Messiane: 80th Birthday Edition
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Olivier Messiaen
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: 4/1989
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: MCE71580
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Des) Canyons aux étoiles |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Alain Jacquet, Percussion Ars Nova Ensemble François Dupin, Percussion Georges Barboteu, Horn Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (7) Haïkaï |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Ars Nova Ensemble Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Couleurs de la cité céleste |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Domaine Musicale Orchestra French Radio New Philharmonic Orchestra Olivier Messiaen, Composer Pierre Boulez, Conductor Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Domaine Musicale Orchestra French Radio New Philharmonic Orchestra Olivier Messiaen, Composer Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| (L') Ascension |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| (Les) Offrandes oubliées |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| Hymne au Saint Sacrement |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| Quatuor pour la fin du temps, 'Quartet for the End of Time' |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Guy Deplus, Clarinet Huguette Fernandez, Violin Jacques Neilz, Cello Marie-Madeleine Petit, Piano Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Visions de l'Amen |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Katia Labèque, Piano Marielle Labèque, Piano Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (6) Petites esquisses d'oiseaux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (20) Regards sur l'enfant Jésus |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (8) Préludes |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (4) Etudes de rythme |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Catalogue d'oiseaux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (La) Fauvette des jardins |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (La) Nativité du Seigneur |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (Le) Banquet céleste |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Apparition de l'église éternelle |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (9) Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Olivier Messiaen, Organ |
| (3) Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
French Radio Chamber Orchestra French Radio Chorus Soloists French Radio National Maîtrise Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (5) Rechants |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
French Radio Chorus Soloists Marcel Couraud, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Harawi |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, Soprano Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Poèmes pour Mi |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Maria Oran, Soprano Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Chants de terre et de ciel |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Maria Oran, Soprano Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
Composer or Director: Olivier Messiaen
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: 4/1989
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 1067
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: ECD71580
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Des) Canyons aux étoiles |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Alain Jacquet, Percussion Ars Nova Ensemble François Dupin, Percussion Georges Barboteu, Horn Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (7) Haïkaï |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Ars Nova Ensemble Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Couleurs de la cité céleste |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Domaine Musicale Orchestra French Radio New Philharmonic Orchestra Olivier Messiaen, Composer Pierre Boulez, Conductor Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Domaine Musicale Orchestra French Radio New Philharmonic Orchestra Olivier Messiaen, Composer Pierre Boulez, Conductor |
| (L') Ascension |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| (Les) Offrandes oubliées |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| Hymne au Saint Sacrement |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marius Constant, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble |
| Quatuor pour la fin du temps, 'Quartet for the End of Time' |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Guy Deplus, Clarinet Huguette Fernandez, Violin Jacques Neilz, Cello Marie-Madeleine Petit, Piano Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Visions de l'Amen |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Katia Labèque, Piano Marielle Labèque, Piano Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (6) Petites esquisses d'oiseaux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (20) Regards sur l'enfant Jésus |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (8) Préludes |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (4) Etudes de rythme |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Catalogue d'oiseaux |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (La) Fauvette des jardins |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (La) Nativité du Seigneur |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (Le) Banquet céleste |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Apparition de l'église éternelle |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Marie-Claire Alain, Organ Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| (9) Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Olivier Messiaen, Organ |
| (3) Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
French Radio Chamber Orchestra French Radio Chorus Soloists French Radio National Maîtrise Jeanne Loriod, Ondes martenot Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| (5) Rechants |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
French Radio Chorus Soloists Marcel Couraud, Conductor Olivier Messiaen, Composer |
| Harawi |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Olivier Messiaen, Composer Rachel Yakar, Soprano Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Poèmes pour Mi |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Maria Oran, Soprano Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
| Chants de terre et de ciel |
Olivier Messiaen, Composer
Maria Oran, Soprano Olivier Messiaen, Composer Yvonne Loriod, Piano |
Author:
The spirituality of Messiaen's music cannot be measured in terms of value for money, but at something under £120 retail for 17 CDs with an average playing time of 63 minutes, this 80th birthday edition is certainly generously packaged. Let's hope that EMI, Philips and Decca will be moved to comparable demonstrations of philanthropy when it comes to Tippett's 85th birthday.
Given performances which vary from good to outstanding and recording quality from acceptable to very good, and given that a fair proportion of the music (around a quarter by my calculation) is otherwise unobtainable in any format, the better-off collector may choose to invest without further ado. For the more cautious purchaser there are drawbacks of varying magnitude to take into account.
