Lara Poe

Messiaen analysis
Danse du bb-Pilule
The piece appears to be in an extended ternary form, with the outer sections
being in a sort of bar form. The complete form is A B C B A, and this is highlighted
in many ways, including through harmonic treatment, melodic lines and other
features. With tonal music, key is a determiner of form- here, mode and treatment of
mode, as well as motives, are determiners of form.
In terms of tonality, the piece itself seems to be in A major- it starts with an
octatonic-sounding passage in 21, but then incorporates properties of A major into the
second part of the phrase, even beginning the phrase with an A major triad. Note that
the longest notes of both the first and second halves of the phrase are the last notes of
these passages, and in both cases the pitch is A. At the end of this page, at Plus Lent,
the vocal line drifts into E diatonic, which tonally speaking would suggest V of A
major. Through a T3 operation of this vocal line, the voice drifts into a dimished triad,
which is harmonized the same way the opening line of the piece was harmonized.
However, now Messiaen uses this third relationship to slide into E flat diatonic.
While this is a rather remote key, the use of third relations to modulate is a
characteristic of later tonal music, especially from the romantic era.
This characterizes the tonal structure of the first section of this piece. In terms of how
the texture interacts with modes, the first page until Plus Lent is in 21, highlighting the
versatility of this mode. Here it switches to mode 7- 75 in the piano (aside from the
voice doubling in the right hand) and 73 in the voice. This continues until Au Mouvt,
where it switches back to 21. It then stays in this mode until B.
At section B, there is an interesting interaction between the piano and the
vocal part. The vocal part is in B flat Lydian (which I call because it appears to be
centered around B flat) for the first two phrases of B. Messiaen presumably arrived
here through E flat diatonic. However, during this time the piano has C diatonic
chords for the first measures of these phrases and is chromatic for the second bars. In
the diatonic bars, the voice has a C diatonic subset, and reaches B flat on the
chromatic bar. Looking closely, it seems the B flat in the vocal part is doubled as an
A sharp in the piano right hand.
Next, at measure 32, the voice moves to B diatonic, whereas the piano stays in
C diatonic in the left hand, moving to B diatonic in the right hand. In this case, it
appears the chromaticism from the previous bar has been split between the hands.
This continues through measure 35, and at 36 Messiaen moves to F# diatonic in the
voice- a fifth relationship. He keeps this over 21 and 22 in the piano. It is also
important to note that Messiaen is doubling a lot of the vocal line in the top voice of
the piano right hand. Eventually, Messiaen introduces mode 71 with highlighted
subsets that are also contained in 12. Then, three bars before section C, he moves to
12, which he foreshadowed in the two previous bars. However, its 12 with added
quartal harmonies in the inner voices. This makes sense, as generally Messiaen does
not use mode 1 unless its harmonized or juxtaposed against something else.
It appears Messiaen often approaches this passage as if he is moving through a
circle of fifths, or at least he connects passages by fifth quite a lot. Third relationships
seem to be fairly common as well. For instance, he seems to have obtained the B
diatonic at 32 from a possible voice leading from E flat diatonic. One could also
argue that he could have obtained it from a voice leading from 21 a few measures
earlier. There are only a few common tones between the two scales, but at measure

22-23 it could be argued that Messiaen is emphasizing the F sharp and D sharp which
are common tones between 21 and B diatonic. Using common tones to modulate
between modes is a common tonal procedure as well.
From B diatonic onward, the voice moves through F sharp diatonic and C
sharp diatonic, both of which are fifth relationships. However, this is against various
modes of limited transposition including octatonic and mode 7. Even with these
modes, Messiaen appears to be imitating tonal procedures- in his moving between 22
and 21, he appears to be using these two modes as a kind of dominant-tonic
relationship. This is mirrored in the voice, which centers around C# when the piano is
in 21 and around F# when the piano is in 22.
When he reaches section C, Messiaen brings the piano and voice back into the
same mode again- 23 this time. This lasts until measure 44, where 11 and 21 are
juxtaposed against each other for a measure, before jumping into 31. At 45, even
though all the parts fit into 31, the left hand also fits into C diatonic, yet again bridging
the gap between symmetrical modes and diatonic modes. This lasts until the next
measure, where C diatonic is juxtaposed against F sharp diatonic. At measure 48, 75
and 22 are juxtaposed against something resembling B flat harmonic minor in the
voice. This appears to be a significant moment in the piece, in terms of dynamic,
register and juxtaposition of octatonic and mode 7 with a heptatonic collection.
Examined more closely, it appears the Messiaen has extracted the vocal line and
harmonized it with various chords, mostly triads, within mode 7, solidifying the
feeling of possible B flat harmonic minor. B flat then moves to D harmonic minor in
the voice (yet another third relationship), with the piano moving to 33 and 23,
separated by hand. This is then present until measure 58, where Messiaen takes a T7
of material from measures 49-53 (hinting at E harmonic minor), and juxtaposes that
over mode 71 and 22.
The form of this piece is symmetrical, and therefore when we arrive at the
second B section, it very much resembles the first in many ways. However, in this
case the transition to F sharp diatonic is faster than in the first instance, and it happens
through a passage that is somewhat ambiguous. F sharp and B diatonic share all but
one pitch (E#/E natural) and this pitch is not present in the voice line until well into
this section. This makes for a very smooth transition between B and F sharp diatonic.
The next part of B is elaborated from the first instance, with the same 21 and 22
patterning, but with 32, 71 and 72 added as well. Sometimes the piano doubles the
voice part, with the right hand in F sharp diatonic for a few moments. There are also
chromatic passages in parallel fourths, but in essence the material is really quite
similar to the first iteration of B. At 73 we get an elaboration on measure 40- F#
diatonic in the voice is doubled in the piano right hand with F# diatonic
harmonization, whereas in the left hand 12 is harmonized with quartile and tertile
harmonies. In the next measure, this moves to 12 harmonized with quartile and tertile
chords in both the piano parts and the voice. The last chord of 76 is in 75 and
transitioning to the next section, which appears to be an elaboration on material from
C, but other sections as well. It uses mainly mode 2 in all transpositions, with the
exception of a few 73 instances and a G natural at measure 82 that is used to transition
between two octatonic modes. Messiaen then moves back into A with a chromatic
passage combined with 22. Modally and harmonically, this section is very much like
the first A, even more so than the similarities between the B sections. This section
lasts until measure 119, with Io! in the text, where Messiaen juxtaposes 75 against 12
and then procedes to harmonize 12 with quartal harmonies. Next, Messiaen takes a
passage in 21 that suggests E (V of A) and then resolves it up in a glissando to a

definitive A cadence. He then ends the piece with an A major triad with an added F
sharp.
A characteristic chord of the tonality A in this piece is the A major triad + scale
degree 6 (so F# in this case). It appears first directly after the A major triad, as an
elaboration of that chord. There are moments when it appears throughout the piece,
but it is also the last chord present in this work. The soprano has an A while the piano
plays A major with an added F#. Triads are also characteristic in the modes,
especially in the octatonic where they are extracted to reflect different kinds of
tonality within this mode. Quartal harmonies are also quite common, especially when
derived from the whole tone modes. In short, this piece revolves around the
interactions between symmetrical and mostly diatonic modes, and these interactions
are highlighted by the chords used to bridge these two types of modes.