Decomposing Messiaen Episode 8: Birdsong

Episode 8 - "Birdsong" . This series of videos reads through 'Techniques of my Musical Language' by Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen is inspired by birds, using their songs as source material throughout his music. In this episode we discuss how he transcribes, transforms and translates what he calls "...these fleeting messengers from the divine". In each episode, I'll work through the text and also play the many musical examples Messiaen provides. Occasionally I'll work on some homework assignments, setting myself the task to write short practice pieces based on the material at hand. Studying music is a fair analogy for examining the human condition. The music of Olivier Messiaen is particularly suited for this study. I'll often wander into an extra-musical tangent hoping to explore more about composition, listening, performing and practicing.