Messian

Symmetrical Permutation, the Twelve Tones, and Messiaen's "Catalogue d'oiseaux"
Author(s): Wai-Ling Cheong

Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 45, No. 1 (Winter, 2007), pp. 110-136
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25164644
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Symmetrical P ermutation, the
Twelve Tones, and Messiaen's
Catalogue d'oisea ux
t__7tn
Wai-Ling Cheong
In volume III of his Messiaen

couleur, et dyornithologie, posthumously
confessed that published Traite de rythme, de
his turn to dodeca
phony in "Soixante quatre durees," the closing piece of Livre d'orgue
(1951), had been a gesture of concession.
Les sons. Petit sacrifice aux idoles du XXe siecle: la piece [Livre
d'orgueVLI] est ecrite selon la technique dodecaphonique serielle.1
The suggestion here that his use of dodecaphony was a small sacrifice to
idols of the twentieth century hints at his reservation about the tech
Symmetrical Permutation and Messiaen's Catalogue d'oiseaux I I I
nique. There is in any case very little to suggest the contrary. The tech
nique of dodecaphony is not treated in depth in Traite III or anywhere
else in his writing. Central to the discourse of this volume is rather sym
metrical permutation, which joins the modes of limited transposition and
non-retrogradable rhythm to form a trilogy of techniques that exhibits
the "charm of impossibilities," an attractive notion billed at the outset of
Technique de mon langage musical.2 Just as the modes of limited transpo
sition enjoy fewer than twelve transpositions and the non-retrogradable
rhythm retains the original duration pattern when played backward, a
symmetrical permutation scheme can also drastically cut down the num
ber of permutations derivable from any given series.
In contrast to Livre d'orgue, which is manifestly experimental in style,
as evinced by the many markings of Hindu rhythms and permutation
modes on the score, Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956-58), the next keyboard
work, is generally viewed as a turn to birdsong and nature away from the
avant-garde aesthetics of the time.3 A plethora of bird names and descrip
tive references to different landscapes and scenery fill the score. Indeed,
Messiaen's own accounts of Catalogue d'oiseaux, unlike his analysis of
Livre d'orgue, are mostly about birdsong.4 In this piano cycle, however,
block-chord series or, alternatively, note series that exhaust the twelve
tone space are stationed at strategic points, and Messiaen often encour
ages us to relate them to such divergent imagery as ragged rock forma
tions, fog, birds in flight, or flowing water. As detailed below, these series
are fabricated with recourse to a myriad of permutations generated by
one specific symmetrical permutation scheme. In Catalogue d'oiseaux the
sheer extent of the twelve-tone writing to which this permutation scheme
can be fitted like a glove leaves us with hardly any doubt as to its validity,
even though it is not documented in any existing source. Only one set of
reordering rules controls the derivation of all series from the prime, for
the change of positions between components lined up in a series and
those in the ensuing permuted restatement of the same series always
remains intact. This attests to Messiaen's famed preference for symmetri
cal permutation (permutations symetriques or reinterversions symetriques
limitees)} He certainly takes much pride in it, as testified by his delinea
tion of the precise working of this technique on a good number of occa
sions,6 though we hear about it only in association with lie de feu 2
(1949-50) and, more importantly, Chronochromie (1959-60), Sept
hatkai (1962), Couleurs de la cite celeste (1963), Saint Francois d'Assise
(1975-83) and Eclairs sur I'au-deld (1988-91). As argued below, one
specific symmetrical permutation scheme regulates much of the twelve
tone writings in Catalogue d'oiseaux, though the scheme did not for once
come up in Messiaen's writing.
I 12 Perspectives of New Music
An investigation of the manifold ways Messiaen utilized the scheme as

a guiding force in his music adds to our understanding of his claim to
have taken refuge in birdsong in the face of artistic crisis.7 In order to
speculate on some of the factors that underlie his alleged reticence about
the use of symmetrical permutation in Catalogue d'oiseaux, I will also
scrutinize the disparate ways he adopts what remains essentially the same
permutation operation in lie defeu 2 and Chronochromie. Much has been
said by Messiaen about them in volume III of Traite, the first chapter of
which is devoted to symmetrical permutation, though his discourse
remains stricdy synchronic in orientation, without ever touching on the
changes that transformed his approach during the interim years.
Symmetrical Permutation Schemes
Of the handful of symmetrical permutation schemes composed-out in

Messiaen's music, the one featured in Chronochromie is also the one most
discussed in the existing literature. Example 1 lists the symmetrical permu
tation schemes (denoted as A to D) in chronological order.8 The use of
schemes A and B in lie defeu 2 and of scheme C in Catalogue dyoiseaux is
followed by the more widely adopted scheme D, which appears in Chrono
chromie to mark the debut of symmetrical permutation in his orchestral
output before it resurfaces in Sept haikai, Couleurs de la cite celeste, Saint
Francois d'Assise, and tclairs sur Vau-dela. With schemes A to C,
Messiaen experimented with the technique of symmetrical permutation by
delimiting himself to the permutation of twelve pes in the narrowly cir
cumscribed medium of piano music. With scheme D, however, he discards
the reshuffling of twelve pes and arrives at a record high of 36 interver
sions of 32 chromatic durations (durees chromatiques). Messiaen's termi
nology "interversion," as used in his music and writing, is a synonym for
permutation, and thus it refers to both the act of permutation and also the
engendered permutations. In the following discussion the terms "permu
tation" and "interversion" will be used interchangeably.
The symmetrical permutation scheme A of lie defeu 2 permutes twelve
chromatic durations. The longest of these takes up twelve sixteenth-notes
but is reduced progressively down to the meagerness of only one
sixteenth-note (Examples 2 and 3). Each of the twelve chromatic dura
tions is assigned a fixed pc, dynamic and attack mode, and therefore the
twelve pes are reshuffled at the same time.9 In Traite III (p. 166)
Messiaen designates the symmetrical permutation scheme as 7/6/8/5/
9/4/10/3/11/2/12/1 to indicate that the chromatic durations occu
pying positions or columns 7, 6, 8, 5, 9, 4, 10, 3, 11, 2, 12, and 1 of a
Symmetrical Permutation and Messiaen's Catalogue d'oiseaux I 13
tie defeu 2 Scheme A ? 10 interversions of 12 chro

matic durations, each with a fixed pc,
dynamic and attack mode.
Scheme B ? 12 interversions of 12 pes,
each with the same duration,
dynamic and attack mode.
All available interversions are used and are
invariably superimposed in pairs. None of
the interversions is modified or curtailed.
Catalogue d'oiseaux Scheme C ? 35 interversions of 12 pes

(other parameters not fixed).
The use of all 35 interversions in a single

passage is a rarity. Selected interversions are
superimposed in pairs, juxtaposed or simply
left in isolation. Extra-musical annotations
abound.
Scheme D ? 36 interversions of 32 chro
matic durations.
Highly selective use of only one interver

sion to give shape to an intriguing piece of
"stone music."
Chronochromie, Scheme D ? 36 interversions of 32 chro

