l'eÂglise eÂternelle, p. 1
L'ascension (organ), p. 20
La nativite du Seigneur IX (`Dieu parmi nous'), pp. 1±2
PoeÁmes pour Mi IX (PrieÁre exauceÂe'), p. 16
Visions de l'amen, p. 36, p. 46
Trois petites liturgies de la PreÂsence Divine, pp. 85±6, pp. 134±6, pp. 141±3,
pp. 188±90, pp. 195±7
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, p. 93
TurangalõÃla-symphonie, p. 285
Verset pour la feÃte de la deÂdicace, p. 7

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Appendix 3
A list of works adopting the parallel hexad series of mode 3:
Hymne au Saint Sacrement, p. 6
Les corps glorieux IV (`Combat de la mort et de la vie'), p. 5
Visions de l'amen, p. 49, pp. 86±7
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, p. 94
TurangalõÃla-symphonie, pp. 16±32
Catalogue d'oiseaux IX (`La bouscarle'), p. 1, p. 21
MeÂditations sur le mysteÁre de la Sainte TriniteÂ, p. 38, p. 40, pp. 42±3, pp. 45±6,
p. 48, p. 49
La fauvette des jardins, p. 49
Des canyons aux eÂtoiles, p. 265, p. 282, pp. 301±2
Livre du Saint Sacrement, p. 71
Petites esquisses d'oiseaux, p. 14
Un sourire, p. 1, p. 6, p. 12, p. 25, p. 28

Appendix 4
A list of works adopting the parallel tetrad series of mode 4:
La nativite du Seigneur IX (`Dieu parmi nous'), pp. 1±2, pp. 8±9, p. 11
PoeÁmes pour Mi IV (`EÂpouvante'), p. 15; IX (`PrieÁre exauceÂe'), pp. 13±14, p. 16
Visions de l'amen, p. 33, p. 39
Trois petites liturgies de la PreÂsence Divine, p. 86, pp. 88±91, pp. 93±4, pp. 134±
6, pp. 141±3, pp. 188±90, pp. 195±7
TurangalõÃla-symphonie, p. 87, pp. 129±31
MeÂditations sur le mysteÁre de la Sainte TriniteÂ, p. 53, p. 57

Appendix 5
A list of works adopting the parallel trichord series of mode 2:
L'ascension (organ), p. 7
PoeÁmes pour Mi I (`Action de graÃces'), pp. 2±3; VI (`Ta voix'), pp. 3±6
Chants de terre et de ciel, p. 28
Les corps glorieux II (`Les eaux de la graÃce'), pp. 3±6; III (`L'ange aux
parfums'), pp. 7±8, pp. 13±14; IV (`Combat de la mort et e la vie'), p. 5, p. 10
Visions de l'amen, p. 95
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, pp. 70±71, p. 114, p. 118
Harawi, pp. 94±7, pp. 99±100
Des canyons aux eÂtoiles, p. 101
Un sourire, p. 1, p. 6

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Appendix 6
A list of works adopting the parallel trichord series of mode 3:
PreÂludes, p. 21, p. 23, pp. 26±8
Fantaisie burlesque, p. 7, p. 9
L'ascension (organ), pp. 5±6
La nativite du Seigneur II (`Les bergers'), p. 5; VIII (`Les mages'), p. 8, p. 10
PoeÁmes pour Mi I (`Action de graÃces'), pp. 2±3; IV (`EÂpouvante'), p. 15; VI (`Ta
voix'), p. 4; IX (`PrieÁre exauceÂe'), p. 16
Chants de terre et de ciel, p. 28
Chant des deÂporteÂs, pp. 1±12
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-JeÂsus, pp. 93±4, p. 163, p. 165
MeÂditations sur le mysteÁre de la Sainte TriniteÂ, p. 57

