"Messiaen the Borrower: Recomposing Debussy through the Deforming Prism"

This article shows, through a new reading of Messiaen9s Technique de mon langage musical and examples of his composing with elements found in the music of Debussy, that borrowing plays a more central role in his compositional practices than has previously been recognized. Messiaen9s conscious reuse of Debussy9s music spans his entire career, and primarily involves passages from Pelleas et Melisande and a handful of piano works. Using his descriptions of Debussy9s influence, his analyses of Debussy, and his own theoretical writings, we examine examples of Messiaen9s musical borrowing in terms of compositional strategy. Four groups of case studies show how he transforms borrowed harmonic material, creates meaning, borrows gesture, and composes texture and form by combining different types of borrowed material.