Sept hatka't, matic durations.
Couleurs de la cite celeste, The interVersions are no longer lined up
Saint Frangotsd'Assise, znd consecutively. The sizeable number of
Eclairs surl'audela components reshuffled might have led
Messiaen to abandon the setting of inter
versions in juxtaposed format. Instead, the
superimposition of three interversions, at
times left incomplete or modified, prevails.
EXAMPLE 1: SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEMES A-D
certain interversion will always take up columns 1-12 in the following

interversion. In other words, each integer listed in 7/6/8/5/9/4/10/
3/11/2/12/1, unlike those listed elsewhere in the same Example 3,
114 Perspectives of New Music
12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
?ar ff f mf "tfffffpp/fff
EXAMPLE 2: THE 12 CHROMATIC
Interversion 7/6/8/5/9/4/
I 6 7 5 8 4 9 3 10 2 11 1 12
II 3 9 10 4 2 8 11 5 1 7 12 6
III 11 8 5 2 1 4 7 10 12 9 6 3
IV 7 4 10 1 12 2 9 5 6 8 3 11
V 9 2 5 12 6 1 8 10 3 4 11 7
VI 81 10 63 12 45 11 279
VII 4 12 5 3 11 6 2 10 7 1 9 8
VIII 2 6 10 11 7 3 1 5 9 12 8 4
IX 1 3 5 7 9 11 12 10 8 6 4 2
X 12 11 10 987654321
EXAMPLE 3: SCHEME A OF thEDEFE

DURATIONS)
refers to a position rather than

arrangement of scheme A is a sp
12 and 6/5/4/3/2/1 and is exacd
the open-fan (retrograded) perm
d*orgue.10 The middle pair of du
ning of the next series, albeit in
of durations follow suit and so o
confines ten of the twelve chrom
and 9-12, leaving the remainin
standing columns (shaded).11 T
2-1-12 and 5-10, are thus in control. They are repeated to reach the
lowest common multiple (LCM) of the numbers of components con
tained in the two vertical sequences and stop short of regaining the initial
interversion. These specifications help reduce the astronomical number
of interversions (i.e., 12!) derivable from the reshuffling of twelve chro
matic durations down to ten interversions. While the way the linear
orderings interlace with the vertical ones stands out as an important hall
mark of the schema,12 Messiaen's explication of symmetrical permutation
remains restrictively linear in perspective.
In lie de feu 2 (pp. 1-7) Messiaen pairs up the ten interversions of
scheme A by superimposing interversions I on II, III on IV, and so on,
all overtly marked on the score.13 The ongoing pairing of interversions is
interrupted by scheme B, which directly precedes the climactic emer
gence of interversions IX and X of scheme A. As shown in measures 1-6
of Example 4, all the twelve interversions of scheme B are superimposed
in pairs and juxtaposed consecutively. Scheme B reshuffles twelve pes of
the same duration, dynamic and attack mode. The change of positions
between consecutive interversions can be designated as 5/10/4/7/1/
8/2/9/3/11/0/6, with each integer denoting once again a position
rather than a pc (Example 5).14 In order to illustrate the correlation
between the twelve permuted pes and the twelve positions, the positions
are denoted as 0-11 instead of 1-12 as in the case of the twelve chro
matic durations. Only one vertical sequence, 5-8-3-7-9-11-6-2?4-1
10-0, is in control, and therefore the number of interversions is delim
ited to twelve. The unifying use of sixteenth notes in scheme B to replace
the chromatic durations of scheme A foregrounds the circulation of
twelve pes in anticipation of the scheme C of Catalogue d'oiseaux, in
which symmetrical permutation joins forces with more elaborate twelve
tone writing.
The sudden growth from the ten and twelve interversions of (respec
tively) schemes A and B to the 35 interversions of scheme C (Example 6)
may seem astounding, but we must not overlook the fact that scheme C
remains closely modeled on scheme A, which likewise repeats the two
vertical sequences until they reach the LCM of the numbers of compo
nents contained in them. The LCM between 7 and 5 of scheme C, how
ever, greatly exceeds that between 10 and 2 of scheme A. Scheme C also
resembles schemes A and B of lie de feu 2 in that the concluding inter
version traces an orderly chromatic ascent, articulated in the miniature as
a momentous build-up.15 Messiaen confessed that what appears to be the
last interversion was in fact the point of departure.16 Schemes A, B, and
C thus share the same starting point and also the same disposition of two
discrete whole-tone hexads in their penultimate interversions.17 The
_Scheme B_
Vif_Interversion I_ _Interversion III_
< PP legato cresc.
(avec un peu de pedale) Interversion II Interversion IV
_Interversion V_ _Interversion VII_
Interversion VI Interversion VIII
_Interversion IX_ _Interversion XI_
/ cresc. motto
Interversion X Interversion XII
Scheme A_
Wet feroce
Interversion IX
Iff f P ff
Interversion X ?
4ff
(te thime, toujour* Jff) > ^
EXAMPLE 4: 1LEDEFEU2 (PAGE 6), SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEMES A AND

B
(016) trichord also assumes considerable importance

these symmetrical permutation schemes.
With the scheme A of lie defeu 2, Messiaen briefly ex
the symmetrical permutation of twelve chromatic durati
remain tied to the twelve pes and it is not until the sche
Interversion 5/10/4/7/1/8/2/9/3/11/0/6
1 CIT io^<^ d^Jfeg5JE>^> <3X ? J?>

II 8 0 1 C3T <ZgLJ> X> 11 7 6 5 2
in 3 <3C io ,_3xg_ cr _t>i><gL 2 j?> 4
IV 7 8 <IT 6 Jp 9 10 2 11 4 3 1
V 93528 11 04 CjP 1 ^> 10
VI 11 78436512 10 90
VII 6 9 3 <CCT^>
VTII 2 11 7 CjjO C
IX 4 6 9 0 11 1 7 5 10 CEC 2 3>
X 1 2 df 5 1) 10 9 8 0 3 4 7
XI 10 468 20 11 35719
XII 0123456789 10 11
EXAMPLE 5: SCHEME B OF lhEDEF

(016) IS ENCIRCLED)
chromie that he deals solely wit

matic durations. Scheme D is by
(Example 7). Messiaen's own wri
the same change of positions
25/1/8/24/9/23/16/17/18/
11/15/14/12/13) governs the w
in any two consecutive interver
that take up the third, twenty-eig
version will always come first, s
sion. Scheme D is unlike the e
symmetrical permutation of twelv
record high of 32 components.
sions?36?remains very close t
builds into scheme D five vertic
three (or multiples of three) chr
cuts down the number of interv
tical sequences and indicates the
1 CxT 0 <3_p4 ISXXT 7 <_DC?, ^j> 5

