 | |
 |  |
 |
The Reinvention of Religious Music
Olivier Messiaen’s Breakthrough Toward the Beyond
Sander van Maas
$55.00
ISBN: 9780823230570 Book (Hardcover) Fordham University Press 224 pages March 2009
|
|

|
|
“In his eloquent and detailed study, van Maas discusses the theological
meaning of Messiaen’s music and the ways in which this unique sound
world seeks to configure and even evangelize Messiaen’s Christian thought.
Van Maas presents an absorbing and provocative insight into Messiaen’s
faith in music that will enhance appreciation of this often-misunderstood
composer and his work.” —Andrew Shenton, Boston University Present-day music studies conspicuously evade the question of religion in
contemporary music. Although many composers address the issue in their
work, as yet there have been few attempts to think through the structure
of religious music as we hear it.
The work of Olivier Messiaen is well known for its inclusion of religious
themes and gestures. On the basis of a careful analysis of Messiaen’s
work, this book argues for a renewal of our thinking about religious music.
Starting from an analysis of his 1960s oratorio La Transfiguration de
Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ, van Maas arranges a moderated dialogue
between Messiaen and the music theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the
phenomenology of revelation of Jean-Luc Marion, the rethinking of religion
and technics in Jacques Derrida and Bernard Stiegler, and the Augustinian
ruminations of Søren Kierkegaard and Jean-François Lyotard. Ultimately,
this confrontation underscores the challenging yet deeply affirmative
nature of Messiaen’s music.
| SANDER VAN MAAS is Professor of Musicology at Utrecht University and
Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Amsterdam. |
|
<< See other titles in the "Music" category
|
|