Prize: Awarded the 2009 Max. B Miller Book Award from the American Guild of Organists Organ Library �... the book is packed with creative and critical thinking.� Tempo �... Shenton's book ...is of fundamental importance ...(his) approach is the deepest and most empathetic to Messiaen that I have yet come across. There is so much to be learnt from this book, and as such, I recommend it wholeheartedly to those, like me, who regard Messiaen as the seminal composer of organ music in the twentieth century.� Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies � ... (an) exhaustive study ...Its thoroughness is admirable, and the excursions down the by-ways leading from the central argument are thought-provoking and interesting. Shenton always puts both sides of his argument, in which he is helped, perhaps unfortunately, by the frequent ambivalence of Messiaen himself.� The Organists' Review �It is good that in this anniversary year we have such an important study of Messiaen's music as this one. Andrew Shenton has amassed a wealth of material from a wide range of sources to produce an excellent 200 page scholarly work that will do a considerable amount to aid the understanding and interpretation of the composer's output. ... There is also a select discography, a full bibliography, a glossary, and a good index. There are so many ways in which this book stands out as being impressive... above all the way in which Shenton brings together all the material in such a detailed and comprehensive study of the music.� The Organ