2 71 6j?>5 910Clf8 CXl
3 2 CL 0 2 <5>S>
11 Cgl^^jD
tD> 1> 01
4 11 2093751 10 846
5 5 11 6 3 4 2 10 8 9 10 7
6 15 7 <?Z 1QC^_^Q ^S> 9
7 012 10 8567349 11
8 60 11 891724 10 35
9 7659302 11 10 841
10 271346 11 589 10 0
11 11 2 0 4 10 7 5 19 3 8 6
12 5 11 6 10 <X 2 _X> 0 3
13 1 5 7 8 9 11 0 6 4 10 3 2
14 0 1 <X 9 _3> 5 6 7
15 6 0 11 3 4 1 d <X JE
16 7 6 CIT 4 TjX>0 2
17 271 10 86 11 53490
18 11 2 0 8 9 7 5 1 4 10 3 6
19 5 11 6 CSL 3 2> 1 0 10 8 4 7
20 15 7 3 4 11 0 6 8 9 10 2
21 0 12 <CI _Q.3> 6 7 9
22 6 0 11 10 CH 1 __3> 2 3
23 7 6 5 8 9 0 2 11 4 10 3 1
24 2 7 19 3 6 <_T 5 _
25 11 203475189 10 6
26 5 11 64 10 2109387
27 157 10 8 11 063492
28 0 d 2 j) 9 5 6 7 4 10 3 11
29 60 11 93172 10 845
30 7653402 11 89 10 1
31 2714 10 6 11 59380
32 11 2 0 10 8 7 5 13 4 9 6
33 5 11 6 dP 9 3> 1 0 4 10 3 7
34 15793 11 06 10 842
35 0123456789 10 11
EXAMPLE 6: SCHEME C OF CAT

OF 12 PCS; THE FIRST APPEAR
I_I_I_I_I I I_L_J_I_I_L_J_I_LJ_l_l |
V 10 28 1 12 3 29 5 2 17 26 8 9 16 6 4 30 14 23 20 21 19 31 32 25 18 7 27 11 22 24 13 15 _XXXVI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 ?g
"Tit I 3 28 5 30 7 32 26 2 25 1 8 24 9 23 16 17 18 22 21 19 20~~4 31 6 29 10 27 fl 15 14 12 13~ VIII 5 2 7 32 26 17 10 8 4 3 11 15 22 9 23 31 12 24 20 21 19 6 25 16 30 1 27 28 14 13 29 18 _j XI 10 8 1 25 3 4 5 11 23 26 28 18 14XII151 242 36293251330207 218 3119109 1611 22 3123 716276232121329917193020_}.21 25 17 4 12 26 27 28 24 15 18 14 Q XV 7 8 26 17 10 31 1 11 6 5 28 14 24 22 9 25 29 15 19 20 21 16 4 23 32 3 27 2 13 18 30 12 Q> XXIX 10 28 1 25 3 4 5 2 23 26 8 18 14 15 24 6 32 13 20 21 19 9 16 22 31 7 27 11 12 29 17 30 (T>
6th XVI 26 2 10 18 1 12 3 8 32 7 11 23 6 4 25 29 15 16 21 19 20_XVIII_1

17 30 3111133 54 275 6287 928229 1410 242 12_J13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 8 29 30 31 32 ? XXIII 10 8 1 12 3 29 5 11 17 26 28 9 16 6 4 30 14 23 20 2\ 19 31 32 25 18 7 27 2 22 24 XXVI 13 15 =3
VI 1 11 3 24 5 15 7 28 18 10 2 25 17 32 30 14 23 31 19 20 21 12 13 29 22 26 27 8 4 6 9 16 CO IX 7 28 26 13 10 18 1 2 30 5 8 16 4 25 31 12 24 6 19 20 21 32 29 17 14 3 27 11 23 9 15 22 B XX 5 2 7 14 26 13 10 8 29 3 11 6 25XXI31 177 28182622234 2010 219 1192 1530 5128 32 1529 11227182822164 3023 1924 209 O21 14 24 13 16 3 27 11 17 31 6 25 =3 XXTV 1 2 3 24 5 15 7 8 18 10 11 25 17 32 30 14 23 31 19 20 21 12 13 29 22 26 27528114 76 329 1626?~17 10 28 4 3 2 15 22 9 23 31 12 24 20 21 19 6 25 16 30 1 27 8 14 13 29 18 0> XXX 1 11 3 29 5 30 7 28 31 10 2 22 23 16 6 32 13 9 19 20 21 25 17 4 12 26 27 8 24 15 18 14 =_
30-14_23-31-l 2-24-6-32-13-9-25-29-15-16-17-18-22-4 *
II 5 11 7 14 26 13 10 28 29 3 2 6 25 31 17 18 22 4 20 21 19 30 12 32 15 1 27 8 16 23 24 9 4th X 26 11 10 9 1 22 3 28 14 7 2 17 30 29 12 24 6 32 21 19 20 13 15 18 23 5 27 8 31 25 16 4 g. 5th XIII 3 28 5 15 7 14 26 2 12 1 8 4 31 17 32 13 9 25 21 19 20 29 18 30 24 10 27 11 6 16 22 23 ? XVII 10 28 1 22 3 24 5 2 13 26 8 31 32 30 29 15 16 17 20 21 19 18 14 127th9 7 XIX27 113 8255 430237 326 _?26 11 25 1 28 24 9 23 16 17 18 22 21 19 20 4 31 6 29 10 27 2 15 14 12 13 E} 9th XXV 3 28 5 6 7 16 26 2 22 1 8 29 18 13 14 23 31 12 21 19 20 24 9 15 4 10 27 11 30 32 25 17 ^ XXXIII 7 28 26 17 10 31 1 2 6 5 8 14 24 22 9 25 29 15 19 20 21 16 4 23 32 3 27 11 13 18 30 12 S
III 7 8 26 23 10 9 1 11 15 5 28 32 29 12 18 22 4 30 19 20 21 14 24 13 16 3 27 2 17 31 6 25 3rd VII 3 8 5 6 7 16 26 11 22 1 28 29 18 13 14 23 31 12 21 19 20 24 9 15 4 10 27 2 30 32 25 17 ^ XIV 5 11 7 16 26 23 10 28 24 3 2 30 12 18 13 9 25 29 20 21 19 15 22 14 6 1 27 8 32 17 4 31 ~D XXVII 7 8 26 13 10 18 1 11 30 5 28 16 4 25 31 12 24 6 19 20 21 32 29 17 14 3 27 2 23 9 15 22 & 11th XXXI 3 8 5 15 7 14 26 11 12 1 28 4 31 17 32 13 9 25 21 19 20 29 18 30 24 10 27 2 6 16 22 23 ??