NOTES
1. I am indebted to Kathryn Puffett for her insightful comments on the first draft of
this article.
2. Technique de mon langage musical, 2 vols. (Paris: Leduc, 1944); Vol. 1 trans. John
Satterfield as The Technique of my Musical Language (Paris: Leduc, 1956), p. 60.
The treble of this cadence owes much to the opening of Boris Godunov. See
Technique, pp. 31±2. For other occurrences of the same theme, see `Le verbe',
`Action de graÃces' (1936), `Ta voix', `Les eaux de la graÃce' (1939) and `Amen du
deÂsir' (1943).
3. See below for details.
4. Set-names used in Ex. 2 follow the nomenclature proposed by Anthony Pople in
his thesis, `Skryabin and Stravinsky 1908±1914: Studies in Analytical Method'
(DPhil diss., University of Oxford, 1984). It is the same as the Fortean table
except that the suffixes `A' and `B' have been added to distinguish between
inversionally related sets. The set-names 3±11A and 3±11B, for example, stand
for minor and major triads respectively.
5. For an introduction to Messiaen's modes, see also Paul Griffiths, Olivier
Messiaen and the Music of Time (London: Faber, 1985), pp. 29±32, pp. 35±9;
Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Messiaen (London: Dent, 1975), pp. 16±7; and Pople,
`Messiaen's Musical Language: An Introduction', in Peter Hill (ed.), The
Messiaen Companion (London: Faber, 1995), pp. 17±31.
6. These chords are not `parallel' in a literal sense. Rather, the approach is
reminiscent of the lining up of triads derivable from major or minor scales, where
major, minor, diminished and even augmented triads follow in succession.
Messiaen seldom presents traditional triads as a series, though there are a few
instances of this. See, for example, Le banquet ceÂleste, p. 19; L'ascension for organ
(1934), p. 7; and Visions, p. 87.

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7. Where possible, I shall refer to Technique's musical examples for easy reference.
8. PentecoÃte (pp. 23±5) is also unique in combining a parallel chord series (mode 4)
with dureÂes chromatiques (a series of durations which goes progressively from
twenty-three semiquavers down to one ± a heritage of the experimental years).
9. David Morris, `A Semiotic Investigation of Messiaen's ``AbõÃ me des oiseaux'' ',
Music Analysis, 8/i±ii (March±July 1989), pp. 125±58, is exemplary. See, for
example, Morris's Ex. 8.
10. Griffiths, Olivier Messiaen, p. 36.
11. See Claude Samuel, Musique et couleur: nouveaux entretiens (Paris: Belfond,
1986), trans. by E. Thomas Glasow as Music and Color: Conversations with
Claude Samuel (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1994), pp. 64±5.
12. Messiaen's listing of seven modes cannot be explained purely on the grounds of
limited transpositions, and it seems likely that numerology is a factor here. There
are other structures that share the attribute of limited transpositions but are
nonetheless rejected because they `form arpeggios of classified chords'
(diminished sevenths and augmented triads) or `truncated modes 2' or `truncated
modes 5' (see Technique, Exs. 341±4). Messiaen treats this issue of inclusion
relation with care, and he is conscious of his own double standard in allowing
mode 5 a place in his list. `This mode 5', writes Messiaen, `being a truncated
mode 4, has the right of quotation here only because it engenders the melodic
formula . . . and the chord in fourths' (see Technique, p. 62). Messiaen's double
standard far exceeds one single mode 5, for modes 1, 2, 4 and 6 are all truncated
modes 7. But Messiaen did not exclude them from his list, nor did he justify their
presence as in the case of mode 5. With mode 7, perhaps because of the vast
number of subsets derivable from it, the inclusion relation is seemingly not made
an issue. But the fact that truncated modes 7 can be heard as a good number of
other modes immediately calls into question its utility. From an analytical point
of view, identification of mode 7 should in general be avoided if only truncated
forms of it are elaborated by the music. It is significant that this mode rarely
comes up in his discussion of modes and Messiaen did not say anything about its
colour association.
13. Messiaen states that mode 5 is associated with a particular melodic formula and
the chord in fourths. These formulae appear as early as Le banquet ceÂleste, `Chant
d'extase dans un paysage triste' and Les offrandes oublieÂes (1930). See Technique,
pp. 32 and 62.
14. This group of five works also engages parallel chord series, modally conceived, to
an unprecedented extent. Since Messiaen took years to compile Technique, it is
hard to establish how the writing of this treatise could have affected his treatment
of modes. But the latest work cited in Technique is Visions. All these changes,
therefore, could have stemmed from the treatise.
15. Technique, p. 58.
16. The only two explicit comments on sound-colour association in Technique are
those that assign to the chord on the dominant and other chords the `effect of a

