Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Copy score with autograph additions and annotations of Sept Haïkaï, esquisses japonaises pour Piano solo, xylophone, marimba, et petit orchestre, [1963]
Corrected copy of the score, including revealing interpretative commentary, for this Japanese-inspired work.

Photographic copy of the manuscript for the orchestral score, title and 78 leaves, 400 x 303mm, annotated on the title page 'partition corrigée et prête pour la gravure', autograph annotations in pencil throughout; a few annotations in red pen by Pierre Boulez; stamps of SACEM, dated 13 November 1963, and the publishers Alphonse Leduc. Ring-bound, card covers.

Provenance:
(1) Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), conductor at the first performance: annotations in red pen, including in capital letters on title 'Prière instante de ne pas ajouter d'indications inutiles – merci', with a layout for the orchestra (cancelled in pencil by Messiaen), and a few other conducting notes in red and blue pencil.

(2) Alde, Paris, 17 June 2016, lot 254.

(3) Schøyen Collection, MS 5575.

Messiaen's annotations include the plan of the 'disposition de l'orchestre' on the verso of the title page, a note of the total duration ('18 mins., 40') and in addition to proofing and amending individual notes and dynamics they include a numbering of commentaries, amongst them substantial introductory texts on the titles of sections I, IV, V and VII, the first of which reads 'Cette pièce est ouvragée et grimaçante, comme les démons qui gardent l’entrée des Temples Bouddhiques. Il n’y a pas de mélodie principale. Les violons sont peu importants – ils expriment un sentiment figé, sans plus – et sont un chant parmi d’autres choses. On entendra surtout le xylo, le marimba, le piano, et les bois : mais on doit aussi percevoir le reste, et tout compte. ... Pour tous les instruments : bien observer toutes les nuances. C’est indispensable à la clarté de la pièce'. The annotations particularly indicate which instruments are to be most prominent in each section, e.g. in section II notes the three clarinets and marimba; others indicate what atmosphere is envisaged.

The work was composed by Messiaen after a trip to Japan on his honeymoon with his second wife, Yvonne Loriod; the premiere was on 30 October 1963 under Boulez, with Loriod at the piano. The dedicatees include Loriod, Boulez and 'the landscapes, the music and all the birds of Japan'.