Rhythm in The Turangalila

Society for Music Theory
Rhythm in the Music of Messiaen: An Algebraic Study and an Application in the

"Turangalîla Symphony"
Author(s): Julian L. Hook
Source: Music Theory Spectrum, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Spring, 1998), pp. 97-120
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Music Theory
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746158
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Rhythm in the Music of Messiaen:
an Algebraic Study and an Application
in the Turangalla Symphony
Julian L. Hook
INTRODUCTION: MESSIAEN AND RHYTHM

ther content with traditional tonal harmony nor willi
embrace serialism, he experimented with unusual m
Olivier Messiaen brought to his compositionschords, and musical forms.'
a distinctive
and diverse array of interests, experiences, and talents.
If one elementAin Messiaen's music is to be singled o
dedicated amateur ornithologist, he cataloguedmost
the distinctive,
songs of it must be his use of rhythm. "Rhyt
hundreds of birds from around the world andMessiaen
incorporated
declared, "is the primordial and perhaps es
many of these songs into his music. A devout partCatholic,
of music; I he
think it most likely existed before melo
wrote a quantity of music on religious themes that is virtually
harmony, and in fact I have a secret preference for th
ement."2
without parallel in the twentieth century. As the Anyone
teacher and who has heard the unison sixth move
later the husband of a prodigiously gifted pianist, Yvonne
of the Quartet for the End of Time, the superimposed
Loriod, he wrote piano music of transcendent of
difficulty. His
different rhythms in the first movement of the Tur
fascination with numerology, prime numbers,Symphony,
palindromes,
or the complex interactions of the Quatre
and other formations with special mathematical or symmet-
de rythme must recognize that Messiaen's approach to r
rical properties manifested itself in many ways in his music,
as did his personal association of sounds with colors. En-
amored also with exotic sounds and new technology, he wrote
music featuring large batteries of tuned percussion instru-
'Several excellent surveys of the music of Messiaen are available. Se
ments and electronic rarities such as the ondes martenot. Nei- example, Paul Griffiths, Olivier Messiaen and the Music of Time (
N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1985); The Messiaen Companion, ed
Hill (Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1995); and Robert Sherlaw J
Messiaen (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989).
2Olivier Messiaen, Music and Color: Conversations with Claude
The author thanks Professors Eric Isaacson and Lewis Rowell of the translated from the French by E. Thomas Glasow (Portland, Orego
Indiana University School of Music for their helpful suggestions. deus Press, 1994), 67.
98 Music Theory Spectrum
was utterly individual; indeed, it is quite without precedent

in Western music.3
which lacks a consistent beat. The Indian rhythms do not arise
In fact, the most apt precedents are Eastern. As a student
hierarchically, by elaboration of an underlying pulse in the
at the Paris Conservatory in the late 1920s, Messiaen hap-
manner of Western rhythms, but by accumulations of small
pened to come across, in Lavignac's Encyclopedie de la mu-
rhythmic values. The concept of a beat is replaced, in effect,
sique, excerpts from the SangTta-ratndkara, a treatise by the
by a smallest note value-a sixteenth note in the case of the
thirteenth-century Indian musician Sarrigadeva. While much
above rhythm-of which all other rhythmic values are mul-
of the treatise was incomprehensible to Messiaen (indeed,
tiples, often in irregular groupings.8
some parts of it are not fully comprehensible even to modern
Messiaen found himself particularly attracted to palindro-
Indian music scholars), it included a list of 120 rhythms from
mic rhythms-rhythms that are the same forwards and back-
the provinces of India called des'talas that appealed to him
wards.9 Only a few of the shortest rhythms in the Sanglta-
powerfully.4
ratndkara are truly palindromic, but many others contain
The word tala translates roughly as "time cycle"; des'-,
palindromic segments or palindromic arrangements of larger
used here as a prefix, refers to regional variation.5 In general,
parts. The rhythm given above, for example, begins with a
a tala is a fixed, cyclically repeating time span.6 Although
three-note palindromic segment.
regular repetition is involved, a distinctive property, to West-
Several years after his initial encounter with the Sangrta-
ern ears, of many of these Indian rhythms is their funda-
ratndkara, rhythms similar in character to those in Sarrigade-
mentally ametrical character. For instance, the ninety-third va's list- and sometimes actual desltatlas themselves-started
rhythm in Sarrigadeva's list, called rdgavardhana,7 is
appearing in Messiaen's compositions, notably the Quarte
for the End of Time (1940-41). The above rhythm rtgavar-
3A likeness between Messiaen's use of overlapping independent rhythms
dhana, in fact, occurs in the Quartet and several other works
and the practice of talea in fourteenth-century isorhythmic motets has oc-
casionally been noted. Messiaen was apparently unaware of the medieval Even when he used authentic Indian rhythms, however, Mes-
practice at the time he developed his own rhythmic system (Johnson, Mes- siaen did not merely transcribe them; he generally altered,
siaen, 62). elaborated, and superimposed them to form an entirely new
4Johnson, Messiaen, 10; Messiaen, Music and Color, 75-79. The complete
list of 120 des'ltlas is reproduced in Johnson's Appendix II.
5The desltdlas are derived from a large number of popular regional tra-
ditions in medieval Indian music; they largely supplanted the older, stricter 8"Among all the large culture areas of world music," writes Rowell (Musi
classical practice of marga talas. For more information about the SangTta- and Musical Thought in Early India, 209), "India is in this sense unique-no
ratnakara and authentic Indian rhythms, see chapter 8 of Lewis Rowell, Music so much in her exploitation of additive rhythms as in the development of a
and Musical Thought in Early India (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, appropriate theoretical framework for their codification."
1992), and Harold S. Powers, "India," Sections I and II, The New Grove 9Messiaen's term for palindromic rhythms was "non-retrogradabl
Dictionary of Music and Musicians. rhythms"-an example of his curious habit of framing symmetry in terms o
6Whether the Sanskrit word tala and the Latin talea are of related origin impossibility. He also worked with modes based on symmetrical divisions of
is doubtful (Rowell, Music and Musical Thought in Early India, 190). the octave, which he termed "modes of limited transposition." Messiaen
7All of the detattlas have names, with considerable symbolism attached, own descriptions of these concepts can be found in his book The Techniqu
but Messiaen used them in his works for many years without knowing their of My Musical Language, available in an English translation by John Sat
meanings. terfield (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1956).
Rhythm in the Music of Messiaen 99
change."'2 Messiaen himself used the term "rhythmic char

