Timbre Specificity of ‘Ondes Martenot’ in Religious and Artistic Concept of O. Messiaen

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the figurative, semantic and symbolic specificity of the interpretation of the timbre of ‘Ondes Martenot’ in the context of the religious and artistic concept of O. Messiaen. Research methodology. The cultural-historical, interdisciplinary historical and cultural studies, as well as analytical and musicological methods were essential for this work. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that it is the first to introduce into art historical circulation materials on the timbre specificity of the electronic musical instrument ‘Ondes Martenot’ marked by the religious and artistic aspirations of O. Messiaen. Conclusions. O. Messiaen appears as a unique artist of the 20th century, whose work organically combines music, faith and philosophy. His art is not just a musical and sound design of sacred content, but a holistic religious and artistic concept, where each intonation or timbre element performs a symbolic, theological function. The composer’s worldview was shaped by the leading philosophers and theologians of the twentieth century – the Neo-Thomists J. Maritain and E. Gilson, P. Teilhard de Chardin, G. Marcel, and Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern), whose ideas about the unity of faith and reason, spiritual evolution, and liturgical synergy deeply resonated with his aesthetic vision. This fits into the broader context of modern culture, which sought to synthesise art, religion and science. Of particular importance for Messiaen’s ‘soundworld’ Messiaen’s ‘Ondes Martenot’ – an innovative electronic musical instrument whose timbre for the composer was a sonorous image of the invisible, transcendent. Their sound is a form of theological experience, an acoustic embodiment of Divine light and joy. In the works ‘Three Little Liturgies of the Divine Presence’ and ‘Turangalila Symphony’, ‘Ondes Martenot’ become an instrument of liturgical meaning – they symbolise the inner spiritual state, angelic voices, or even the Divine Presence itself. Their sound functions as a kind of materialisation of the immaterial. In our opinion, the various interpretations of ‘Ondes Martenot’ in Messiaen’s works are primarily united by the expression of the sacred, which appears multifaceted and dynamic. Depending on the context, this sound can represent nature, space or Christian symbols – from expressive sound to meditative atmosphere. It creates a sound space that goes beyond earthly experience, becoming a key element of the composer’s intonational language. Thus, O. Messiaen’s work demonstrates how music can become a mediator between the earthly and the heavenly, between the physical and the metaphysical. It affirms the unity of art and faith as the artist’s mission, and the timbral specificity of the ‘Ondes Martenot’ becomes a space of spiritual revelation.