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stained-glass window' and `the gentle cascade of blue-orange chords'. See

Technique, pp. 50±51. There are sporadic and rather loose discussions of sound-
colour relationship in the composer's liner notes to his 1956 recording
(Messiaen's performances on the Ducretet-Thomson label, now available as
EMI CZS 7 674002). But they can in no way compare with the depth and breath
of the discussion of this topic in Liturgies.
17. Samuel, Music and Color, p. 64.
18. Ibid.
19. `Couleur geÂneÂrale du mode 21: Rochers bleu violet, parsemeÂs de petits cubes gris,
bleu de cobalt, bleu de prusse fonceÂ, avec quelques reflets pourpre violaceÂ, or,
rouge rubis, et des eÂtoiles mauves, noires, blanches. Couleur dominante: bleu
violet.'
20. Messiaen's accounts cover most of the modes, though the colour identities of
some were left out. He remained silent on the colour affinities of modes 1, 5 and 7
and also of certain transpositions of modes 4 and 6. Jonathan W. Bernard
attempted to account for this situation. See Bernard, `Messiaen's Synaesthesia:
The Correspondence between Color and Sound Structure in his Music', Music
Perception, 4/i (1986), pp. 41±68.
21. Hommage aÁ Olivier Messiaen (Paris: La recherche artistique, 1979), pp. 21±2.
These commentaries also accompany the set of recordings entitled `Olivier
Messiaen: InteÂgrale de l'oeuvre pour piano par Yvonne Loriod' (Erato OME 1).
This anonymous translation is taken from the sleeve note.
22. This shift of emphasis onto chords rather than lines is also reflected in Messiaen's
treatment of birdsong. His earlier preference for the melodic representation of
birdsong is in time superseded by a preference for harmonised ones.
23. Samuel, Music and Color, pp. 48±9; my italics. It is as if Messiaen's colour effects
are affiliated with harmonies per se.
24. Another example of comparable length is in `SeÂquence du verbe, cantique divin'.
The whole of its ending ± thirty-four bars of melody-plus-accompaniment
marked `avec une joie deÂlirante' ± sets the three transpositions of mode 2 in quick
circulation.
25. Technique, p. 58; my italics.
26. The same parallel hexad series, albeit referable to mode 32 and 33 respectively, are
listed in Liturgies, but only the first of these is shown in Ex. 4.
27. In order to avoid confusion and redundancy, series listed in these sources will
simply be referred to as `mode 2 parallel tetrad series', `mode 3 parallel pentad
and hexad series', `mode 4 parallel tetrad series', etc. All other series ± for
example, a different parallel tetrad series attributable to mode 4 ± will be
identified in some other way.
28. There are parallel trichord series (mode 6) in `La vierge et l'enfant', parallel
trichord series (mode 3) in `Les bergers', parallel tetrad series (mode 4) and