rhythmic language. The rhythm rdgavardhana, for example,
often occurs not in the form shown above, but rather as
acters" (personnages rythmiques) to describe the elements
these constructions, reflecting his conviction that each rhyt
J J J ^ ^ ,
has its own "personality" and that the character of the who
a subdivided form of the retrograde of the original rhythm.
passage is strongly influenced by the characters of the ind
vidual rhythms.13
His use of these rhythms usually did not reflect traditional
One such complex passage, from the first movement
Indian practice,10 but conformity was not Messiaen's concern;
Turangalila, appears in Example 1. Of the various musi
he was interested only in the musical potential of the rhythms
within his own personal idiom. elements in this excerpt, the most prominent to the ear i
sort of ostinato established by the battery of tuned percuss
TURANGALILA AND THE ANALYSIS OF RHYTHMIC CHARACTERS instruments (piano, celeste, glockenspiel, and vibraphon
creating a sonority reminiscent of pealing bells or a Baline
By the time of the Turangalila Symphony (1946-48),1
gamelan that repeats continuously except when interrupte
Messiaen's handling of Indian-inspired rhythms was
by becom-
spiky interjections from the brasses and piano. Superim
ing more complex. Several passages in this enormous work
posed on this layer of sound are four other distinct elemen
are intricate constructions involving many simultaneous
each with its own rhythmic character; these are labeled
rhythmic processes, each synchronized to its own through
clock, re-
Id in Example 1. Rhythms Ia and Ib are based
volving in repetition; the resulting sensation has been from
rhythms de- the Sangtta-ratnakara: woodwinds play Ia, co
scribed as an "image of constant uniformity and constant
sisting rhythmically of cycles of four chords and a rest, wh
Ib, in the strings, repeats in a slightly longer cycle of
chords.
?0See Mirjana Simundza, "Messiaen's Rhythmical Organisation A highly
and Clas- complex original rhythm Ic is tapped out
sical Indian Theory of Rhythm (I)," International Review of the Aesthetics
quietly byand
thesnare drum, and the Chinese cymbal presen
Sociology of Music 18/1 (1987): 117-144; and ibid., "Messiaen's Rhythmical
a rhythm Id consisting of note values that are initially qu
Organisation and Classical Indian Theory of Rhythm (II)," International Re-
long but first
view of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 19/1 (1988): 53-73. The are slowly contracting. (Each of these four rhythm
characters
article includes tabulations of the desitdlas used by Messiaen and will be examined in greater detail below.)
the works
in which they appear (124-128). In The Technique of My Musical Language, first publish
1lThe symphony is in ten movements, lasts some seventy-five in to eighty
1944, Messiaen outlined some of the principles of his us
minutes, and requires an orchestra of more than one hundred musicians. It
of rhythm: added values, exact and inexact augmentati
derives from Indian origins not only some of its rhythms but also its name,
the combination of two Sanskrit words. Turanga means roughly and"tempo"
diminutions,
or retrogrades and palindromic rhythm
"movement," although it refers literally to the gallop of a horse; rhythmic
Illa haspedals,
a and rhythmic superposition. His rath
variety of meanings, including "life," "creation," "play," and "love." simpleTuran-
descriptions, however, do not begin to convey t
galila is also the name of one of the rhythms (#33) in the Sangita-ratndkara;
it is not, however, a rhythm used prominently in the symphony.
Several different transliterations of Sanskrit words into the Roman al- '2Griffiths, Messiaen and the Music of Time, 131.
phabet may frequently be encountered. Older renderings tended to favor the 13Messiaen, Music and Color, 70-71. Messiaen acknowledged the inf
ence of some passages in Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps on his idea
circumflex ^ in place of the macron - used to indicate long vowels in modern
transliterations; hence Messiaen's choice in naming the symphony. rhythmic characters.
Example 1. An excerpt from the first movement of the Turangalila Symphony, at rehearsal number [12] (octave doublings omitted)
MWd r6( J= 132)
Oboes,
clarinets
(la)
Violins,,
violas
(Ib)
Snare
drum
(Ic)
Chinese
cymbal
(Id)
Tuned
percussion,
low strings
and winds
Example 1 [continued]
r . nf Jy
complexity of some of his rhythmic constructions - many of

which, like those in Turangalila, were not created until sev-
played by the woodwinds in Example 1 (rhythm
eral years after the book. In the half-century since the com-
represented by the sequence
position of the symphony, many of its rhythms have been
widely analyzed.14 Still lacking in these analyses, however, x = 2 3 4 4 <4>.
is a consistent methodology for studying the procedures
It is frequently convenient to designate rhythms
by which Messiaen's rhythms are generated. In the absence
letters (x, y, z), sometimes with subscripts (
of appropriate terminology and notation, descriptions of
segment of a rhythm is any consecutive string o
rhythms tend to be labyrinthine, inexact, and incomplete.
uents; thus the segments of the rhythm x abov
The principles and procedures presented in the following
and 4 4 <4>, but not 2 3 <4>. A segment that
pages establish a coherent theoretical framework for the anal-
beginning of a rhythm is called an initial segme
ysis and categorization of Messiaen's rhythms-a system of
that ends at the end is called a final segment. T
"character profiles" for his rhythmic characters. The meth-
ration of a rhythm x, denoted lxl, is the sum of al
odology is illustrated with examples from the Turangalila
and rests; thus for x as above, Ixl = 17.
Symphony. In an appendix to this article, fifty rhythms from
The retrograde of a rhythm x, denoted XR, is
the symphony are tabulated and labeled, and the major
"character traits" of each are listed.
consisting of the same durations and rests as x i
order. For the rhythm x above,
THE ALGEBRA OF RHYTHM XR = <4> 4 4 3 2.
Every rhythm satisfies (xR)R = x. Some rhythms have the

