First Notation: Exact Values Without Measure

Definition: Notating precise durational values without barlines (except to mark periods or accidentals), preserving the ametric conception by avoiding any metric framework that might suggest regular accent patterns.

Messiaen's Treatment: This notation writes exact values while saving barlines only to indicate periods and to make an end to the effect of accidentals (sharps, flats, etc.). Messiaen identifies this as evidently the best notation for the composer since it represents the exact expression of musical conception—what the composer actually imagines rhythmically, unmediated by metric conventions.

It is excellent for one performer alone or a few performers in a group. Messiaen notes that interpreters who feel strained by the rhythms can mentally count all short values (sixteenth-notes, for example) but only at the beginning of their work. This procedure could make performance disagreeably dull and would become a puzzle; performers ought, in course of time, to keep in themselves the feeling for the values without more, which will permit them to observe dynamics, accelerations, retards—all that makes an interpretation alive and sensitive.

Messiaen has used this first notation in organ works (La Nativité du Seigneur, Les Corps glorieux), vocal works (Poèmes pour Mi for voice and piano), Chants de terre et de ciel, and several movements of Quatuor pour la fin du Temps.

Modern Context: This notation represents the most theoretically pure approach—no compromise with metric convention. It anticipates later developments in notational reform:

• Proportional notation: Scores where spatial distance represents temporal duration (Cage, Feldman, Ligeti), though Messiaen still uses conventional note values rather than spatial representation
• Beamed groupings without barlines: Contemporary practice of organizing rhythms through beaming alone without metric framework (new complexity composers, spectral composers)
• Performer responsibility: Requiring performers to internalize temporal values rather than relying on metric framework—demanding high technical and musical sophistication

The pedagogical advice—that performers should initially count subdivisions but eventually develop direct feeling for values—reflects important insights about rhythmic performance practice. Metric counting can be a crutch that prevents direct rhythmic understanding; performers must ultimately internalize temporal relationships independently of metric subdivision.

This notation works best for solo or small chamber ensembles where performers can maintain temporal coordination through listening and individual temporal control. It becomes impractical in larger ensembles lacking conductor, where metric frameworks facilitate coordination.

Examples: No specific examples provided; Messiaen references works using this notation.