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Article: The plainsong of The Double Dream of Spring: John Ashbery, Olivier Messiaen, and rituals of the sacred.(Critical essay)
- Article from:
- Philological Quarterly
- Article date:
- June 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 University of Iowa. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In all this springing up was no hint Of a tide, only a pleasant wavering of the air In which all things seemed present, whether Just past or soon to come. It was all invitation.
John Ashbery, "Scheherazade," Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirro (1)
One of the most striking features of some of Messiaen's music is that it makes one conscious that everything in it is within a context of something bigger. There is the sound behind the sound, the longer duration behind the shorter one, the slower rhythm behind the quicker one. And behind all movement there is an awareness of stillness, behind all sound an awareness of silence, and behind all measured time an ...