To facilitate discussion of Messiaen's rhythms we adopt a
property that XR = x; these are the palindromic rhythm
simple system of algebraic notation. Rhythms are represented
mentioned previously, and are among Messiaen's favorit
by sequences of numbers indicating durations, in multiples of
rhythmic resources.17
some common smallest duration; numbers in <angle brack-
An augmentation or diminution of a rhythm x will be de-
ets> designate rests.15 In Turangalila, Messiaen consistently
noted x x q, where q is a positive number called the aug
notates rhythmic characters in durations that are whole mul-
mentation factor (if q>1) or diminution factor (if 0<q< 1
tiples of sixteenth notes.16 Thus the rhythm
such as a wood block or snare drum. As the analysis that follows shows, the
14See, for example, Johnson, Messiaen, 82-94; Simundza, "Messiaen's
specified durations, whether actual or conceptual, are usually of considerabl
Rhythmical Organisation," 131-143; and Roger Nichols, Messiaen
importance (London:
in the rhythmic structure.
Oxford University Press, 1975), 42-47. '7Messiaen's use of percussion instruments (see previous note) is partic
1SJohnson (Messiaen, e.g., 93) uses a similar sequence notation to describe
ularly interesting in the case of palindromic rhythms, since such instrumen
rhythms. The remainder of the notations and terms introduced on to
(in contrast the fol-
sustaining instruments such as winds or strings) produce dis
lowing pages are unique to this study (with obvious exceptions such as thesoufnd envelopes, typically consisting of a sharp attac
tinctly asymmetrical
widely used terms retrograde and composite rhythm). followed by a characteristic decay. From an acoustical point of view, ther
16In most cases Messiaen meticulously specifies precise durations for eachrhythm played by a percussion instrument is not palin-
fore, a palindromic
dromic atinstrument
note, even when the note is played by a non-sustaining percussion all.
This is the rhythm derived from x by multiplying all of the The composite rhythm of two rhythms x and y, den
durations and rests of x by the factor q. For x as above, x * y, is the rhythm heard when x and y are presented
x x 2 = 4 6 8 8 <8>. multaneously; its points of articulation are all the point
articulation of both x and y. If the total durations of the
In general, (x x q,) x q2 = x x (q1 x q2); here rhythms
the first are different, a rest of appropriate length ma
three occurrences of the symbol x represent augmentation
assumed to be concatenated to the end of the shorter rhy
or diminution of rhythms, while the last represents
A rest the
will or-
occur in the composite rhythm only if rests
dinary multiplication of the numbers q, and q2. in both x and y simultaneously. Unlike concatenation, c
The concatenation of two rhythms x and y is position
the rhythm
of rhythms is commutative (x * y = y * x) as w
consisting of all the durations and rests of rhythm x followed((x * y) * z = x * (y * z)); it also obeys
as associative
relation y.
immediately by all the durations and rests of rhythm x *This
x = x.
concatenation will be denoted x y. Thus x is an initial segment
Example 2, from the seventh movement of Turanga
of x y and y a final segment. Exponents will be used to
shows thedenote
composite rhythm occurring when rhythm V
concatenations of a rhythm with itself (that is, presented
repetitions):
simultaneously with its retrograde VIIe. 19 A fe
x2 = x x, x3 = x x x, .... Concatenation is associative but listed in the Appendix are actually comp
the rhythms
not commutative; that is, (x y) z = x (y z), but in general
rhythms already; when several instruments play rhythms
x y is different from y x.18 clearly function together, the composite rhythm can be
If the last duration of x happens to be the samesiderably
as the first
more revealing than any of the individual p
duration of y, then the two rhythms may be joined by
Such is elision,
the case, for example, with rhythm VIIj, show
denoted x o y. An elision of such rhythms differs
Example from
3. a
concatenation only in that the shared value occurs once in theand notations help to clarify the internal
These concepts
former, twice in the latter. Any rhythm may be joined
structure by
of Messiaen's rhythms and various rhythmic inter-
elision with its retrograde. For example, where x = 2 3
relationships. For4example,
4 two of the rhythms in Turangalila
<4>, are
x ? XR = 2 3 4 <4> 4432,
while x XR = 2344 <4> <4> 4432
19Musical notation, as in Example 2, provides an intuitive m
= 2 3 4 4 <8> 4 4 3 2,
calculating a composite rhythm x * y. A more precise algorith
formulated as follows. Let x = xx2 ...x,, and y = YlY2" Y,,n wh
the last equality holding because a two successive rests are
and yi is a single duration or rest. Let z = min{x, y}J; assume that
indistinguishable from a single rest of the same total duration.
to be a rest if both xl and y, are rests and a duration otherwise. T
(It will be noted that x XR and x o xR are always palindromic.)
z = x, or z = y, or both. If z = x < y,, define y)' = y, - z, x
and y' = Y1'Y2 ',Yn If z = y, < x,, define x' = x, - z, x' =
and y' = Y2"-Yn. Finally, if z = x, = y, define x' = x2...x,n and
Then, in every case, x * y = z (x' * y'). This formula reduces th
'8In mathematical terms, the set of all rhythms (of finite duration) under
of the composite rhythm of x and y to the calculation of a comp
the binary operation of concatenation forms a non-commutative semigroup rhythms x' and y' of smaller total duration, and the method may
with identity; the identity element is the "empty rhythm" of total duration 0.
recursively until one of the rhythms is empty.
Example 2. The palindromic composite rhythm formed by a rhythm and its retrograde (seventh movement of Turangalila, rehearsal number
[2])
Un peu vif ( =63 )
Turkish
cymbal
(Vilc)
n2cf'5 6 9 r --0
5 6 9 11 10
Chinese
cymbal
(Vile)
10 11 9 65
Composite
rhythm - rr r rp r- rrI r r.| - - -t
I I L I 9i L I I p
5 5 19 1 9 15 5
Example 3. A composite rhythm (seventh movement of Turangalila, rehearsal number [7])
Vif (= 100)
3 Temple
blocks
nr, * I - I '1I -I - -i I
uD 7'.. -- ,10f _.i --i-- i
Maracas ' ' fr f ~'G1 t ~ i - ttr-, 7 Itr1 - '- I I r
Composite
rhythm
2 i 'I I-
-L r --- '-'t I..e-
t I
-.. I
7', r r rI
L J I I
(VIlj)
I I 1 16 1 1 1 15 1 1 1 14 I I 1 13
(lb) x = 444232 Other properties may be derived from these. For instance,
and (IVb) y = 4 4 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 1 2 3 4suppose
8. that a rhythm x and its retrograde XR are presente
If we define z = 13 = 1 1 1, together, but not beginning at exactly the same time. Sup-
then the rhythms x and y may be described by the equations pose, that is, x z occurs simultaneously with z XR, where z
x = (z x 4) 2 3 2 is a rest; and note that x z and z xR are rhythms of the same
and y = x (z x 2) (z x 3) 12348. total duration. What can be said about the composite rhythm
(x z) * (z XR)? The rules above imply the following chain of
We see thereby that x is an initial segment of y and that the
equalities:
two rhythms contain several segments that are related by
augmentation or diminution.20 ((X Z) * (Z XR))R = (X Z)R * (Z XR)R
The various operations described above relate to each (by the rule (x * Y)R = XR * YR)
other in mathematically predictable ways. The following = (ZR XR) * ((XR)R ZR)
properties are easily verified: (by the rule (x Y)R = YR XR)
= (ZR XR) * (X ZR)
lRl = Ixl
Ix x ql = q x lxl (by the rule (xR)R = x)
= (z XR) * (X z)
lx yl = Ixl + lyi
x kl= k x lxl (because z is a rest, ZR = Z)
Ix * yl = max{lxl, lyl}
= (X Z) * (Z XR) (by commutativity of *)
(x x q)R = XR X q Comparison of the first and last terms shows that the com-
(x Y)R = YR XR (not XR YR !) posite rhythm (x z) * (z XR) is its own retrograde. This
(Xk)R = (XR)k principle-whenever any rhythm is presented together with
(X o Y)R = YR ? XR its own retrograde, the composite rhythm is palindromic,
If lxl = Iyl, then (x * Y)R = XR * YR even if the two do not begin at the same time -is widely used
(x y) x q = (x x q) (y x q) by Messiaen. (See, for instance, Example 2, in which x and
xk x q = (x x q)k XR do begin at the same time.)
(x o y) x q = (x x q) o (y x q)
(x * y) x q = (x x q) * (y x q) GENERATIVE RHYTHMS AND PERIODIC RHYTHMS
If Ix, = lyl and x21= lY21, then
(X1 X2) * (Yl Y2) = (X1 * Y1) (X2 * Y2) Many of Messiaen's rhythms seem to grow from
initial segment by means of some systematic proces
repetition, perhaps, or some form of expansion, con
20Segment y in this illustration, derived from three Indian rhythms, seems
or elaboration. These we shall call generative rhythm
to have been one of Messiaen's favorite patterns. He used it in the Quartet
for the End of Time, Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus, and several other works,
following discussion provides a framework for study
both before and after Turangaltla. In Turangalila it turns up as rhythms IVb, erative rhythms.
Vc, Vlln, and Xa; in addition, several other rhythms in the work are related Every generative rhythm is constructed from an o
to it in one way or another. ing segment called a seed. A seed can be as simple as
duration, or it can be a long string of durations and rests. The The apparently "infinite" nature of rhythms such as x =
seed is propagated to form a longer rhythm by means of rules x xx... raises questions about pattern completion and periodic
of generation, which specify exactly how the seed is to be termination. Messiaen is remarkably abrupt about terminat-
elaborated. By varying the seed and the rules of generation, ing his rhythms; the point at which a rhythm ends generally
an enormous variety of generative rhythms can be produced. seems to be determined not by the rhythm itself but by some
A simple rule of generation would be the literal repetition other element of the music. The four simultaneous characters
of a seed over and over. A bar - designates indefinite rep- in the first movement of Turangalila, for example, all stop
etition:
suddenly at rehearsal number [21]. All four are cut off in
X = xxx....
mid-cycle and three of the four are actually cut off in mid-
duration: the final
(Upper-case letters X, Y, Z designate cycle of x = 2 3 4 4 <4>
generative (la), for instance,
rhythms.)
A rhythm of the form x begins isto truncated
repeat to 2 3 3.after
Such rude a
interruptions
time intervalare typical of
Messiaen's
equal to Ixl, the total duration of x; such procedurea throughout
rhythm the symphony.22
is termed
periodic, and lxl is its period.
There are many periodic rhythms inRHYTHMS
PROGRESSIVE Turangalila, identified
as such in the Appendix. All four of the simultaneous rhyth-
mic characters appearing in Example Messiaen 1 are periodic.
uses many Rhythm
other types of rules of ge
addition
la, for example, is simply x, where x isto exact
the repetition.
segment One
2 of
3 4the4most
<4> discussed previously. Its period is 17 (or
simple progression, 17 h,
in which toofbe
a seed a singl
precise). Because the meter in this section
increased of the
(expanding pieceoris
progression) 2
decreased (c
each new cycle of the segment xprogression)
falls, in by a fixed value at
comparison each repetitio
with the
preceding cycle, one sixteenth note later
increment is 1, the in the measure.
progression is said to be chr
These successive displacements are easily visible in that
analogy with pitch sequences move upward o
Example
1, and exemplify a characteristicby independence
steps of one semitone.23
of For example,
period andrhyth
VIc are
meter that distinguishes Messiaen's the simplerhythms
periodic chromatic expansion
from and
periodic rhythms in other Western
rhythms music. Of the four su-
perimposed periodic rhythms in Example 1, only one (Id) has
(VIb) X = 7 8 9 10 11 ..
a period equal to a whole number of measures, and that
and (Vlc) Y = 48 47 46 45 44 ...
rhythm is characterized by a very long period (240 i, or 30
Thesethat
measures) and many articulations two rhythms
do occur
not simultaneously,
fall onand are continued
strong
beats.21 to the point that the durations in X exceed those in Y. At the
21In many passages of Turangalila the notated meter seems to be nothing 22As Simund&a has pointed out ("Messiaen's Rhythmical Organisation,"
more than a matter of practicality-something for the conductor to beat in 139), this habit of Messiaen's does not correspond with authentic Indian
order to keep the musicians together. Messiaen evidently felt that the system practice, which requires that various rhythms playing jointly must ultimately
of notation he employed in the Quartet for the End of Time, several of whose end together on a beat called the sama.
movements have no time signature, was not feasible in a work for large 23This term chromatic rhythm has been used by Johnson, Simundza, and
orchestra. other writers.
(VIb) X = 7 8 9 10 11 '" This rhythm is presented concurrently with rhyth