XXXII 5 2 7 16 26 23 10 8 24 3 11 30 12 18 13 9 25 29 20 21 19 15 22 14 6 1 27 28 32 17 4 31 D
2nd IV 26 2 10 31 1 25 3 8 16 7 11 13 15 24 22 4 30 14 21 19 20 23 6 9 17 5 27 28 18 12 32 29 10th XXVIII 26 2 10 9 1 22 3 8 14 7 11 17 30 29 12 24 6 32 21 19 20 13 15 18 23 5 27 28 31 25 16 4 ?T 12th XXXIV 26 11 10 18 1 12 3 28 32 7 XXXV

2 23 6 104 258 291 221531624215 1911 2013 1726 30283131133253027298 915221614172420Q_21 19 18 14 12 9 7 27 2 25 4 23 6 O
8th XXII 26 11 10 31 1 25 3 28 16 7 2 13 15 24 22 4 30 14 21 19 20 23 6 9 17 5 27 8 18 12 32 29 &>
Group Interversion 3/28/5/30/7/32/26/2/25/1/8/24/9/23/16/17/18/22/21/19/20/4/31/6/29/10/27/11/15/14/12/13

DURATIONS) ?
EXAMPLE 7: SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEME D OF CHRONOCHROMIE (36 INTERVESIONS OF 32 CHROMATIC
28"11-8-2 I_I I_I S.
3-5-7-2^10-1 I_I_I_I_I_I I
The exceptional case of 28-11-8-2, the vertical sequence that strings

together four durations, causes the total number of interversions to be
doubled. If we took the liberty of removing this vertical sequence and
the related columns, the second half of scheme D would be converted
into an exact replica of the first half. Despite the similarities between
schemes C and D, they are composed out in utterly different ways, to
which we will now turn.
Symmetrical Permutation and Twelve-Tone Completion
In Catalogue d'oiseaux I a block-chord series notable for its zealous pur

suit of twelve-tone completion fills the passage marked "chaos de blocs
ecroules du clapier Saint Christophe" (Examples 8 and 9). This extended
series of nothing but block chords comprises 54 contiguous twelve-tone
segments, the pitch sequences of which are strictly dictated by the inter
versions of the overriding scheme C. With the sole exception of interver
sion 35, which delineates a chromatic ascent, all available interversions
are engaged in an orderly manner, i.e., interversions 1-34 followed by
the restatement of interversions 1-20.
In Catalogue d'oiseaux III, when more fragmentary use of block-chord
series comes to be associated with "les falaises," yet another kind of rock
formation, the interversions are again in full control of the twelve-tone
writing. Example 10 lists the interversions that underlie the four passages
of "les falaises." Example 11, on the other hand, shows the unequivocal
presence of ragavardhana, candrakala and lakskmica, three of Messiaen's
most used Hindu rhythms, in the most extended "les falaises" passage.
Toward the end of Catalogue d'oiseaux XIII, which comes last in the
piano cycle, a slow and extended series of block chords takes shape to
depict "la nuit et le brouillard se repandent peu a peu" (Examples 12 and
13). In a footnote added to Messiaen's analysis of "Brouillards"
(Preludes, book II, no. 1), Yvonne Loriod draws our attention to this
passage.20 The fleshing out of a diminuendo from jff through ff, /, ?/,_*,
and pp all the way down to ppp is eventually destroyed by a sudden shift to
jQ9f("sirene du phare, dans la nuit"). As in the "chaos de blocs ecroules
du clapier Saint Christophe" and "les falaises" passages of Catalogue
d'oiseaux I and III, the block chords are tied up with Messiaen's obses
sion for twelve-tone completion, the realization of which is left to the
interversions. The interversions appear as superimposed pairs but are no
longer arranged in an orderly manner. Since neighboring interversions
often share pes and some interversions are retrograded (denoted by the
Symmetrical Permutation and Messiaen's Catalogue d'oiseaux 121
superscript r), the twelve-tone readings are less straightforward when

compared to the preceding ones.21
(chaos de blocs ecroules du Clapier Saint Christophe)
Mod6r6(J>=i20)
(Afiî Ia^#f ifiW' $m t j, i^mum

JOT (itiorme et puissant) 1**
< \ > simile etC.
interversion 1 interversion 2 interversion 3 interversion 4 interversion 5 interversion 6
simhavikra?ia
EXAMPLE 8: "CHAOS DE BLOCS ?CROULES DU CLAPIER SAINT CHRISTOPHE"

{CATALOGUED'OISEAUX I, PAGE 4)
Interversion
pp. 4-5 12 3 4 5 6 etc. 17 18 19 20 21 22 etc. 33 34

pp. 5-6 12 3 4 5 6 etc. 17 18 19 20 etc.
EXAMPLE 9: "CHAOS DE BLOCS ?CROUL_-S DU CLAPIER SAINT CHRISTOPHE"
(CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX I, PAGES 4-6)
p. 1 (mm. 1,4-5) interversion 16 17 21 22

p. 3 (mm. 2-7) interversion 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
p. 23 (mm. 4-5) interversion 8 10 12 14 (curtailed)
p. 24 (mm. 1-5) interversion 17 19 21 23 25 31 33 34
EXAMPLE 10: "LES FALAISES" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX III, PAGES 1, 3, 23-4)
By far the softest and swiftest use of extended block-chord series is

reserved for the passages devoted to the tone-painting of "l'eau reflete les
saules et les peupliers" in Catalogue d'oiseaux IX (Examples 14 and 15).
In what may reasonably be viewed as an attempt to capture the imagery
of reflections in water in musical terms, Messiaen resorts to a rhythmic
canon by augmentation. As the comes restates the dux in augmentation,
Model* (J>-ii6)
ffihH^bi if f f1',}, t fif, f V j, I

) <U*JaUiises)(rmk) Y V * E
Mgavwdhan Candrakatt I__ki_?a
EXAMPLE 11: "LES FALAISES" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX III, PAGE 24)
(lamdtetkbrmUUmlseripaMienlpeuApeu)
Lent (J>"?0)
____ , , . . ,
EXAM
D'O
Interversion
R.H. 6r29 7 12 16 20 21 22 19 26 33 29 32r 28r 1 20 16 4

L.H. 1 2r 13r 14 15 18 17 19 19 25r34 30r 31 27 21r19r24 29
EXAMPLE 13: "LA NUIT ET LE BROUILLARD SE R&PANDENT PEU A PEU"

(CATALOGUED'OISEAUX XIII, PAGES 16-7)
their counterparts grow progressively further apart in time, differing

from one all the way up to forty-eight sixteenth notes. The superimposi
tion of block-chord series that add up to a canon22 brings forth a flow of
contiguous twelve-tone segments, in which interversions 1-22 and sub
sequendy interversions 23-35 control the circulation of pes.23 There are
some irregularities, mainly the overlapping of pes between adjacent
twelve-tone segments, but the overall reference to the symmetrical per
mutation scheme remains clear.
(I'eau reflete les saules et les peupliers)
Vif (J> =152)
1 ^ '"[""":
interversion 1 interversion 2 interversion 3
EXAMPLE 14: "L'EAU REFLATE LES SAULES ET LES PEUPLIERS"

(CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX IX, PAGE 2)
pp. 2-4 interversion 1 2 3 4 5 etc. 18 19 20 21 22

pp. 17-8 interversion 23 24 25 26 27 etc. 31 32 33 34 35
EXAMPLE 15: "L'EAU REFLATE LES SAULES ET LES PEUPLIERS"

(CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX IX, PAGES 2-4 AND 17-8)
Elsewhere in Catalogue d'oiseaux, Messiaen's unique use of interver

sions as a resource of twelve-tone writing takes shape as note series rather
than block-chord series in pursuit of lighter and more fluid gestures.
Throughout the piano cycle we come across interversions that spin out
lines rather than chords to go along with the imagery of bird flight and
water flow. In all three cases discussed below, two melodic lines sharing
the same rhythm are superimposed to move mostly in contrary motion,
though the pace and the distribution of interversions differ. The occa
sional use of rests and varied durations in "vol des chocards" (Catalogue
d'oiseaux I) is strictly prohibited from "la buse plane en cercles?les orbes
de son vol emplissent tout le paysage" (Catalogue d'oiseaux XI) and
"l'eau" (Catalogue d'oiseauxXIII), which deliver twelve-tone writing in a
steady flow of equal durations.24
As we move from the first through the fourth passages marked "vol des
chocards,"25 we hear a notable growth in length and complexity, as more
interversions come to be juxtaposed and eventually also superimposed
(Examples 16 and 17). The six dyads of each interversion are verticalized
in the first to third passages of "vol des chocards." There are a few excep
tions, but this arrangement is not seriously violated. The superimposition
of interversions in the fourth passage (Example 16) assumes two differ
(vol des Chocards)
Vlf (J>-I60) ?_- _I7 bwr?r,_.2?
EXAMPLE 16: "VOL DES CHOCARDS" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX I, PAGE 9)
ent distribution modes. The setting of interversions 27 and 28 against 29

and 30, and following that 31 and 32 against 33 and 34, arrange the
interversions as groups of four.26 The pitting of interversions 23 against
24 and subsequently 25 against 26, however, arranges them as pairs. As
we will discuss shortly, these two distribution modes recur in Catalogue
d'oiseaux XI and XIII to underpin the superimposition of a good number
of interversions.
The twelve-tone writing of "la buse plane en cercles?les orbes de son
vol emplissent tout le paysage," a pair of passages devoted to the flight of
the buzzard, is regulated by interversions 1-32 (Examples 18 and 19).
Messiaen's remark that the buzzard circles in orbits that fill the entire
landscape is echoed by the arrangement of the interversions in groups of
four. That interversions 1-4 are followed by interversions 5-8, then 9-12
and so on, vaguely suggests a kind of circular motion. While the restric
tive use of eighth notes and the strict adherence to an orderly display of
32 interversions leave no room for variation, the dynamics and registers
are constantly adjusted to suggest the descent and the subsequent ascent
of the buzzard.27
In the closing piece of Catalogue d'oiseaux the systematic deployment
of interversions 1-34, grouped now in two rather than in four, is tied up
with the imagery of "l'eau" (Examples 20 and 21). Two-note series are
superimposed to move incessantly in sixteenth-note motion. Such rhyth
mic regularity lasts through the passage and indeed beyond it to the
ensuing depiction of "la nuit et le brouillard se repandent peu a peu."
While the sixteenth notes become replaced by slow-moving eighth notes,
the interversions continue to prevail. Messiaen's tone-paintings of
"l'eau" and "la nuit et le brouillard se repandent peu a peu" thus add to
yield a prolonged commitment to the symmetrical permutation scheme,
one that neatly balances the only other extended commitment to the
scheme in the opening piece of the cycle.
The first passage (p. 3)
Interversion 1 I Interversion 4 I Interversion 5

R.H. 6 11 10 7 9 8 0935 10 6 11 0238 7
L.H. 04 1235| 11271 84| 56419 10
The first and second dyads of interversion 4 plus the second and fo
dyads of interversion 5 are altered
The second passage (p. 4)
Interversion 7 | Interversion 8 | Interversion 9 | Interversion 10

R.H. 1 10 8 7 9 4 611 9 710 3 6 5 31110 4 2 1 611 8 0
L.H. 0 2563110 812 4 5| 7 9 0 2 8 1|7 3 4 59 10
The fifth and sixth dyads of interversion 7 are altered
The third passage (p. 8)
Interversion 13 Interversion 14 Interversion 15

R.H. 5 7 11 0 3 10 1 2 3 7 10 11 6 3 1 2 9 10
L.H. 8 1 694 2| 095684) 0 114785
Interversion 16 Interversion 17
R.H. 6 5 10 11 9 8 2 18 530
L.H. 74 0 231] 7 10 6 1149
The twelve pes of interversion 13 are laid out as three contig
tetrads
The fourth passage (pp. 9-10)
R.H. I interversion 27 28 : 31 32 j 23 ; 25
L.H. I interversion 29 30 ; 33 34 ; 24 , 26
EXAMPLE 17: "VOL DES CHOCARDS" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX I,

PAGES 3, 4, 8, AND 9-10)
(la Buse plane en cervles - les orbes de son vol emplissent tout le paysage)
Lent (J>-48)
Igp (kphalUpouMe)
-^^bd' t__J t*l P iJ >i J~* J **. ? *-.j a*.
EXAMPLE 18: "LA BUSE PLANE EN CERCLES?LES ORBES DE SON VO

TOUT LE PAYSAGE" (CATALOGUED'OISEAUX XI, PAGE 1)
R.H. interversion 1 2 j 5 6:9 10 ; 13

L.H. interversion 3 4 ; 7 8 j 11 12 \ 15
R.H. interversion 17 18 : 21 22 : 25 26 ; 29 30
L.H. interversion 19 20 j 23 24 j 27 28 I 31 32
EXAMPLE 19: "LA BUSE PLANE EN CERCLES?LES ORBES DE SON VOL

EMPLISSENT TOUT LE PAYSAGE" (CATALOGUED'OISEAUX XI, PAGES 1-2 AND
16-7)
(leau)
Mcxtere, un peu vif (J>=120)
EXAMPLE 20: "L'EAU" (CATALOGUED'OISEAUX XIII, PAGE 14)
Symmetrical Permutation and Dur?es Chromatiques
Throughout Catalogue dôiseaux, a whole spectrum of twelve-tone writ

ings?be it related to rock formations, fog, birds in flight or flowing
water?can be mapped to the same symmetrical permutation scheme.
Interversion
R.H. 13 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33
L.H. 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34
EXAMPLE 2 1: "L'EAU" (CATALOGUED'OISEAUX XIII, PAGES 14-5)
Since they cannot possibly be explained away as pure coincidence, we are

