LDV49.1

75 LOUIS THIRY This precision in the markings clearly shows the author’s intentions. To ignore it is a musical misinterpretation, because respect for dynamic relationships must, it seems to me, take precedence over accuracy of timbres – which is a very difficult notion to objectify. In a suggested registration, it is not always easy to distinguish the essential from the accessory. Take for example the pedal part in La Vierge et l’Enfant . Messiaen asks for Flûte 4, Nasard, Tierce, Piccolo. The pedal part must in a sense envelop the manual parts without dominating them. On the organ of La Trinité one can indeed obtain this balance, but elsewhere it is often necessary to seek equivalents. To do this, we are guided first by the dynamic markings of the three divisions, then by the basic pitches (16 foot for the right hand, 8 foot for the left hand, 4 foot for the pedal). As far as the pedal is concerned, we can start from the general idea: 4 foot + high stop in a tessitura above that of the manuals (for example a Petite Mixture).