A music professor, his organ students and the UT Music and Culture Society will present “Messiaen: A Centennial Celebration” in the James R. Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building Sunday at 6 p.m.
The event consists of an hour-long recital of pieces from Olivier Messiaen, performed by professor John Brock and the students, followed by the screening of Paul Festa’s film, “Apparition of the Eternal Church,” in Room 232 of the Alumni Memorial Building at 7:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.
Since the beginning of the fall semester, Brock and his students have been working on pieces written by Messiaen, an influential 20th century organ composer. This year marks the 100-year anniversary of Messiaen’s birth. Brock said he “wanted to recognize the centennial of this important organ composer.”
But the idea of the celebration began about a year ago when Christopher Hamblin, a senior in music and one of Brock’s students, saw Festa’s film. The film is a series of interviews in which people “from all walks of life” wear headphones and respond to the musical piece, “Apparition of the Eternal Church.”
“It explores the question, ‘Why do we listen to music at all?’” Hamblin said.
He showed the film to Brock, who was already planning a Messiaen recital. Since then, they have been working with Jeremiah Davenport of the UT Music and Culture Society as well as the Distinguished Lecture Series in Musicology to bring the film to campus.
“The society’s focus is the cultural, societal and historical aspects of music,” Davenport said.
Davenport said he hopes the audience will take away an understanding of “how differently people react to the piece… especially after having just heard it” for themselves.
“If you come expecting normal organ music, you will be shocked … it’s contemporary,” said Mark Stewart, a senior in biological sciences. He will be playing “Force et Agailet des Corps Glorieux.”
Hamblin said, “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever played. Messiaen did away not only with tonality but meter and all sense of time.” Because of this, the organists have to create different methods of counting.
But creating new counting patterns is not the only challenge of Messiaen’s music. Sometimes he creates “dissonant chords that are painful to listen to. He wrote what he wrote and not for mass consumption,” Hamblin said.
Stewart explained the reason. “It sounds like jumbled chords, but he was envisioning colors rather than chords,” he said. Messiaen had mild synesthesia, allowing him to see colors when experiencing music.
Brock said he hopes this event will give the audience “insight into Messiaen’s music,” including “what goes on in his mind when he writes.” Hamblin said he wants “people to be challenged to new ways of listening. Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t sit through it.”
Hamblin emphasized the uniqueness of this celebration. “Even in New York we don’t get an hour of Messiean on the organ,” he said. “I’m very grateful to have a faculty to support it.”