For my part the main cause of frustration lies in certain omissions of repertoire. Not so much theTurangalila-symphonie, for which the Rattle EMI recording is an admirable ambassador ((CD) CDS7 47463-8, 12/87), and one appreciates that Erato may not have access to the Ades or Ducretet-Thomson labels for some of the most treasurable rarities. But Yvonne Loriod's eight-LP set of piano music did appear under their imprint and from it they have omitted some of the early works, including La dame de Shalott, composed at the age of nine. This is not included in Peter Hill's survey, to which we can gratefully turn for the remaining early pieces (Unicorn-Kanchana LPs—DKP9037, 8/85 and DKP9051, 11/86). Even more surprisingly Erato have not included Messiaen's organ improvisations inspired by his mother's poetry (STU71104)—a prize exhibit in a compilation of this kind, I would have thought.
In the absence of these unique items closer assessment of individual performances becomes all the more relevant, since these may all eventually be equalled or surpassed. Before going on to that, however, some consideration must be given to the one item which is unique to this collection, the interview with Claude Samuel. There is already a published translation of interviews with Samuel (Stainer & Bell: 1967) in which most of the same topics—bird-song, colour, travel, religious faith, opera, the avant-garde—are covered in greater depth. Twenty years on most of the ideas are essentially unchanged; but to eavesdrop on the composer's spoken thoughts, recorded against the distant rumble of Parisian traffic, is a most remarkable experience none the less. There are also some extraordinary apercus which I had not encountered before—Boulez ''was like a lion that had been flayed alive''; ''the operas of Verdi... are not operas, because in them there are only shrill [aigus—better 'high'?] notes''. Most moving of all is his confession that he has never visited his beloved India because ''I was afraid of meeting people dying on the ground, and that I couldn't bear, ever''.
After the music itself, I cannot think of a better introduction to Messiaen and his beliefs than this interview. It includes the remark that the frequent reference to colours in his own commentaries is not so much for the listener's as for the performer's benefit—''a conductor should conduct with more passion, if he sees a red colour indicated, with more beatitude, if he sees a blue colour indicated''. Another revealing statement, apropos religious music, is: ''I am there to give a sensation of dazzlement''—not to stir the audience to faith, or to help them in prayer, he says, but to dazzle. This would seem applicable to most of Messiaen's music, but above all surely to his orchestral works.
Orchestral works. Dazzlement and awe. In his review of the recent CBS recording ((CD) CD44762, 2/89) MEO was surely right to characterize Des canyons aux etoiles as ''a vast symphonic cycle on the subject of awe''. It is awe which can put love and terror into such disconcerting proximity (and what inspiration Birtwistle gained from precisely that conjunction in Turangalila); awe under whose influence, so the sceptic might think, a composer may accept ideas which seem embarrassing in the light of sober reason (a Wood Thrush singing to the strains of Mozart's ''Tuba mirum''?!); and it is the communication of awe which I believe we are entitled to expect from any performance of Messiaen's music.
It is a quality which Marius Constant most emphatically does capture in Canyons, rather more so than Salonen on the rival CBS set (coupled with Couleurs de la cite celeste and Oiseaux exotiques). It is no less conspicuous in his accounts ofL'Ascension, Les offrandes oubliees and Hymne au Saint Sacrement, all passionate early works. It is counterbalanced by an almost tangible fervour which keeps faster sections pressing passionately forward (and which at times is expressed in distractingly audible grunts and hummings from the podium). Like Ozawa, Constant knows that the secret of dealing with Messiaen's supposed 'indulgence' is not to retreat, but to become ecstatically at one with it.
The only piece in which Constant's players fall marginally short is the Sept Haikai; but I confess this has always struck me as one of those cases where Messiaen's vision was temporarily clouded by the currents of hot air wafting over from Darmstadt. Maybe Boulez would have been the ideal conductor here. Yet the works he does preside over (Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum and Couleurs de la cite celeste) seem to lack something essential—there is little awe, little fervour, the wrong kind of dazzlement. Nor is the sound- quality, so crucial to the vast spaces of Et exspecto, so vivid as in the more recent Constant recordings (the excellence of the latter is marred only by some annoying sympathetic vibrations inL'Ascension).
Chamber works. A serviceable but not inspiring Quatuor pour la fin du temps. The piano sound is rather woolly and dynamic range is nowhere near wide enough from any of the instruments. The ''Danse de fureur'' is well co-ordinated and carefully pointed but rather un-furious. Recording quality (from 1963) is only fair, with some distortion at climaxes and a lot of hiss in quieter passages. TheVisions de l'Amen are finely played, however, the Labeque sisters as convincing in the inexorable tread of ''Amen de la Creation'' as in the celestial cafe-music of ''Amen du desir'' and the cosmic hoe-down of ''Amen de la Consommation''.
