Le merle noir
Encyclopedia
Le merle noir is a chamber work by the French
composer
Olivier Messiaen
for flute
and piano
. It was written and first performed in 1952 and is the composer's shortest independently-published work, lasting just over five minutes. This work has become a staple of the French
flute
and piano
repertoire
.The composition originated in a commission for a test piece for flute
for the Paris Conservatoire, at which Messiaen was a professor. The winners of the premier prix in the Concours de flûte that year were Daniel Morlier, Jean Eustache, Jean Ornetti, Régis Calle and the British flute player Alexander Murray.Messiaen had a consuming, lifelong interest in ornithology
and particularly bird song
s. While not his first work to incorporate stylised birdsong, Le merle noir was the earliest of his pieces to be based mainly on birdsong, and it foreshadows Messiaen's later, more extended birdsong-inspired pieces.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
for flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. It was written and first performed in 1952 and is the composer's shortest independently-published work, lasting just over five minutes. This work has become a staple of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
repertoire
Flute repertory
Flute repertory is the general term for pieces composed for flute and often played by flautists. The following lists are not intended to be complete, but rather to present a representative sampling of the most commonly played and well known works in the genre...
.The composition originated in a commission for a test piece for flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
for the Paris Conservatoire, at which Messiaen was a professor. The winners of the premier prix in the Concours de flûte that year were Daniel Morlier, Jean Eustache, Jean Ornetti, Régis Calle and the British flute player Alexander Murray.Messiaen had a consuming, lifelong interest in ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
and particularly bird song
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
s. While not his first work to incorporate stylised birdsong, Le merle noir was the earliest of his pieces to be based mainly on birdsong, and it foreshadows Messiaen's later, more extended birdsong-inspired pieces.