couleur
French composer
Definition
Colour — Messiaen experienced genuine synaesthesia, perceiving specific colours when hearing particular chords or modes. He notated colour associations in his scores and Traité, and these guided his harmonic choices structurally.
Interpretive Guidance
Messiaen's scores and preface notes often include written colour descriptions alongside the music. These are structural markers, not just poetry. Understanding the colour-harmony relationships helps explain harmonic progressions and aids in voicing chords for maximum luminosity at the top.