Messiaen

Messiaen has many very distinct influences in his music. One is his synastheticism. He is able to create many different musical colors based on this. His interest in color went even deeper. He was very interested in stain glass windows, and using the inspiration of their colors for his music. He tried to replicate bird songs in his music and in 1958 wrote a catalogue of birds. He is probably most famous for writing the Quartet for the end of time, written in 1940 in a concentration camp. For keyboard repertoire he is most known for his set of pieces entitled "Give my regards to Jesus." These were written not long after, in 1944. There are 20 small pieces each giving a different view of the birth of Jesus. Some of them are known for there very slow tempos that cause the listener to contemplate the music rather than feel it moving them in a certain direction.