and (VIc) Y = 48 47 46 45 44 '. IIc, which are generated from the same seed by
cycles 2, 3, 4 and 3, 4, 5, respectively.24
These two rhythms occur simultaneously, and are continued An example of a progression on a more compl
to the point that the durations in X exceed those in Y. At the rhythm Xb, generated from a seed of four duration
meeting point, segments x = 33 34 35 36 37 and y = 37 36 ing repetitions of two of the durations at each cyc
35 34 33 interrelate, with x beginning (and ending) 6 h before
y. Since y = XR, the composite rhythm is the palindromic 6 (1 2 3 6) (1 1 2 3 3 6) (1 1 12 3 3 3 6) -.
27 10 24 12 23 12 24 10 27 6.
(The parentheses clarify the cycles of the progression.) An-
Rhythm Id, the beginning of which can be seen in Example
other example is rhythm VIIg, built on the seed 1 4 7 6 5 3
1, is a simple chromatic contraction-expansion rhythm: the
2. At each repetition, each duration in the seed is increased
durations alternately contract and expand between the values
by 7:
of 17 and 7. This rhythm is generated from an initial seed x
= 17 by first applying a simple contraction rule ten times (1 4 7 6 5 3 2) (8 11 14 13 12 10 9) .
to create the segment y = 17 16 15 *' 8 7, then repeatedly
Here the initial seed includes the full chromatic set of du-
joining y to its retrograde by elision: rations from 1 to 7; since the increment at each repetitio
7, each subsequent cycle extends the chromatic set upw
= y ? YR? Y ?YR y y R? ... to include the next seven values.
= 17 165 98 15 9 9 15 16 17 16 15 *".
Progressive rhythms are not generally periodic, of cou
in the the
Of course, the segments y ? YR are palindromic, and rhythm just discussed, each cycle is longer than
entire
rhythm is periodic, with period 17 + 16 + previous 15 + -" one
+ 8by + 49 ,. In some cases, however, one ele
7 + 8 + - + 15 + 16 = 240. (That the limiting values 7 expands as another contracts, in such a way that the
and 17 are prime numbers is surely not accidental. Prime length remains constant. An example is rhythm VlIk, w
numbers appear prominently not only among single dura- progression is
tions, but also among the periods of many of the periodic (1 6 1 9) (1 5 1 10) (1 4 1 11)
rhythms in Turangalila.)
Many of Messiaen's progressions are not "simple," as de- We may consider this rhythm to be generated from two seeds
fined above. That is, they are generated from seeds consisting x and y, initially 6 and 9 respectively. At each cycle of the
of more than a single duration; or the rules of generation are pattern 1 x 1 y the value of x decreases by 1 and the value
more complex than a fixed increment. An example of the of y increases by 1; each cycle is a segment of total dura-
latter is rhythm IIa, in which the initial seed 2 (actually ap- tion 17. Rhythms of this type are termed fixed-cycle-length
pearing in the score as a rest, in all instruments at the be-
ginning of the movement) is increased by increments that
cycle through the values 1, 2, and 3, generating the rhythm 24This summary accurately describes the points of articulation of rhythms
IIa, IIb, and Ilc, though the actual note values in the score are shorter,
<2> 3 5 8 9 11 14 15 17 '-. separated by rests that vary somewhat irregularly.
progressions, as opposed to variable-cycle-length progressions The insertions of duration 5, replacing the previous (1 1)
such as VIIg discussed previously.25 segments, are not simple strokes of the wood block, but
All of the progressive rhythms described to this point have rather continuous rolls; after this cycle, the block executes
been strict progressions; that is, the rule by which one cycle one long continuous roll to the end of the movement. The
generates the next is fixed, and one could extend the rhythm five rhythms superimposed in this passage (IXa through IXe)
indefinitely (or at least until some contracting element are constructed on five different seeds, but all five are gen-
reaches 0) by following the same rule. Messiaen also uses free erated using exactly the same freely progressive rules of gen-
progressions, in which the rule changes in some way from one eration just described.
iteration to the next. An example is rhythm IXa, constructed The examples given above include variable-cycle-length
on a long seed of fifteen durations strict progressions (IIa, Xb, and VIIg), fixed-cycle-length
4 5 7 3 2 1 6 17 14 8 9 10 16 12 15 strict progressions (VIIk), and variable-cycle-length free pro-
gressions (IXa through IXe). There is also one example of
whose duration set is not quite fully chromatic. (Thea two
fixed-cycle-length free progression in Turangalila; this is
missing durations, 11 and 13, are emphasized in the concur-
rhythm Via. The seed for this rhythm is a palindromic seg-
rent rhythm IXb.) In the second cycle, a duration ofment
1 is
inserted before each duration in the seed: x = 8 4 2 3 14 7 14 <3> 2 4 8
1 4 1 5 1 7 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 6 1 17 *. in which a rest substitutes for one of the durations. The total

duration of this segment is 49; initially it appears in alter-
In the third cycle, another 1 is inserted,
nation with a rest whose duration is also 49, thereby repeating
11 4 11 1 1 7 11 3 11 2 11111 6 11 17 , with a period of 98 ,. After rehearsal number [7], however,
the pattern begins to change freely. First x expands to
suggesting that a strict progression may be under way. But
in the next cycle the pattern changes: x' = 8 4 2 3 18 10 18 <3> 248,
then to x" = 8 4 2 3 115 15 115 <3> 24 8;
5 4 5 5 5 7 5 3 5 2 5 1 5 6 5 17 .... it then contracts to x"' = 4 2 3 14 7 14 <3> 2 4.
At each cycle, however, the intervening rest is adju

