Birds as an inpiration: La bouscarle by Olivier Messiaen

Melodic fragments of birdsong were an integral part of Western musical practices, since medieval times, in form of imitation and onomatopoeia. Looking at selected works from XIII to XX century should serve us as an example of imitation and onomatopoeia in Western musical practices. In XX century, the mentioned imitation and onomatopoeia are being replaced with the use of birdsong as a constructive element of a musical piece. Therefore, the use and studying of birdsong splits into two branches: 1) the use of recorded material, so to say musique concrète; 2) ornithological studies where birdsong is studied according to sonograms. According to that, a piece named La bouscarle by Olivier Messiaen (1902- 1992) will be examined . Messiaen's work in this (and all the other) pieces in cycle Catalogue d'oiseaux (1956-1958) consisted of walks trough nature and noting on paper the birdsong he heard. Next, the composer would, according to regular behaviour of birds and noted material, create a piano piece. Every piece contains a short preface in which Messiaen describes the area he is in.