left with the question as to why Messiaen expounded in his writing all
except this symmetrical permutation scheme. The schemes A and B of lie
de feu 2 and the scheme D of Chronochromie are detailed in Traite III,
but the scheme C of Catalogue d'oiseaux is curiously missing. Coinciden
tally, Messiaen also left out from his delineation of scheme D the fact that
it makes a transient appearance in Catalogue d'oiseaux X. To my know
ledge, this is the earliest use of the scheme in his published works. In
many ways a strange piece, "Le merle de roche" contains a medley of
"stone music," in which block chords play an indispensable role.
Example 22 lists the "stone music" together with annotations and paren
thesized integers inserted by Messiaen to indicate the underlying chro
matic durations.28 The complete use of a series of 32 chromatic durations
appears only once to coincide with the most extended block-chord pas
sage (pp. 10-2), which is based exclusively on interversion I of scheme
D. This use of only one interversion is exceptional, for the interversions
of scheme D are, as a rule, superimposed to fabricate sophisticated rhyth
mic counterpoints. Most strikingly, it underlines a funeral procession
with stone ghosts carrying the corpse of a woman (cortege defantomes de
pierre, transportant une femme morte).29 It would be hard to imagine
that the evocation of such a surrealist scene had nothing to do with
Claire Delbos, whose death closely followed the premiere of Catalogue
d'oiseaux on April 15, 1959.
It is perhaps not surprising that the highly constrained use of only one
out of the 36 interversions of scheme Din Catalogue d'oiseaux X directly
precedes Messiaen's most enthusiastic use of the same scheme in Chrono
chromie, which features close to half of all available interversions and
marks his first use of this technique in an orchestral setting. Example 23
lists the distribution of interversions in Chronochromie. Significantly,
scheme D never quite left Messiaen, as it recurs in Sept baikai, Couleurs
de la cite celeste, Saint Francois d'Assise, and, in his last days, Eclairs sur
I'au-dela. Since the permuted components of scheme D are 32 chromatic
pp. 5-6 (Stegosaure de pierre) (17) (21) (9) (5) (11) (2) (8) (7) (23) (3) (31)
p. 6 (Stegosaure de pierre) (19) (25) (29)
p.7 (Dl^lc^doc^sd^pkrrl) (4) (3) (5) (12) (T3)"(2)"(8) (li)"(9)T^H27){6)

(10)(1)(7)
pp"l(T2 "cort^ d7fant6mes~ (3) (28)75) (30)77) (32)7267(2)7257(1)78)724)"
de pierre, transportant (9) (23) (16) (17) (18) (22) (21) (19) (20) (4) (31)
une femme morte) (6) (29) (10) (27) (n) (15) (14) (12) (13)
p. 21 " 7steios7ur7DTpl^ " (T3)7l)76)7l57(27(11) (7l)77)7l97(37w

docus, et divers mon- (29) (31)
stres?tout de Pierre)
p. 75 ^Stô7aure"d7pi?re7 (14)72l7( 16) (1) (S)^(9)(Z) (15)7l87?7l3)

interlaced with other - (5) (19) (3) (23) - (4) (7) (25) (32)
materials
EXAMPLE 22: THE "STONE MUSIC" OF CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX X
Introduction Strophe I Antistrophe I Strophe II Antistophe II Coda

XXXV + I-III XXVIII-XXX XXII-XXIV VII-IX XXXV +
XIII-XV XIII-XV
EXAMPLE 23: THE D

CHR ONOCHR O
durations rather than

time span, and a strai
lead us to arrive at a
time span. This is exa
chromie, which engag
in superimposed form
The rhythmic counte
versions I-III and XX
They literally fill the
indeed a single rest. E
of strophe I (measur
Messiaen's. The non-v
4m^
interversion 1 ^^ ^^ ?V
Im i"f "|.fi i Helm 1" MT m

2d. yon. 7***
mf PP (*0H If DP
vibrato) * Ml*
W * OB**
_* *
?. **
*^fi "'i' J .4 I. rftL

interversion 2 >.
?/ jr fro* pftntu) V^ * /? #p
-s- H T *fi 1 fIff" I

EXAMPLE 24: THE SUSTAINED STRING CHORDS OF CHRONOCHROMIE,
STROPHE I, MEASURES 1-2
sions, of which the tubular bells stand out in dynamic terms, color a myr
iad of time points and create a sound-band that flows through the
strophes. It would however be wrong to hear it as the crux of the music,
for this wealth of colored time is called upon to serve primarily as back
drop, against which the dazzling birdsong is projected. Chronochromie,
despite its charming title, remains essentially a birdsong piece and is
conceived in this sense as a sequel to Reveil des oiseaux, Oiseaux exotiques,
and Catalogue d'oiseaux.
Similar superimpositions of three interversions also inform other
movements of Chronochromie, indeed all except "epode," which is
designed to accommodate birdsong exclusively. In the antistrophes the
uninterrupted flow of interversions that typifies the strophes gives way to
the use of selected fragments of interversions, buried in a texture that
superimposes not just a trilogy of interversions but also Mexican bird
song and Klangfarbenmelodie. Messiaen's colored time is thus pitted
against colors of a more Viennese origin.30 In the outer movements of
Chronochromie fragments of interversion XXXV appear very briefly
before interversions XIII-XV fill the texture of three distinct passages. It
may have been the sheer length of the interversions of scheme D that led
him to the use of fragments of interversions or, alternatively, the frag
mented use of them. The superimposed interversions XIII-XV are, for
instance, introduced to the first movement but not completed until we
reach the last movement of Chronochromie. These tactics come only with
scheme D. The interversions of schemes A to C are restricted to the per

mutation of only twelve components and, perhaps because of that, are
rarely treated in such fragmentary fashion.
Epilogue
Messiaen had experimented with the symmetrical permutation schemes

A and B in lie defeu 2 before scheme C prevailed over scheme D in Cat
alogue dôiseaux. Nevertheless, only scheme D, first used in the strangely
surrealistic funeral procession of uLe merle de roche," stays on until the
end of the day. The deployment of interversions in lie defeu 2 is at its
simplest. In this miniature all available interversions of schemes A and B
are exhausted. Modification and curtailment are not allowed, and the
interversions are invariably superimposed in pairs. From Catalogue
d'oiseaux onward, however, such a literal use of interversions becomes
rare and is, in any case, no longer the only option. Meanwhile, the sharp
rise in the number of interversions (schemes C and D) and in the number
of components being reshuffled (scheme D) positively discourages the
successive use of all available interversions. Despite all these differences,
Catalogue d*oiseaux does not differ from lie defeu 2 in its use of interver
sions as regulators of the twelve pes, though extra-musical annotations
abound31 and interversions are more elaborately utilized to flesh out
what are at times impressive spans of twelve-tone writing.32
The scheme D of Chronochromie is the only such scheme to have
reshuffled chromatic durations rather than pes and to have extended
beyond the delimiting number of twelve. This is a major step forward
when compared with schemes A, B, and C, which are unanimously tied
up with the permutation of twelve pes. The complexity Messiaen man
ages to build into scheme D and his synaesthetic perception of twelve
tone music as essentially grayish-black in effect might have led him to
change irrevocably so as to lay his symmetrical permutation rules on
durations rather than pes and to abandon all except the privileged scheme
of Chronochromie.33 The grayish-black effects may be considered apt for
the bleak imagery of ruined blocks and cliffs of Catalogue d'oiseaux, but
perhaps less likely so for the reflection of willows and poplars in water.
The permutation of durations rather than pes in scheme D surely gives
Messiaen a free hand to color his music. In Chronochromie (strophes I
and II) as in Eclairs sur Vau-dela IV, the permuted durations are ornately
colored by his signature chords: the revolving chords (accords tournants),
the chords of transposed inversion on the same bass note (accords a ren
versements transposes sur la mime note de basse) and the chords of con
tracting resonance (accords a resonance contractu)}^
In "La nature, les chants d'oiseaux," an essay written for the premiere
of the complete set of Catalogue d'oiseaux on April 15, 1959, Messiaen
cried out:
Nature, birdsong! These are my passions. They are also my refuge.