that the total duration remains 98: segment x', of t
25The actual numerical value of the cycle length sometimes depends on
how one assumes the cycles to have been generated. Of the four durations
ration 60, is followed by a rest <38>; x", of total
in each cycle of rhythm Vllk, the last is the most strongly articulatedis(by 79, followed by a rest <19>; and x"', of total dura
snarling chords in the low winds and a stroke of the tam-tam marked is sfff),
followed by a rest <65>. Consequently each cyc
and therefore may reasonably be heard as the beginning of a cycle, exactly
leading 98 , after the preceding one.
to the alternative representation
1 6 1 (9 1 5 1) (10 1 4 1) (11 1 3 1) ..
RECURSIVE PROGRESSIONS
in which, after an incomplete initial cycle, each subsequent cycle has length
16 (rather than 17). Similarly, the cycle length of rhythm IIIb could be con-
sidered to be 23, 24, or 25, depending on the representation chosen for the The true power of generative rhythms lies in
cycles of the rhythm. to apply rules of generation recursively. This sit
when a rule of generation is applied to a seed to create a form x y y x, where x and y are two segments each of
longer segment, which in turn becomes the seed for another duration 27 ,. Neither x nor y is palindromic, and there
rule, used to generate a still larger pattern. The rule described neither is z, considered as a sequence of durations; n
above for the chromatic contraction-expansion rhythm Id theless, z is formed by palindromic arrangement of the
offers a simple example of a recursive construction, built on ments x and y.
the first-order seed x = 17 and then, recursively, the second- Another example of complex recursion is provided
order seed y = 17 16 15 *- 8 7. rhythm VId. The first-order seed for this rhythm is
Several much more complex examples of recursion can be x = 1 1 <3> 2 2 <4> 2 1 1 1 <10>.
found among the rhythms of Turangalila. Rhythm Ic may be
used to illustrate the variety of processes Messiaen uses. A This rhythm is essentially palindromic excepting
first-order seed x = 2 1 1 1 2-a segment that occurs else- if the other rests are subdivided:
where in the symphony as well, for example in rhythm IIId x = 1 1 <1> <2> 2 2 <2> <2> 2 1 1 1 <10>.
-is used to generate four longer segments in a free pro-
gression: As the rhythm unfolds, x is subjected to f
involving repetition and elaboration of the fi
Yl = x 3 x, 1 1:
Y2 = 4x 3 x4,
Y3. = 2 1 24x 3 x4212, x' = 1 1 <3> 22 <4>2 11121 1 1 <10>,
Y4 = 1 1 1 12 4 x393x4 2121111. x" = 1 1 <3> 2 2 <4> 2 11121 1 1 1 1 <3> 22 <4>.
These four segments are concatenated to The actual zgenerative

form = yl Y2 rhythm
Y3 in the score, how
simply
y4, which is used as the seed for a periodic x x' x" ...;
rhythm f,rather,
whoseit is y y' y" ..., whe
period is 132 .h. (Slightly less than half of one cycle of this
y = x (x x 3) x 32 <22>;
rhythm -y1, Y2, and a portion of y3-may be seen in the snare
y' = x' (x' x 3) x' 32 <22>;
drum part in Example 1.)26
y" = x" (x" x 3) x" 32 <22>.
In the above example the first-order seed x and all four
second-order seeds yl, Y2, y3, and Y4 (asThus the rule
well as that
thegenerates y, y', y" from x, x', x" is strict,
segments
whiley4)
2 1 2 and 1 1 1 1 used in generating Y3 and the rule
are that generates x' and x" from x is free.
palindromic,
but the complete cycle z is not. Effectively the opposite re-
lationship holds in rhythm Ilia. The second-order seed in that
PATTERN SHIFTS, INTERRUPTIONS, AND IRREGULARITIES
case is a segment z of total duration 108 h constructed in the
Messiaen's rhythms lead eventful lives. Not infrequent
something happens to disrupt an established pattern in s
way; the abruptness with which the patterns are usually
26A comparison of this description with the analyses of the same rhythm
by Johnson (Messiaen, 85) and Simundla ("Messiaen's Rhythmical Organ-
minated is just one common example. Another frequ
occurrence is aof
isation," 135-138) demonstrates the clarity and succinctness pattern shift: a change from one establis
the sequence
and recursion notations. pattern to another, often closely related, pattern. The th
concurrent rhythms IIIb, Illc, and IIId all undergo approx- RHYTHM AND PITCH
imately simultaneous pattern shifts in the vicinity of rehearsal

number [9], then change back to the original patterns near Messiaen's rhythmic characters are frequentl
rehearsal [12]. The simplest of these is Ild, a periodic rhythm by unpitched percussion instruments, thereby a
in which the rest in the seed 2 1 1 12 <16> changes from of pitch content. Virtually all instruments in t
<16> to <20>, then back to <16>, so that the period participate in rhythmic characters at one time
changes from 23 to 27, then back to 23. however. The result is frequently an intricate
Rhythms may also be disrupted by interruptions. Rhythm relationship between rhythms and pitch-relate
IVb, the periodic rhythm with seed 4 4 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 such as chords and melodies.
1 2 3 4 8 , is twice interrupted in mid-cycle in the middle of A fundamental distinction can be drawn between pit
the movement, creating apparent segments of the form content that is dependent on the associated rhythm, and pi
content that is independent of the rhythm. Dependence ref
4 4 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 <28> to any sort of synchronization between cycles (if any) of t
12 3 4 8 4 4 4 2 3 2 <40> pitches and cycles of the rhythm. For example, rhythm V
2 2 2 3 3 3 1 2 3 4 8 4 4, is a strict non-simple chromatic contraction rhythm on a p
indromic seed of five durations,
effectively disguising the periodicity of the original rhythm.
(5 7 10 7 5) (4 6 9 6 4) (3 5 8 5 3) .
In contrast, rhythm Vb is an example of an interrupted pe-
riodic rhythm whose interruptions always fall at the end of As shown in Example 4, this rhythm is played by low wo
a cycle, so that the pattern remains clear. winds and strings to a cycle of five chords, so that each ch
Some irregularities in Messiaen's rhythms defy categori- cycle coincides exactly with one cycle of the rhythm. (Th
zation. Rhythms IIIb and IIIc, in addition to undergoing the chord cycle, however, is not palindromic.) Rhythm VId, d
aforementioned pattern shifts, each have a segment of total cussed above in conjunction with its complex recursion, al
duration 27 , mysteriously missing from the pattern shortly features a dependent chord cycle, consisting in this insta
before [10], like a skip in a recording. (The duration 27 , of four chords. Some aspects of the rhythmic progression
seems to have nothing to do with the content of either rhythm x', x", -" are free, but it will be noted that each of those
IIIb or IIIc, but it coincides exactly with the period of rhythm segments consists of a number of durations that is a multiple
IIId, the third of the concurrent rhythms in this passage.) A of 4, so that each cycle of the rhythm begins with the same
smaller irregularity of the opposite sort occurs in rhythm IXd; chord.
here, in the measure before [5], a duration 2 (eighth note) The periodic rhythms la and lb (seen in Example 1) and
occurs in place of the 1 (sixteen:h note) that appears in all the five freely progressive rhythms IXa through IXe all offer
other cycles of the progression. Rhythms IXb and IXd are examples of independent chord cycles. Rhythm lb provides
following parallel progressions in this passage. They remain an illustration. Rhythmically, lb is a periodic rhythm of six
aligned through the first cycle and part of the second, but durations; but it is played by second violins and violas to a
because of the irregularity, IXd trails IXb by one sixteenth cycle of thirteen chords. (In Example 1, the second rhythmic
note in subsequent cycles. cycle begins in the middle of the third measure, and the
Example 4. A rhythm and a dependent chord cycle (eighth movement of Turangalila, beginning of movement)
Bien modidr (0 = 120)
L d .... .
Bass clarinet,
bassoon,
double bass Irn .ij ij ---I-III j- t
(pizz.) I v v l Vi yKfl II -
(Villa) 8b sempre 10
(5 7 10 7 5) (4 6
-,1~ v 1,
I~ ; L ; t , .'7----,. L:_ . _. :!. I -1 I I I J.
, - -
__ b 0- . -- ! I m-; -- - m iP I
` ,-
U P W -11 r
- ? -- d-'I L JR M
1 ,, ,' 'T
6 4) (3 8 3)
second chord cycle begins in the sixth measure.) Thus each Messiaen usually avoids such situations, preferring cases of
cycle begins on a different chord until thirteen rhythmic cy- clear dependence or independence of rhythm and pitch struc-
cles, or equivalently six chord cycles, have been completed. tures.
The rhythmic period is 19 h, so the period of the effective

