Tim writes: >Messiaen said that the opening solo "should sound like a strangled >chicken". I wonder if Messiaen with his love of bird song ever used >the strangled chicken motif in any of his works? Not to my knowledge Tim, there's is a turkey though wandering around somewhere in act 5 of St. Francis of Assisie. The subject of the opera makes it of course highly improbable that we would strangle the poor creature. "Jos Janssen" <[log in to unmask]>