In melancholy moments, when my uselessness is brutally revealed to
me, when every musical language, whether classical, exotic, ancient,
modern or ultra-modern, seems to me reduced to being merely the
praiseworthy result of patient research, without anything behind the
notes to justify so much labor, what else is there to do except search
for the true face of nature, forgotten somewhere in the forest, in the
fields, in the mountains, on the seashore, among the birds?35
This turn to a sonic depiction of the avian world is spelled out as the
only option left, a way to safeguard him from any possible use of tech
niques for techniques' sake. With Messiaen's brief note, we are undoubt
edly led to expect from Catalogue d'oiseaux a rich display of nature and
birdsong. He also helps us to hear them by inserting bird names and pic
turesque descriptions of scenery to the score, though without touching
on the coexistence of twelve-tone writings and the related use of a sym
metrical permutation scheme. This is in stark contrast to neighboring
works that adopt similar permutation tactics. Livre d'orgue, the preceding
keyboard work, contains Messiaen's specifications of various other
permutation schemes, while Chronochromie, which directly succeeds it,
contains his indications of interversions, but no such annotations appear
in the score of Catalogue d'oiseaux, nor in his written accounts of this
gigantic piano cycle.
In Traite III Messiaen takes great care to delineate the symmetrical
permutation schemes of tie de feu 2 and Chronochromie, and yet he
chooses to remain reticent about the scheme of Catalogue d'oiseaux and
also about the way it acts as a resource of twelve-tone writings. If
Messiaen's reference to his use of dodecaphony in Livre d'orgue strikes us
as strangely apologetic in tone, the symmetrical permutation scheme that
gives life to a profusion of twelve-tone writings in Catalogue d'oiseaux is
likely to have been kept as a secret. Surely his decision to disclose the
symmetrical permutation of 32 chromatic durations rather than that of
twelve chromatic notes reflects a careful weighing up of how the dis
closed details might be received by interested parties. For a discussion of
the symmetrical permutation scheme that governs the reshuffling of
twelve pes in Catalogue d'oiseaux, which for many epitomizes Messiaen's
gestural escape in the heyday of serialism, would most likely fail to secure
the memorable impact effected by his explication of the much more
sophisticated reshuffling of such abstraction as time in Chronochromie.
Notes
Research for this study was supported by the Research Grants Counci
(CUHK4111/03H).
1. Messiaen, Traite de rythme, de couleur, et dyornithologie, vol. Ill

(Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1996), 226.
2. Messiaen, Technique de mon langage musical (Paris: Alphon
Leduc, 1944).
3. Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone, Messiaen (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2005), 201. See also Anthony Pople, "Messiaen's Musical
Language: An Introduction," in Peter Hill, ed., The Messiaen Com
panion (London: Faber and Faber, 1994), 46.
4. See TraiteV/l (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1999).
5. TraiteIII,165 and 168.
6. Claude Samuel, Entretiens avec Olivier Messiaen (Paris: Belfond
1967), trans. Felix Aprahamian as Conversation with Olivier Messiae
(London: Stainer & Bell, 1976), 89-90; Harry Halbreich, Olivie
Messiaen (Paris: Fayard, 1980), 151; Messiaen, Musique et couleur
Nouveaux entretiens avec Claude Samuel (Paris: Belfond, 1986)
trans. E. Thomas Glasow as Music and Color: Conversations wit
Claude Samuel (Pordand, Ore.: Amadeus, 1994), 80-1; Traite III
7-76, 79-120, and 165-70; Traite V/2 (Paris: Alphonse Leduc,
2000), 467-70, and 501-5.
7. Messiaen, Guide du concert 229/3 (April 1959), 1093-4, in Pete
Hill and Nigel Simeone, Messiaen, 226-7.
8. The designation of these four symmetrical permutation schemes as
to D is mine.
9. Five dynamics and four attack modes are engaged alongside the
twelve chromatic durations and pes.
10. Traite III, 179 and 215.

11. See Robert Sherlaw Johnson's Messiaen (London: Dent, 1975), 109.
My Example 3 is modeled on his Table III.
12. Messiaen's setting of the modes of limited transposition as paralle
chord series adopts a similar tactic. See Wai-Ling Cheong,
"Messiaen's Triadic Colouration: Modes as Interversion," Music

Analysis, 21/1 (March 2002), 70-7.
13. While interversion I is superimposed on interversion II, the 12 pes
occupying the upper part are not aligned with those deployed in the
lower part since each of the 12 pes are assigned a different duration.
14. With scheme B, Messiaen did not specify the distribution of interver
sions I to XII, and thus we are left to speculate whether he super
imposes interversions I on II, III on IV, and so on, or if they are
deployed differendy. Depending on our assumption of the way he
deploys the twelve interversions, our interpretation of the permutation
scheme may differ. If we assume that Messiaen continues to adhere to
the format of scheme A and superimposes interversions I on II, III on
IV, and so on, then the interversion scheme is, 6/11/5/8/2/9/3/
10/4/12/1/7. However, if we read into the music the superimposi
tion of interversion I on VII, II on VIII, and so on, we come up with
a totally different interversion scheme, 9/1/2/10/11/4/5/12/8/
7/6/3, though this alternative reading is much weakened by the fact
that it generates only six of the twelve interversions.
15. The symmetrical permutation scheme D of Chronochromie ends with

an interversion that arranges the 32 chromatic durations as an
extended deceleration.
16. Traite III, 14, 165, and 168.

17. Any two consecutive interversions can fully define all the other inter
versions of a symmetrical permutation scheme. That the closing two
interversions of scheme A outline two whole-tone hexads and a
chromatic ascent is not shown in Example 3, which lists the symmet
rical permutation of twelve chromatic durations rather than pes.
18. Traite III, 14-38. Johnson's discussion of scheme D, probably with

details provided by the composer, precedes Traite III. See Johnson's
Messiaen, 159-60 and 176-7.
19. Only four if we disregard the confinement of duration 27 to column
27 as a vertical sequence. These vertical sequences are not simulta
neities in the strict sense, as each integer stands for a duration. Apart
from the constituent durations of the first vertical sequence, the
constituent durations of all other vertical sequences are mismatched
in time. They thus exist as important theoretical references that
remain inaudible. Messiaen's analysis of scheme D does not mention
any of the vertical sequences. Instead, he dwells on the numerical
orders of the contiguous fragments that constitute scheme D. See

Traite III, 14.
20. See Traite VI (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 2001), 157.
21. The immediate repetition of interversion 19 at around the mid-point
of the passage involves both hands to almost the same extent.
22. Both the dux and the comes very occasionally let in dyads or even
single notes.
23. Interversion 35, the chromatic ascent, appears last and is curtailed.
24. There are four passages of "vol des chocards," two passages of "la
buse plane en cercles?les orbes de son vol emplissent tout le pay
sage," but only one of "l'eau."
25. Two in each half of the piece.