rhythm-pitch complex is 19 x 13 = 247 ,, or almost 31
measures. This is the total duration that must elapse before RHYTHMS IN COMBINATION
the rhythm returns with the same pitch content as it had at

its first appearance. (In fact, the rhythm and chord sequence Just as pitch and rhythm can be dependent or in
are maintained for 69 measures-the complex has just started two concurrent rhythms can be related or unr
its third cycle when it is interrupted.) siaen presents combinations of rhythms exhib
Intermediate levels of rhythm-pitch dependence are the- variety of interrelationships. Rhythms la throug
oretically possible, involving rhythm and pitch cycles whose periodic, though the periods are different. A
numbers of durations have factors in common even though previously, rhythms IIa, Iib, and IIc are progr
neither is a whole multiple of the other. For example, if a structed on the same seed with only slightly dif
periodic rhythm of eighteen durations is played to a cycle of of generation, whereas IXa through IXe are progr
twelve chords, the cycles may be partitioned into subcycles structed on five different (but related) seeds with
of six durations that will always remain aligned. Interestingly, same rules of generation. The seventh moveme
at [7], two simultaneous rhythmic canons: rhythm VIIg is in its rhythm but also in its pitch-class content, derived from
played by the vibraphone, answered 2. ) later by the glock- the so-called "statue theme"-one of several promine
enspiel, while the piano plays rhythm VIIn, the right hand themes that recur cyclically throughout the symphony. Th
leading the left by 4 ,. (The vibraphone-glockenspiel canon midpoint of this giant palindrome falls two measures after
features a dependent chord cycle, the piano canon an inde- [28]. In fact, since Va was heard in its entirety previous
pendent one.) (from [14] to [20]), the later appearance of Ve simultaneous
Two concurrent progressive rhythms may be called parallel completes an even larger palindrome, 208 measures in lengt
progressions if both are expanding or both are contracting, and centered at [23], whose second half is pitched a semiton
and contrary progressions if one expands while the other higher than the first; rhythm Vb and its retrograde Vd follo
contracts. There are many examples of such progressions in this pattern as well.
Turangalila. Rhythms IIa, IIb, and IIc are all basically ex- The duration sets of concurrent rhythms are occasionally
panding, so the passage in which they occur may be con- of interest. Rhythms IXa and IXe are free progressions o
sidered a three-part parallel progression. The simple chro- seeds with the same duration sets; in fact, one seed can b
matic expansion and contraction rhythms VIb and VIc, obtained from the other simply by interchanging two larg
discussed previously, provide a straightforward example of asegments. A similar relationship holds between IXb and IXd
contrary progression; a similar relationship exists between the
Taken together, rhythms IXa through IXe have a fully chr
simple expansion rhythm VIlh and its retrograde Vllm. The matic duration set, including every duration from 1 to 17.2
rhythm VIIj, presented concurrently with both Vllh and An even more rigorous construction of a chromatic duratio
Vllm, is a non-simple chromatic contraction rhythm running set may be found in rhythms Vlla, VIIb, and VIlc; the seeds
in parallel progression to VIIm and in contrary progression of these three periodic rhythms include among them every
to VIIh. duration from 1 to 16 exactly once. Such a systematic inclusio
Rhythms VIIh and VIIm comprise only one of several of every duration while avoiding repetitions is reminiscent o
examples in Turangalila of rhythms combined with their ret-the use of the twelve pitch classes in twelve-tone music; in-
rogrades. Such a situation actually indicates quite a close
deed, this passage has been called "Messiaen's first use of
relationship: a periodic rhythm and its retrograde have the rhythmic series."28 Messiaen often had little sympathy for
same period, of course, and as shown previously the com-
posite rhythm is palindromic. Rhythms VIIa through VIIf are
three periodic rhythms and their retrogrades; the composite
of these six rhythms is both periodic and palindromic, al-
though its theoretical period of 17,220 . far exceeds the
length of the movement. 27The relationships among the seeds of these five rhythms may be de
A large-scale palindrome is realized between rehearsal
scribed explicitly by defining x = 4 5 7 3 2 1 6 17 14, y = 8 9 10 16 12 15
numbers [25] and [32] in the fifth movement. Here rhythmand z = 11 13; then the seeds are (IXa) x y, (IXb) <7> Z3 <11> XR, (IX
<1> YR <1> YR, (IXd) <11> XR <7> z3, and (IXe) y x. Segments x, y, an
Va (itself an elaborate progressive composite rhythm with
z together contain each duration from 1 to 17 exactly once, but these segmen
palindromic segments) unfolds in opposition to its retrogradedo not occur with equal frequency in the seeds.
Ve, creating a 76-measure span that is palindromic not only 28Johnson, Messiaen, 94.
serial music, particularly that of Schoenberg,29 but in a few CONCLUDING REMARKS
later works such as "Mode de valeurs et d'intensites" from

the Quatre etudes de rythme (1949-50) he did extend a non- At rehearsal number [14] in the fourth m
traditional sort of serial process not only to durations but also Turangalila, a single wood block plays rhythm
to dynamics.30 aen's favorite periodic rhythm, whose period is
The apparent independence of the four periodic rhythms while the small Turkish cymbal and vibraphone
la through Id in Example 1 has a mathematical explanation simple chromatic contraction-expansion rhythm
in the prime factorizations of the four periods (including the ,. The snare drum plays IVd, a complex recu
chord cycles associated with Ia and Ib): erated rhythm with period 132 1, and the doub
playing chromatic scales to rhythm IVc, a rhyt
(la) 119 e = 7 x 17
84 , whose seed consists of four segments in
(Ib) 247 = 13 x 19
augmentation. At the same time, the piccolo,
(Ic) 132 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 11
ondes martenot (soon to be joined by trumpets)
(Id) 240 h = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 5
scherzo theme from the beginning of the m
The first eight prime numbers all appear in at celeste least one ofglockenspiel are playing a rhythmical
and
these factorizations. Because the factorizations are so dis- version of a birdsong introduced previously by t
similar, the cycles of each rhythm continually shift their align- piano is now engaged in new decorative figuratio
ment with respect to the other rhythms. In fact, the entireIn the fifth measure the themes from the two "trio" sections
complex of four rhythms (and two chord cycles) will not the-heard earlier are added to the mix, the first in the winds and
oretically repeat as a unit until an elapsed time equal to the the second in the strings. Eleven measures later the trom-
least common multiple of the four periods, namely 77,597,520bones enter in grand fashion with the "statue" theme, bring-
,h-nearly ten million measures! ing the number of independent parts to ten.31
How is a listener able to process such complexity? How
can so many simultaneous layers of sound be perceived with
any degree of clarity? How can the lonely rhythm played by
the wood block (which, incidentally, is marked piano, while
many other instruments are playingforte and fortissimo) even
be heard, much less understood? In Messiaen's words, lis-
teners to his music
29Messiaen, for whom color associations were of paramount importance
in music, found Schoenberg's music "insidiously gray" (Olivier Messiaen,
will be responsive to [complexity] the day their ears are accustom
Music and Color, 46, 50-52, 192).
to it. It's not essential for listeners to be able to detect precisely
30Messiaen apparently regarded "Mode de valeurs et d'intensit6s" as a not
the rhythmic procedures of the music they hear, just as they do
particularly successful experiment, and was even rather annoyed at the at-
tention it received (Messiaen, Music and Color, 47). Without a doubt, how-
ever, the techniques introduced in this work exerted a powerful influence on
the compositional techniques of some of Messiaen's most prominent students,
who included Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez. 31This description of this passage is indebted to Johnson, Messiaen, 86-8
need to figure out all the chords of classical music. That's reserved ABSTRACT
for harmony professors and professional composers. The moment A system of algebraic terminology and notation is in
[listeners] receive a shock, realize that it's beautiful, that the music study "rhythmic characters" in the music of Olivier
touches them, the goal is achieved!32 concepts developed include generative, periodic, prog
recursive rhythms. Fifty rhythms from Messiaen's Tur
phony are classified using these concepts. Interactions of
32Messiaen, Music and Color, 83. pitch, and of rhythms with each other, are also studi
Appendix: Rhythmic Characters in the Turangallla Symphony

