Est 1923

Messiaen Visions de l'Amen

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Olivier Messiaen

Label: Kontrapunkt

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 53

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 32031

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Visions de l'Amen Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Rodolfo Llambias, Piano
Tove Lønskov, Piano
Visions de l'Amen is a wartime piece and thus a close contemporary of the Quatuor pour la fin du temps. It cultivates much the same exalted imagery in much the same musical embodiment (both works were extensively cited in Messiaen's textbook Technique de mon langage musicale compiled in 1944). Surprisingly this is the first single CD recording in the British catalogue, the Labeque sisters' fine account only being obtainable as part of Erato's 17-CD anniversary edition ((CD) ECD71580, 4/89). It surely won't be long before other rivals appear, but in the meantime this Danish husband-and-wife team (Llambias is actually Argentinian-born) have produced something very much better than a stopgap.
This much is evident from the beautifully judged growth of the opening ''Amen de la Creation''. It's a pity piano 1 briefly doubles the tempo at one point (4'56''), but generally speaking all Messiaen's specifications are scrupulously observed, and Llambias and Lonskov have got behind the markings to the ecstatic, devotional quality without which Visions de l'Amen would be a pretty unrewarding musical experience. Textures are finely blended throughout, and pianistic rapport is as close as one would expect, although the unisons of ''Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux'' present insoluble problems. Lengthy movements such as the three central Amens are superbly sustained and only in the final movement do I still hanker after the extra glitter and virtuoso abandon of the Labeques. A smudge on the very last chord surely merited a retake.
Two-piano repertoire must be a recording engineer's nightmare (not to mention a piano-tuner's). Here piano 2 has one poor-quality note—a B four octaves above middle C, which is unfortunately rather prominent in Messiaen's melodies. But otherwise the piano sound is very good—a little too dry and close to be ideal, perhaps, but still more than acceptable. All in all a good measure of the real Messiaen spirit is conveyed.'

Messiaen Visions de l'Amen

Visions de l'Amen

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