''Oiseaux exotiques'' (''Exotic birds'') is a piece for piano and small orchestra by Olivier Messiaen. It was written between 5 October 1953 and 3 January 1956 and was commissioned by Pierre Boulez. It is dedicated to

Yvonne Loriod Yvonne Louise Georgette Loriod-Messiaen (; 20 January 1924 – 17 May 2010) was a French pianist, teacher, and composer, and the second wife of composer Olivier Messiaen. Her sister was the Ondes Martenot player Jeanne Loriod. Biography Loriod ...

, the composer's wife.Aspen Music Festival program notes
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Premiere

This piece was first performed at the Théâtre du Petit Marigny by Yvonne Loriod and the ensemble

Domaine musical The Domaine musical was a concert society established by Pierre Boulez in Paris, which was active from 1954 to 1973. Composers represented at its concerts included Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, John Cage, Sylva ...

, conducted by Rudolf Alberth.

Orchestral setting

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, piccolo, 2

flutes The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, 2 Bb clarinets, clarinet in E-flat, bass clarinet, bassoon, 2 French horns,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, and 6 percussionists playing glockenspiel,

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

, chimes, cowbell, three gongs, snare drum, tam-tam, temple blocks, and wood block.

The work

The birdsongs in this piece are from Asia and the Americas: the

southern hill myna The southern hill myna (''Gracula indica'') is a member of the starling family. It is a resident of the forested regions of south India and Sri Lanka. This species moves around in flocks in the forest, and members of a flock keep in contact wit ...

, the golden-fronted leafbird, the Baltimore oriole, the

greater prairie chicken The greater prairie chicken or pinnated grouse (''Tympanuchus cupido''), sometimes called a boomer,Friederici, Peter (July 20, 1989)"The Last Prairie Chickens" ''Chicago Reader''. Retrieved August 27, 2014.（Chinese 中文：帕艺明彩大凤� ...

, the

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

, the

catbird Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name ''Ailuroedus'' likewise is from the Greek for "cat-singer" or "cat-voiced". Australasian catbirds are the ...

, the Indian robin, the

white-crested laughingthrush The white-crested laughingthrush (''Garrulax leucolophus'') is a member of the family Leiothrichidae.american robin (entrusted to the two clarinets), the Swainson's thrush, the

hermit thrush The hermit thrush (''Catharus guttatus'') is a medium-sized North American thrush. It is not very closely related to the other North American migrant species of ''Catharus'', but rather to the Mexican russet nightingale-thrush. The specific na ...

, the

red-whiskered bulbul The red-whiskered bulbul (''Pycnonotus jocosus''), or crested bulbul, is a passerine bird native to Asia. It is a member of the bulbul family. It is a resident frugivore found mainly in tropical Asia. It has been introduced in many tropical are ...

and the wood thrush.

Hindu rhythms

Decî- Tâlas of ancient India, Cârngadeva system: Nihcankalîla, Gajalîla, Laksmîca, Caccarî, Candrakâla, Dhenkî, Gajajhampa, and karnâtic theory: Matsya-Sankirna, Triputa-Miśra, Matsya-Tiśra, Atatâla-Cundh.

Greek rhythms

Composed feet by the metre: Typistlo-Epitrite; verses by the metre: lambelegiac, logaedic verses: Asclepiad, Saphique, Glyconic, Aristophanian, Phalaean, Peregrinean.

Duration

The piece lasts about 16 minutes.

Recording

Michael Thompson (French horn),

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...

(Orchestra), Paul Crossley (piano) (+ '' Des Canyons aux étoiles...'', ''Couleurs de la Cité céleste'')

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

, 1989, Angelin Chang (piano) and

Cleveland Chamber Symphony The Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of contemporary classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres. History The Cleveland Chamber Sym ...

)

New European Recordings Douglas Pearce, known professionally as Douglas P (born 27 April 1956), is an English folk musician, record label owner, photographer and actor who is best known for his neofolk project Death in June. Pearce was born in Sheerwater in Woking, ...

, won the 2007 GRAMMY for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra).

References

External links

* * , ensemble oktopus für musik der moderne, piano solo: , conductor: Konstantia Gourzi * {{Authority control Oiseaux exotiques 1956 compositions Music dedicated to family or friends

Premiere

Orchestral setting

The work

Hindu rhythms

Greek rhythms

Duration

Recording

See also

References

External links