26. Interversion 31 is altered by reversing the note sequence of 2 and 7;
the closing 2 is probably a misprint for 0. Similarly, interversion 33 is
altered by reversing the note sequence of 9 and 2.
27. The remarkably slow tempo ( J1 = 48) and the insistent pedaling of
dyads leads us to hear a schematic flow of dyads rather than two
superimposed lines.
28. Throughout Catalogue d'oiseaux Messiaen's use of parenthesized

integers to denote chromatic durations appears in "Le merle de
roche" exclusively.
29. In the set of recordings entided Olivier Messiaen: Integrale de

Voeuvre pour piano performed by Yvonne Loriod (Erato OME 1),
"Le merle de roche" lasts 18' 30" and this passage ends at 8' 54",
around the mid-point of the piece.
30. The superimposition of three interversions in both the strophes and

antistrophes is subservient to birdsong, but the interversions are
more influential in the strophes than in the antistrophes as they take
up more instruments, texture and also longer time spans.
31. Messiaen's insertion of programmatic annotations to impinge on our

perception of the twelve-tone music is a one-off act, which weakens
any inference that the use of symmetrical permutation to conjure up
the twelve pes in Catalogue d'oiseaux is integral to his rendition of
the underlying program.
32. Messiaen mosdy adheres to the interversions, but there are also cases in
which he treats the interversions in retrograde, introduces minor re
orderings of pes, or leaves out pes that would otherwise be duplicated.
33. Samuel, Music and Color, 241.
34. Traite VII (Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 2002), 142-7, 158-60, and
166-72. See also Wai-Ling Cheong, "Messiaen's Chord Tables:
Ordering the Disordered," Tempo 57 (2003), 5.
35. Guide du concert 229/3 (April 1959), 1093^.

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Symmetrical Permutation, the Twelve Tones, and Messiaen's "Catalogue d'oiseaux"

Author(s): Wai-Ling Cheong

In volume III of his Messiaen

An investigation of the manifold ways Messiaen utilized the scheme as

Symmetrical Permutation Schemes

Of the handful of symmetrical permutation schemes composed-out in

tie defeu 2 Scheme A ? 10 interversions of 12 chro

Catalogue d'oiseaux Scheme C ? 35 interversions of 12 pes

The use of all 35 interversions in a single

Highly selective use of only one interver

Chronochromie, Scheme D ? 36 interversions of 32 chro

EXAMPLE 1: SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEMES A-D

certain interversion will always take up columns 1-12 in the following

EXAMPLE 2: THE 12 CHROMATIC

EXAMPLE 3: SCHEME A OF thEDEFE

refers to a position rather than

< PP legato cresc.

(avec un peu de pedale) Interversion II Interversion IV

_Interversion V_ _Interversion VII_

Interversion VI Interversion VIII

_Interversion IX_ _Interversion XI_

Interversion X Interversion XII

(te thime, toujour* Jff) > ^

EXAMPLE 4: 1LEDEFEU2 (PAGE 6), SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEMES A AND

(016) trichord also assumes considerable importance

1 CIT io^<^ d^Jfeg5JE>^> <3X ? J?>

EXAMPLE 5: SCHEME B OF lhEDEF

chromie that he deals solely wit

1 CxT 0 <3_p4 ISXXT 7 <_DC?, ^j> 5

EXAMPLE 6: SCHEME C OF CAT

6th XVI 26 2 10 18 1 12 3 8 32 7 11 23 6 4 25 29 15 16 21 19 20_XVIII_1

2nd IV 26 2 10 31 1 25 3 8 16 7 11 13 15 24 22 4 30 14 21 19 20 23 6 9 17 5 27 28 18 12 32 29 10th XXVIII 26 2 10 9 1 22 3 8 14 7 11 17 30 29 12 24 6 32 21 19 20 13 15 18 23 5 27 28 31 25 16 4 ?T 12th XXXIV 26 11 10 18 1 12 3 28 32 7 XXXV

8th XXII 26 11 10 31 1 25 3 28 16 7 2 13 15 24 22 4 30 14 21 19 20 23 6 9 17 5 27 8 18 12 32 29 &>

Group Interversion 3/28/5/30/7/32/26/2/25/1/8/24/9/23/16/17/18/22/21/19/20/4/31/6/29/10/27/11/15/14/12/13

EXAMPLE 7: SYMMETRICAL PERMUTATION SCHEME D OF CHRONOCHROMIE (36 INTERVESIONS OF 32 CHROMATIC

28"11-8-2 I_I I_I S.

The exceptional case of 28-11-8-2, the vertical sequence that strings

Symmetrical Permutation and Twelve-Tone Completion

In Catalogue d'oiseaux I a block-chord series notable for its zealous pur

superscript r), the twelve-tone readings are less straightforward when

(chaos de blocs ecroules du Clapier Saint Christophe)

(Afi^i Ia^#f ifiW' $m t j, i^mum

interversion 1 interversion 2 interversion 3 interversion 4 interversion 5 interversion 6

EXAMPLE 8: "CHAOS DE BLOCS ?CROULES DU CLAPIER SAINT CHRISTOPHE"

pp. 4-5 12 3 4 5 6 etc. 17 18 19 20 21 22 etc. 33 34

p. 1 (mm. 1,4-5) interversion 16 17 21 22

EXAMPLE 10: "LES FALAISES" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX III, PAGES 1, 3, 23-4)

By far the softest and swiftest use of extended block-chord series is

ffihH^bi if f f1',}, t fif, f V j, I

Mgavwdhan Candrakatt I__ki_?a

EXAMPLE 11: "LES FALAISES" (CATALOGUE D'OISEAUX III, PAGE 24)

R.H. 6r29 7 12 16 20 21 22 19 26 33 29 32r 28r 1 20 16 4

EXAMPLE 13: "LA NUIT ET LE BROUILLARD SE R&PANDENT PEU A PEU"

their counterparts grow progressively further apart in time, differing

(I'eau reflete les saules et les peupliers)

Vif (J> =152)

interversion 1 interversion 2 interversion 3

EXAMPLE 14: "L'EAU REFLATE LES SAULES ET LES PEUPLIERS"

pp. 2-4 interversion 1 2 3 4 5 etc. 18 19 20 21 22

-^^bd' t__J tl P iJ >i J~ J **. ? -.j a.