Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Olivier Messiaen

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Olivier Messiaen was for more than sixty years organist of the Église de la Trinité in Paris and a deeply devout Catholic. He built his music on his own modes, on rhythms from India and ancient Greece and on birdsong, which he notated meticulously. He wrote his Quatuor pour la fin du temps as a prisoner of war in a camp near Görlitz, where it was first heard in January 1941. As a teacher he trained, among others, Boulez, Stockhausen and Xenakis.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Louange à l'éternité de Jésus and hear how the cello plays an endlessly slow melody above soft, throbbing piano chords.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also