Question 1

True or false: Messiaen was a devout atheist who rejected religious themes in his work.

Accepted Answer

False. He was a devout Catholic, and most of his music expresses theological concepts, such as the 'Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus'.

Question 2

True or false: Messiaen's works are all extremely long, with none shorter than 30 minutes.

Accepted Answer

False. He wrote shorter pieces like 'Le Merle Noir' (about 6 minutes) and 'La Nativité du Seigneur' includes brief movements, though many are expansive.

Question 3

True or false: Messiaen was a synesthete who saw colors when hearing chords and rhythms.

Accepted Answer

True. He experienced vivid color associations with sound, often describing specific chord combinations as 'red' or 'gold' in his scores.

Question 4

True or false: Messiaen transcribed bird songs from around the world into his compositions.

Accepted Answer

True. He was an avid ornithologist, traveling globally to notate bird songs, which he incorporated into works like 'Catalogue d'oiseaux'.

Question 5

True or false: Messiaen was a student of Claude Debussy and directly copied his impressionist style.

Accepted Answer

False. Messiaen studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Paul Dukas, not Debussy. He admired Debussy's music but forged a unique style using birdsong and modes of limited transposition, markedly different from impressionism.

Question 6

True or false: Messiaen was a prisoner of war and composed 'Quatuor pour la fin du temps' in a camp.

Accepted Answer

True. He wrote this iconic piece while imprisoned in Stalag VIII-A, premiering it with fellow inmates on a broken piano and cello.

Question 7

True or false: Messiaen's music is entirely atonal and avoids any sense of key or harmony.

Accepted Answer

False. He used unique modes of limited transposition and rich harmonies, but never abandoned tonality entirely; his music is often deeply tonal.

Question 8

True or false: Olivier Messiaen incorporated rhythms from Hindu deçî-tâlas into his compositions.

Accepted Answer

True. Messiaen studied the 120 deçî-tâlas from the medieval Indian treatise Sangita Ratnakara and used them extensively, most notably in his Turangalîla-Symphonie.

Olivier Messiaen Trivia Questions