The first column enumerates the rhythms, movement by movement. Roman numerals I-X indicate the movements; rhythms
within each movement are designated a, b, c, .... The second column identifies each rhythm by its location in the movement
and the instrument(s) presenting it. Numbers in brackets [1], [2], ... are rehearsal numbers in the Durand edition of the score.
The beginning of a movement is designated [0]; the end of a movement is designated [n + 1], where [n] is the last rehearsal
number appearing. The third column gives the sequence notation for each rhythm. In the case of longer patterns, only the beginning
is shown; in the case of short periodic rhythms, only the first cycle is shown. The notations appearing here, and the terminology
used in the descriptions in the last column, are explained in the main body of the article.
Designation Location: instrumentation Incipit Description of rhythm
I. Introduction
Ia [12]-[21]: ob., c. angl., cl., 2 3 4 4 <4> Periodic Indian rhythm of 4 durations + 1 rest. Pe-
b. cl. riod 17 ,. Independent cycle of 14 chords. Rhythm-
pitch complex repeats with period 119 ,.
Ib [12]-[21]: vn. 2, vla. 444232 Periodic Indian-derived rhythm of 6 durations. Pe-
riod 19 ,. Independent cycle of 13 chords. Rhythm-
pitch complex repeats with period 247 h.
Ic [12]-[21]: snare dr. (2 1 11 2 3 2 111 2) (4 Periodic repetition of a recursive progression of 72
2 1 1 1 2 ... durations in 4 freely expanding palindromic seg-
ments. Period 132 ,.
Id [12]-[21]: Chinese cym. (17 16 ... 8 7 8 ... 16) Simple chromatic contraction-expansion rhythm.
(17 16 ... peats in segments of 20 durations with period
II. Chant d'amour 1
IIa [0]-[3]: vn. 1 & 2. <2> 3 5 8 9 11 14 ... IIa, b, c are non-simple, strict expansion rhythms
IIb [0]-[3]: high ww. <2> 4 7 11 13 16 20 ... generated from a common seed by similar rules of
IIc [0]-[3]: low str. & winds. <2> 5 9 14 17 21 26 ... generation (a strict progression relates the three
rules).
III. Turangalila 1
Ilia [2]-[4]: bsn., trb., db.; (2 4 3 6 2 4 2 3 <1>) Essentially a palindromic arrangement of 4 non-
(3 3 3
[9]-[13]: low str. & winds. 3 2 7 5 <1>) palindromic segments comprising 31 durations + 3
(3 3 3 3 2 7 5 <1>) rests. Total duration 108 1. Repeats periodically at
(2 4 3 3 3 2 4 2 4) [9]-[13], with a rest of duration 10 , occurring be-
tween cycles.
IIIb [6]-[13]: maracas. (<8> 8 8) (<8> <1> 7 Illb, IlIc are non-simple chromatic expansion-
7 <1>) (<8> <2> 6 6 contraction rhythms in contrary progression. Essen-
<2>) ... tially fixed-cycle-length strict progressions, but cycle
IIIc [6]-[13]: bass dr. (<8> <8> <8>) (<7> length changes from 24 , to 26 near [9] and back
1 1 <7> <8>) (<6> 2 2 to 24 h near [12]; also one further irregularity in
<6> <8>) ... each rhythm (27 , missing before [10]).
IIId [6]-[13]: wd. blk. 2 111 2 <16> Palindromic rhythm of 5 durations (the seed for Ic),
repeating with intervening rests in period 23 ,;
period changes to 27 , at [9] and back to 23 , at
[12].
IIIe [9]-[13]: susp. cym., 8 <17> 8 <19> 8 <21> Apparently periodic rhythm (second cycle is not
chimes, hn. 8 <29> quite completed) of period 118 , consisting of con-
stant durations interspersed with periodically varying
rests.
IV. Chant d'amour 2

IVa [0]-[2]: susp. cym., vibr.; (17 16 ... 8 7 8... 16) Same as Id. Stops at [2] just at point of repetition.
[11]-[16]: Turkish cym. (17 16 ... Repeats periodically at [11]-[16]. Period 240 .
IVb [0]-[2], [8]-[11], [14]-[16]: 4442322223331 Periodic Indian-derived rhythm of 17 durations, used
wd. blk. 2348 also in Quartet for the End of Time and other works.
Contains Ib as an initial segment. Period 52 ,. Two
extended interruptions in mid-cycle at [8]-[11] dis-
guise periodicity.
IVc [1]-[2], [14]-[16]: db. 26 36 46 56 Periodic rhythm of 24 durations in 4 segments, of
which the last 3 are progressive augmentations of the
first. Period 84 h. Dependent pitch content based on
chromatic scales.
IVd [2]-[5], [11]-[16]: snare dr. (2 111 2 3 2 1 1 12) (4 Same as Ic. Period 132 ,.
21112...
V. Joie du sang des etoiles

Va [14]-[20]: hn., trb.; [25]- (4 1 4 8 4 8) <32> (5 2 Composite rhythm is a fixed-cycle-length strict
[31]: tpt., cornet, cyms.5 7 3 7) <32> (6 3 6 6 2 matic progression, with interruptions, on a seed
6) ... two palindromic segments, one expanding, the o
contracting. Associated pitch content based on c
"statue" theme (one semitone higher at secon
pearance).
Vb [15]-[21]: trgl., chimes, 732 Periodic rhythm of 3 durations, with extend

vibr. ruptions. Dependent cycle of 3 pitches in t
Appears during the interruptions in Va.
Vc [21]-[23], [32]-[34]: trgl., 4442322223331 Same as IVb. Period 52 ,.
susp. cym. 2348

Vd [25]-[31]: trgl., chimes, 237 Retrograde of Vb (one semitone higher). App
vibr. during the interruptions in Ve.
Ve [26]-[32]: hn., trb., cym., (5 1 5 7 4 7) <11> Retrograde
(6 2 of Va (in pitch-class content as w
tam-tam. 6 6 3 6) <32> (7 3 7 5 2 rhythm).
5) ...
VI. Jardin du sommeil d'amour
Via [0]-[4], [6]-[10]: vibr. 8423111171111 Initially, an essentially palindromic rhythm of 16 du-
<3> 2 4 8 <49> rations + 1 rest, repeating (with intervening rests)
with period 98 ,. Changes after [7] to a fixed-cycle-
length free progression, first expanding, then at [9]
contracting. Dependent melody.
VIb [4]-[10]: low temple blk., 789 10 ... 36 37 Simple chromatic expansion rhythm.
Turkish cym.
VIc [4]-[10]: high temple blk., 48 47 46 ... 34 33 Simple chromatic contraction rhythm.
trgl.
VId [4]-[10]: glock., cel. 1 1 <3> 2 2 <4> 2 1 1 Complex recursive variable-cycle-length free progres-
1 <10> ... sion with an essentially palindromic seed of 8 dura-
tions + 2 rests. Dependent cycle of 4 chords.
VII. Turangalila 2
VIla [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: trgl. 15 13 3 4 Periodic rhythm of 4 durations. Period 35 .h. Com-
bined duration set of Vila, b, c is fully chromatic,
containing all durations from 1 to 16.
VlIb [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: wd. blk. 12 14 1 2 7 8 16 Periodic rhythm of 7 durations. Period 60 h.
VIIc [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: Turkish 5 6 9 11 10 Periodic rhythm of 5 durations. Period 41 ,.
cym.
Vld [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: maracas. 4 3 13 15 Retrograde of Vila.
Vile [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: Chinese 10 11 9 6 5 Retrograde of VIIc.
cym.
VIIf [2]-[3], [12]-[13]: bass dr. 16 8 7 2 1 14 12 Retrograde of VIlb.
Vllg [3]-[6]: Turkish cym., (1 4 7 6 5 3 2) (8 11 14 Variable-cycle-length strict progressio

