Fourth Notation: False Meter with Exact Accentuation

Definition: Writing ametric rhythms in conventional metric notation (normal meters, regular barlines) but using syncopations and performance indications (slurs, dynamics, accents) to produce the intended rhythmic effect, accepting the contradiction between notated meter and actual rhythm.

Messiaen's Treatment: This is the easiest notation for performers since it disarranges their habits in no way. It consists of writing in normal meter a rhythm which has no relation to it, using syncopations. This procedure is indispensable when having several musicians perform a superposition of several rhythms, complicated and very different from each other.

In order to produce the effect, it suffices to multiply the indications of slurs, dynamics, and especially accents exactly where one wants them. This notation is false since it is in contradiction to the rhythmic conception of the composer, but if the performers observe the indicated accents well, the listener hears the true rhythm.

Messiaen used this notation in several movements of Quatuor pour la fin du Temps.

Examples 65–69 demonstrate the approach:

• Example 65: A rhythmic fragment as conceived by the composer (first notation)
• Example 66: Third notation—the same fragment with rhythmic signs
• Example 67: Second notation—another fragment with metrical changes
• Example 68: Another fragment as conceived (first notation)
• Example 69: The same written in false meter with exact accentuation (fourth notation)

Messiaen emphasizes that whether music is measured or not, values there are always notated very exactly—the performer has then only to play the values indicated.

Modern Context: This represents the most pragmatic compromise—accepting notational falsification for performative practicality. This approach:

• Preserves performer comfort: Musicians read familiar metric notation using established skills
• Relies on interpretive markings: Accents, dynamics, articulations convey actual rhythmic intent despite contradictory metric notation
• Facilitates coordination: In complex polyrhythmic textures where different parts require different meters, a single false meter simplifies score reading and conductor coordination

This represents standard practice for much twentieth-century music:

• Stravinsky's later works: Often use regular meters with extensive syncopation and accent markings to produce irregular effects
• Jazz notation: Regular meters with syncopation and swing markings to produce complex rhythmic effects
• Contemporary orchestral music: Frequently employs this compromise for practical reasons

The admission that this notation is "false"—in contradiction to compositional conception—reveals Messiaen's awareness of notation's limitations. The score becomes a set of instructions for producing sounds rather than a representation of musical ideas. Notation functions pragmatically (communicating to performers) rather than theoretically (representing compositional thought).

The critical point is Messiaen's insistence on exact values—regardless of notational method, the precise durational relationships must be maintained. The notation may be compromised, but the rhythmic precision is not.

Examples: Examples 65–69 demonstrate the same material in different notational systems, facilitating comparison.