Piano works. The entire set is almost as much a tribute to Messiaen's second wife as to the composer himself. It is astonishing that Yvonne Loriod's recordings have been so difficult to obtain in Britain, and their restoration is cause for rejoicing. She appears as soloist on 11 of the 17 discs, and her glinting virtuosity is another major reason for preferring the Erato Canyons to the CBS. In the solo works her playing is nothing short of magnificent—superb range of sonority, rock-sure rhythm, unfailing attention to polyphonic strands, thrilling attack and tender caress in equal measure. Movements of the Vingt regards which had seemed uninspired in other hands take on a new lease of life; she breathes poetry into the most arid corners of theCatalogue d'oiseaux and the Quatre etudes de rythme, just as she ennobles the more conventionally Debussian euphony of the Huit preludes (though ''La colombe'' could happily take more allure and ''Les sons impalpables du reve'' is surprisingly fast). Under her touch there seems to be no such thing as a worn-out harmony or an unmusical one. The Petites esquisses d'oiseaux of 1985 will be new to most listeners. This is a group of six miniatures, each around two minutes long and with much of the charm but none of the exuberant excesses of the Catalogue. Serious pre-echo afflicts the first book of the Catalogue but otherwise the piano sound is first rate—fairly close and dry but never objectionably so.
Organ works. Marie-Claire Alain's recital is newly recorded and sounds beautiful. ''Les bergers'' from La nativite du Seigneur seems remarkably laid back for its marking of joyeux, but this is the tempo Messiaen himself favours; ''Desseins eternels'' is duly hypnotic and ''Le verbe'' achingly beautiful; I have heard more stomach-rumbling climaxes in ''Dieu parmi nous'' and inApparition de l'eglise eternelle, but they are still pretty overwhelming—the time when these pieces fail to thrill is the time to be put out to grass. Le banquet celeste is somewhat marred by a rattle on some low bass notes—at first I wondered why next-door's lawnmower had started up in mid-February.
The Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte Trinite is not quite the most esoteric of Messiaen's works (that distinction is probably held by theLivre d'orgue) but it can still seem pretty tough going. The composer's own advocacy is irresistible, however. Who else would dare to inflect ''Les etoiles tournent'' as he does, or enable us to share in the exaltation of ''Alleluias de l'Epiphanie''? Another performance to treasure.
Choral and vocal works. Generally the least successful performances and recordings in the set. The sumptuous Trois petites liturgies de la Presence Divine and the austere Cinq Rechants are finely sung, but pre-echo and distortion mar the recordings (at times one has the impression that Erato's digital remastering has not been done with the greatest of care). The song cycles make fearsome demands on vocal control, and these renditions are not for those who wince at faulty technique (the end of the first Poeme pour Mi is painfully under the note, for instance, and neither soprano is comfortable with the more tender settings). Predictably, Loriod's accompaniments are exemplary.
Reservations then, on technical and artistic grounds, but they hardly outweigh the achievement of the whole. Indeed, looking at the handsome box of CDs, rather smaller than a car battery, and thinking of the sheer richness of musical experience it contains, the whole business of critical evaluation seems curiously sordid. Having said that, I do wish that the avoidable shortcomings were not present, so that this fabulous music could be unreservedly commended to every reader ofGramophone. My private hope is that the piano, organ and orchestral works will eventually become available separately; but even so this is a treasure chest of great music and fine music-making.DJF
Given performances which vary from good to outstanding and recording quality from acceptable to very good, and given that a fair proportion of the music (around a quarter by my calculation) is otherwise unobtainable in any format, the better-off collector may choose to invest without further ado. For the more cautious purchaser there are drawbacks of varying magnitude to take into account.
For my part the main cause of frustration lies in certain omissions of repertoire. Not so much the
In the absence of these unique items closer assessment of individual performances becomes all the more relevant, since these may all eventually be equalled or surpassed. Before going on to that, however, some consideration must be given to the one item which is unique to this collection, the interview with Claude Samuel. There is already a published translation of interviews with Samuel (Stainer & Bell: 1967) in which most of the same topics—bird-song, colour, travel, religious faith, opera, the avant-garde—are covered in greater depth. Twenty years on most of the ideas are essentially unchanged; but to eavesdrop on the composer's spoken thoughts, recorded against the distant rumble of Parisian traffic, is a most remarkable experience none the less. There are also some extraordinary apercus which I had not encountered before—Boulez ''was like a lion that had been flayed alive''; ''the operas of Verdi... are not operas, because in them there are only shrill [aigus—better 'high'?] notes''. Most moving of all is his confession that he has never visited his beloved India because ''I was afraid of meeting people dying on the ground, and that I couldn't bear, ever''.