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parallel trichord series (mode 2) in `Dieu parmi nous', among others. But none of
these is listed in the preface.
29. I have traced the earliest use of it back to Hymne au Saint Sacrement, p. 6 (with
much doubling, as is expected from an orchestral setting) and thus it predates La
nativiteÂ. See Appendix 1 for a list of works adopting this tetrad series.
30. See Appendix 2 for a list of works adopting this pentad series.
31. Parallel chord series in contrary motion are not associated exclusively with mode
6, nor is mode 6 set exclusively in this kind of series. The listing of this particular
structure in Technique seems rather to reflect Messiaen's preoccupation of the
time.
32. This is also the only instance where the parallel chords are aligned vertically, in
contrast to the display of all other modes as parallel chords in arpeggiation.
33. The hexad series of mode 3 is widely used outside Liturgies; see Appendix 3.
34. See Appendix 4 for a list of works adopting this tetrad series.
35. This series appears in La transfiguration de notre Seigneur JeÂsus-Christ (1963±9;
p. 349, p. 366) and Livre du Saint Sacrement (1984; pp. 35±6, pp. 40±41, p. 72),
and is, to my knowledge, the only mode 6 octad series used in Messiaen's
music.
36. This short fragment takes the first three chords of the parallel chord series listed
in Technique (Ex. 351) under mode 6.
37. Music cited in Technique rarely uses the modes in this format, though there are a
few exceptions involving parallel chord series set in contrary motion.
38. See, for instance, `Les sons impalpables du reÃve . . .', p. 23 and p. 27. The series
concerned is cited in Technique (Ex. 352).
39. `PrieÁre exauceÂe' also contains passages based purely on a parallel chord series
(mode 45), but they are less extensive in scope and their pace suggests that they
are more a kind of decorative cascade.
40. The exceptions are the mode 6 octad series and the mode 7 pentad series listed in
Liturgies and Technique respectively.
41. These hexad series are based on mode 32 and mode 33 respectively, in contrast to
the typical chord, which originates in mode 31.
42. In Technique (Ex. 351) these series are set in contrary motion, and the only pair of
`dominant-ninth' chords in mode 6 is fully engaged. Liturgies lists under mode 6 a
parallel octad series which, naturally, absorbs all of this mode's major triads.
43. The spelling pattern of mode 6 is unique in its overt suggestion of two conflicting
`tonics'.
44. This takes two different series in the case of mode 7.
45. See appendices 5 and 6 for works adopting these series.

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46. With the single exception of mode 7, major triads embedded in each of the other
modes neatly line up as a parallel trichord series.
47. A parallel chord series may, however, contain two or more statements of a chord
of the same pc content.
48. There is only a limited number of ways in which the constituent pcs or scale
degrees of a mode can be arranged to yield a unified vertical permutation scheme
(see Table 4). The parallel octad series listed in Liturgies under mode 6 is an
outstanding example.
49. Broadly defined, interversion cannot possibly be differentiated from
permutation, although Messiaen also takes it to mean inversion on a number
of occasions.
50. Johnson's listing of the ten interversions of IÃle de feu II (see p. 109) may impress
on us that the vertical ordering of events has remained unchanged. This is
nonetheless illusory in nature. Since each integer stands for a corresponding
number of semiquavers, the vertical alignment of different integers does not
reflect the reality of the music.
51. In his note to MeÂditations sur le mysteÁre de la Sainte Trinite VIII (1969), Messiaen
has described it as `une lente cascade d'accords en mode 31, mouvement droit et
contraire ensemble, comme un eÂventail qui se ferme'. Most but not all chords
involved here are parallel in setting.
52. See Technique, p. 24.
53. Griffiths, Olivier Messiaen, p. 94. Griffiths was referring to the interacting pedals
of `Liturgie de cristal'. In both cases, however, the abiding force remains that of
predetermined order.
54. If we take Messiaen's music to be purely sonic in conception, we may very well
leave aside any discussion of graphics and hence the score. Whether altered
notation of the same music makes any difference to the listener is arguable. But
different ways of putting down the same music must mean something to both the
composer and the performer, and these differences may in turn impress on the
listener.
55. Minor irregularities come with mode 4 per se.
56. Such a transposition of [C, D[, D, F, F], G, A[, B] should give [D, E[, E, G, G],
A, B[, C]].
57. With [E[, G, B[, D[] assuming a centric role, this series of eight tetrads becomes
hierarchically structured. See also pp. 141±3, pp. 188±90, pp. 195±7.
58. The parallel pentad and hexad series of mode 3 belong to the same category.
59. See Liturgies for a detailed description of these colours.
60. One fascinating example is `La rousserolle effarvatte', in which Messiaen has
depicted sunrise and sunset by bathing ascending and descending series of
parallel chords in luminous colours (pp. 11±15, 38±42).

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61. Almut RoÈssler, Contributions to the Spiritual World of Olivier Messiaen, trans.
Barbara Dagg and Nancy Poland (Duisburg: Gilles & Francke, 1986), p. 78.
62. None of these lists claims to be exhaustive in coverage.
63. The pagination refers to Messiaen's scoring for voice and piano.

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