Organ & Lecture - Messiaen and Wild Birds

Organ concert & lecture: Messiaen's bird music meets real wild birds – a multimedia experience for heart and senses.

Olivier Messiaen(1908–1992) is known to many as a friend of bird songs. He not only collected, categorized, and meticulously noted bird songs in a remarkably natural manner during his intensive work as an ornithologist over many years, but also cited them repeatedly in numerous works. Remarkably many of his organ compositions feature bird songs. They are never merely ornamental, as was the case in earlier times (e.g., in Handel's organ concerto "Cuckoo and Nightingale"), but play an almost metaphysical role in his music with numinous effect. They seem to connect heaven and earth..
Messiaen created a unique body of work that unites creation, represented by the bird songs, the Creator, profound theological thoughts, Indian rhythms, Gregorian chant, and his own musical language into a profound whole, through the connection of his musical abilities, his profoundly deep faith, and much creativity.

Johannes Trümpler has always particularly appreciated Messiaen in his work as an organist and has engaged with his music for over 25 years. Since 2024, he has been working alongside his role as regional cantor at the Wild Bird Care Station Kirchwalde e.V. The work with numerous animals that appear in Messiaen's organ music inspired the idea for the project. The birds that arrive at Kirchwalde are often severely injured and in need of help, yet they still radiate a special dignity even in great distress. The project places the birds in Messiaen's work at the center: The Wild Bird Care Station portrays the bird species cited in the organ pieces, the birds are represented through videos visually and with their original songs, and Messiaen's music creates space for deepening and internalizing the experience.