After the music itself, I cannot think of a better introduction to Messiaen and his beliefs than this interview. It includes the remark that the frequent reference to colours in his own commentaries is not so much for the listener's as for the performer's benefit—''a conductor should conduct with more passion, if he sees a red colour indicated, with more beatitude, if he sees a blue colour indicated''. Another revealing statement, apropos religious music, is: ''I am there to give a sensation of dazzlement''—not to stir the audience to faith, or to help them in prayer, he says, but to dazzle. This would seem applicable to most of Messiaen's music, but above all surely to his orchestral works.
Orchestral works. Dazzlement and awe. In his review of the recent CBS recording ((CD) CD44762, 2/89) MEO was surely right to characterize Des canyons aux etoiles as ''a vast symphonic cycle on the subject of awe''. It is awe which can put love and terror into such disconcerting proximity (and what inspiration Birtwistle gained from precisely that conjunction in Turangalila); awe under whose influence, so the sceptic might think, a composer may accept ideas which seem embarrassing in the light of sober reason (a Wood Thrush singing to the strains of Mozart's ''Tuba mirum''?!); and it is the communication of awe which I believe we are entitled to expect from any performance of Messiaen's music.
It is a quality which Marius Constant most emphatically does capture in Canyons, rather more so than Salonen on the rival CBS set (coupled with Couleurs de la cite celeste and Oiseaux exotiques). It is no less conspicuous in his accounts of
The only piece in which Constant's players fall marginally short is the Sept Haikai; but I confess this has always struck me as one of those cases where Messiaen's vision was temporarily clouded by the currents of hot air wafting over from Darmstadt. Maybe Boulez would have been the ideal conductor here. Yet the works he does preside over (Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum and Couleurs de la cite celeste) seem to lack something essential—there is little awe, little fervour, the wrong kind of dazzlement. Nor is the sound- quality, so crucial to the vast spaces of Et exspecto, so vivid as in the more recent Constant recordings (the excellence of the latter is marred only by some annoying sympathetic vibrations in
Chamber works. A serviceable but not inspiring Quatuor pour la fin du temps. The piano sound is rather woolly and dynamic range is nowhere near wide enough from any of the instruments. The ''Danse de fureur'' is well co-ordinated and carefully pointed but rather un-furious. Recording quality (from 1963) is only fair, with some distortion at climaxes and a lot of hiss in quieter passages. The
Piano works. The entire set is almost as much a tribute to Messiaen's second wife as to the composer himself. It is astonishing that Yvonne Loriod's recordings have been so difficult to obtain in Britain, and their restoration is cause for rejoicing. She appears as soloist on 11 of the 17 discs, and her glinting virtuosity is another major reason for preferring the Erato Canyons to the CBS. In the solo works her playing is nothing short of magnificent—superb range of sonority, rock-sure rhythm, unfailing attention to polyphonic strands, thrilling attack and tender caress in equal measure. Movements of the Vingt regards which had seemed uninspired in other hands take on a new lease of life; she breathes poetry into the most arid corners of the
Organ works. Marie-Claire Alain's recital is newly recorded and sounds beautiful. ''Les bergers'' from La nativite du Seigneur seems remarkably laid back for its marking of joyeux, but this is the tempo Messiaen himself favours; ''Desseins eternels'' is duly hypnotic and ''Le verbe'' achingly beautiful; I have heard more stomach-rumbling climaxes in ''Dieu parmi nous'' and in
The Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte Trinite is not quite the most esoteric of Messiaen's works (that distinction is probably held by the
Choral and vocal works. Generally the least successful performances and recordings in the set. The sumptuous Trois petites liturgies de la Presence Divine and the austere Cinq Rechants are finely sung, but pre-echo and distortion mar the recordings (at times one has the impression that Erato's digital remastering has not been done with the greatest of care). The song cycles make fearsome demands on vocal control, and these renditions are not for those who wince at faulty technique (the end of the first Poeme pour Mi is painfully under the note, for instance, and neither soprano is comfortable with the more tender settings). Predictably, Loriod's accompaniments are exemplary.
Reservations then, on technical and artistic grounds, but they hardly outweigh the achievement of the whole. Indeed, looking at the handsome box of CDs, rather smaller than a car battery, and thinking of the sheer richness of musical experience it contains, the whole business of critical evaluation seems curiously sordid. Having said that, I do wish that the avoidable shortcomings were not present, so that this fabulous music could be unreservedly commended to every reader of
Messiane: 80th Birthday Edition
Messiane: 80th Birthday Edition
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