vibr.; [7]-[9]: glock., vibr. 13 12 10 9) ... durations. Set of durations is fully ch
dent cycle of 7 chords. At [7]-[9], g
present rhythm in canon, at interval
Vllh
VIIh [7]-[9]: trgl. 123... 1516 Simple chromatic expansion rhythm.
wfi [7]-[9]: temple blks., mara- (1 1 1 16) (1 11 15) (1 1
Composite rhythm is a strict non-sim
cas. 1 14) ... contraction rhythm.
Vllk (1 6picc.,
[7]-[9]: winds (except 1 9) (1 5 1 10) (1 4 Composite rhythm is a fixed-cycle-len
fl.), cyms., tam-tam, 1strs.
11) ... simple chromatic progression on a s
(except db.). tions. Cycle length 17 h. Dependent
VIIk [7]-[9]: snare dr. (2 2 1 2 3 1 1 1) (2 2 1 2 Periodic, possibly Indian-derived, rhy
3111) 4 4 4 8 tions, with internal repetitions. Per
VIIm [7]-[9]: bass dr., db. 16 15 14 ... 2 1 Simple chromatic contraction rhythm
of VIIh. Pitches in basses are also chromatic.
VlIm [7]-[9]: pno. 4442322223331 Same as IVb. Period 52 h. Played by the two hand
2348 in canon, at interval 4 h. Independent cycle of 3
chords in each hand.
VIII. Developpement de l'amour

Villa [0]-[4], [46]-[49]: b. cl., (5 7 10 7 5) (4 6 9 6 4) Composite rhythm is a strict non-simple chroma
bsn., cyms., chimes, db. (3 5 8 5 3) ... contraction rhythm on a palindromic seed of 5 dura-
tions. Dependent cycle of 5 chords.
VIIIb [1]-[4], [46]-[49]: maracas, 4 4 3 3 Periodic rhythm of 4 durations. Period 14 1. Depen-
vibr., pno. dent cycle of 4 chords.
VIIIc [2]-[4], [46]-[49]: temple 1 1 <2> 1 1 <6> Periodic rhythm of 4 durations + 2 rests. Period
blks. 12 ,.
IX. Turangalila 3
IXa [2]-[13]: wd. blk.; [5]-[13]: (4 5 7 3 2 1 6 17 14) (8 Variable-cycle-length
9 free progression on a seed of 15
vn. 1. 10 16 12 15) ... durations with an almost fully chromatic-duration set.
Independent cycle of 13 chords in violins. Combined
duration set of IXa, b, c, d, e is fully chromatic,
containing all durations from 1 to 17.
IXb [2]-[13]: susp. cym.; <7> (11 13 11 13 11 13) Variable-cycle-length free progression (same progre
[5]-[13]: vn. 2. <11> (14 17 6 1 2 3 7 5 sion rules as IXa) on a seed of 15 durations + 2
4)... rests, of which the final 9 durations form the retr
grade of an initial segment of IXa. Independent c
of 10 chords in violins.
IXc [2]-[13]: maracas; [5]-[13]: <1> (15 12 16 10 9 8) Variable-cycle-length free progression (same progres-
via. <1> (15 12 16 10 9 8) sion rules as IXa) on a seed consisting of two identi-
cal segments of 6 durations + 1 rest, of which the
durations form the retrograde of a final segment of
IXa. Independent cycle of 9 chords in violas.
IXd [2]-[13]: tamb.; [5]-[13]: <11> (14 17 6 1 2 3 7 5 Variable-cycle-length free progression (same progres-
vc. 4) <7> (11 13 11 13 11 sion rules as IXa) on a seed derived from that of
13) ... IXb by interchanging two segments. Independent cy-
cle of 14 chords in cellos. An irregularity in the mea-
sure before [5] delays the remainder of the rhythm
by 1.
IXe [2]-[13]: tam-tam; [5]-[13]:
(8 9 10 16 12 15) (457 Variable-cycle-length free progression (same progre
db. 3 2 1 6 1714) ... sion rules as IXa) on a seed derived from that of
IXa by interchanging two segments. Independent cy
cle of 8 chords in basses.
X. Final
Xa 4442322223331
[0]-[3], [24]-[27]: wd. blk., Same as IVb. Period 52 ,. Also occurs in inter-
Turkish cym. 2348 rupted fragments at many other times in this move-
ment.
Xb [3]-[4]: cyms., maracas. (1 2 3 6) (1 12 3 3 6) ... Composite rhythm is a variable-cycle-length strict

progression on a seed of 4 durations.
Xc [6]-[9]: wd. blk., cyms., 4 4 4 3 2 164 Composite periodic rhythm of 12 durations, begin-
chimes, snare dr., maracas. ning similarly to Xa. Period 27 ,. Dependent cyc
of 4 pitches in the chimes. Fragments recur later i
the movement.
Xd [19]-[27]: snare dr. (17 3 2) (17 4 3 2) (17 5 4 Variable-cycle-length non-simple chromatic strict pro-
3 2) ... gression on a seed related to Xc. Two slight irregu-
larities (3 mm. before [20] and 3 mm. before [2
may indicate ties missing in the score. Foreshad
in fragments appearing earlier in the movement
(starting after [6]).

Rhythm in The Turangalila

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Rhythm in The Turangalila

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Society for Music Theory

Rhythm in the Music of Messiaen: An Algebraic Study and an Application in the

INTRODUCTION: MESSIAEN AND RHYTHM

was utterly individual; indeed, it is quite without precedent

change."'2 Messiaen himself used the term "rhythmic char

MWd r6( J= 132)

complexity of some of his rhythmic constructions - many of

THE ALGEBRA OF RHYTHM XR = <4> 4 4 3 2.

Every rhythm satisfies (xR)R = x. Some rhythms have the

Un peu vif ( =63 )

Example 3. A composite rhythm (seventh movement of Turangalila, rehearsal number [7])

(VIb) X = 7 8 9 10 11 '" This rhythm is presented concurrently with rhyth

1 4 1 5 1 7 1 3 1 2 1 1 1 6 1 17 *. in which a rest substitutes for one of the durations. The total

At each cycle, however, the intervening rest is adju

These four segments are concatenated to The actual zgenerative

imately simultaneous pattern shifts in the vicinity of rehearsal

Bien modidr (0 = 120)

The rhythmic period is 19 h, so the period of the effective

the rhythm returns with the same pitch content as it had at

serial music, particularly that of Schoenberg,29 but in a few CONCLUDING REMARKS

later works such as "Mode de valeurs et d'intensites" from

Appendix: Rhythmic Characters in the Turangallla Symphony

Designation Location: instrumentation Incipit Description of rhythm

IV. Chant d'amour 2

V. Joie du sang des etoiles

Vb [15]-[21]: trgl., chimes, 732 Periodic rhythm of 3 durations, with extend

susp. cym. 2348

Vllg [3]-[6]: Turkish cym., (1 4 7 6 5 3 2) (8 11 14 Variable-cycle-length strict progressio

VIII. Developpement de l'amour

Xb [3]-[4]: cyms., maracas. (1 2 3 6) (1 12 3 3 6) ... Composite rhythm is a variable-cycle-length strict

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