LDV49.1

73 LOUIS THIRY There is another particularity of our composer’s relationship with the organ: he does not hesitate to use an instrument a priori intended for polyphony, to sing simple monophony (listen, for example, to the luminous monophony interspersed between the sombre rumblings of the Offertoire of the Messe de la Pentecôte ). Messiaen is always described as a harmonist of genius and a peerless rhythmist, but it is in melody that he seems to be most profoundly himself. In this respect Iwould like tocite themelodyplayedon thepedalboard in the Pièce en trio (the fifth piece of the Livre d’Orgue ). The question of the registrations suggested by Messiaen deserves our attention. For him, as we know, the organ of reference was that of La Trinité. For the greater part of his output, therefore, the registrations are conceived with that instrument in mind. Contact with it gave Messiaen some magnificent strokes of inspiration: Les Mages ( La Nativité ), Les oiseaux et les sources ( Messe de la Pentecôte ), Les mains de l’abîme ( Livre d’Orgue ), among others. But for him, paradoxically, if the organ is a concrete instrument, which he played regularly, it is also an ideal one. Of course, we are aware of Messiaen’s exceptional auditory faculties, but we also know that, in hearing, subjectivity and imagination play a significant role: it may happen that we only hear what we want to hear.