Music and color

Music often projects color,as does the sense of smell. I do not have synthesia,yet often I can associate smells with colors. I think this is what Olivier Messiaen attempted to do with his music,the tonal scales producing such sensations. While listening to the various works of Messiaen,his density is followed,often it seems, by quiet.His love,obsession,with birdsong finds its way on to almost all of his post 1950's work. I think in his birdsong is the key to Messiaen, trying to if not imitate the pure sound,to reproduce it for those of us who could not hear it. Interesting, actually, is Messiaens view of color and sound, crossed with Ken Kesey's,both looking for God ,their muses differing,yet their lives color soaked ,in bright vivid neon{Kesey wore ,maybe helped bring along tie-dye, Messiaen favored loud,brightly colored Hawaiian shirts.}While not attempting a false synthesis, both remind me ,often, of the ending 15 minutes of Kubriks masterpiece,2001,A Space Odyssey,when the astronaut David Bowman,peers into the vastness and says[in the book,anyway} "My God, it's full of stars!" then flies through color never before seen. That, to me is Messiaen and Kesey{ and Arthur C. Clarke}, all of us, standing on the abyss where God is...