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In January 2010, Naxos Issues Digital Release of Paul Jacobs’s Recording of
Messiaen’s Livre du Saint Sacrement on iTunes
Naxos will issue the digital release of Paul Jacobs’s recording of Olivier Messiaen’s magnum opus Livre du Saint Sacrement recorded by Mr. Jacobs at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City. The work will be available for download after January 1 from iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/id348056667. Naxos will subsequently release the recording on CD in September 2010.
Paul Jacobs is widely acknowledged for reinvigorating the U.S. organ scene with a fresh performance style and “an unbridled joy of musicmaking” and is recognized among today’s finest organists. Chairman of the organ department of New York’s Juilliard School since 2004, the 32-year-old organist made musical history in 2000 at the age of 23 when, on the 250th anniversary of the death of J. S. Bach, he played the composer’s complete organ music in a non-stop 18-hour marathon in Pittsburgh.
He possesses a vast repertoire spanning from the 16th century through contemporary times, and composers Samuel Adler, Christopher Theofanidis, and others have written pieces especially for him. Mr. Jacobs has also performed the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen in a series of nine-hour, one-day marathons in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Mr. Jacobs has performed on five continents and recently reached a noteworthy geographic milestone: With his performance in Anchorage, Alaska, in November, he has performed in every one of America’s 50 states.
Paul Jacobs began studying the piano at the age of six and the organ at age 13. At 15 he was appointed head organist of a parish of 3,500 families in his hometown of Washington, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jacobs studied at The Curtis Institute of Music, where he double-majored in organ with John Weaver and harpsichord with Lionel Party. He subsequently attended Yale University, where he studied with Thomas Murray and received a Master of Music degree and Artist Diploma and was awarded several honors, including Yale School of Music’s Distinguished Alumni Award. Mr. Jacobs captured first prize in numerous competitions, including the 1998 Albert Schweitzer National Organ Competition and was the first organist ever to be honored with the Harvard Musical Association’s Arthur W. Foote Award. Among his other honors, Mr. Jacobs is the recipient of Juilliard’s 2007 William Schuman Scholar’s Chair.

Jocy deOliveira, Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jesus. Label: Naxos Catalogue No: 9.70115-16 Barcode: 730099711517 Available for streaming and download only.
LOUISE BESSETTE AND L’AUTOMNE MESSIAEN AT THE GALA FOR THE OPUS AWARDS
Montreal, February 5, 2010 - The thirteenth annual gala of the Opus Awards, organized by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, took place on Sunday, January 31, 2010 at Salle Claude-Champagne, in Montreal. Assembled for this unique event, musical artists and artisans were honored with a total of 27 different awards, rewarding their achievements for the season from September 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009.
Pianist Louise Bessette was honored to receive two "Special Awards": Performer of the Year (accompanied by a prize of $5000 from the Canada Council for the Arts) and "Musical Event of the Year" for Automne Messiaen 2008. Louise Bessette would like to thank Maestro Kent Nagano and the composer Gilles Tremblay, the Patrons of Honor of Automne Messiaen, as well as all of those who participated in the realization of this great event, highlighting the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen.
Informations : http://cqm.netedit.info/52/Finalistes_et_laureats.html
Soprano Suzie LeBlanc won the contemporary CD of the year award for Olivier Messiaen's Chants de terre et de ciel, which was released in September 2008 to celebrate the centennial of the French composer.

See and read full transcript (in French)of the anniversary Mass held in Avignon on 10th December 2008 with the homely read by P. JEAN-RODOLPHE KARS. The mass was celebrated by the Archbishop of Avignon, Mgr Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, in the church St Didier, where Messiaen was baptised, 15 days after his birth, on Christmas 1908. During the whole evening, Olivier Latry was at the organ. After the mass, two poems of Messiaen’s mother, Cécile Sauvage, were read, with improvisations at the organ. And finally, “La Nativité du Seigneur”, concluded this memorable celebration.
In the French Alps, in the heart of the Dauphiné, rises the Matheysin. Plateau Situated between Grenoble and Gap at an altitude of 900M this region is composed of lakes and mountains. Many birds familiar to Olivier Messiaen populate the landscape with its quietude. Messiaen bought his first house here in 1936. This modest residence at the edge of the lake Laffrey was Messiaen summer refuge and an important composing environment. Thus Messiaen wanted to protect this setting that inspired so many compositions. The surrounding paths and byways were trodden by the composer while notating the songs of blackbirds, larks, warblers and so on.
This is the unexplored dimension of Olivier Messiaen, his favourite places that the festival "Messiaen in Matheysine" wishes to discover for enthusiasts of his music. See all details
Fantaisie (1933) pour violon et piano
(from Durand press release)
Composed in Paris in 1933 and hitherto unpublished, this work is dedicated to the violinist Claire Delbos.
Messiaen's output for the violin is very slight, limited as it is to two extremely well-known pieces: the Théme et variations of 1932 and the 'Louange a l'immortalité de Jésus' from the Quatour pour la fin du temps. So violinists will be especially glad to discover his Fantasie, a work for violin and piano.
It is dedicated to 'Mi', as the composer affectionately referred to Claire Delbos his first wife, whom he had already dedicated a cycle of melodies with piano or orchestral accompaniment called Poemes pour Mi.
The Fantasie is a continuous composition of 161 bars with three distinct themes, though the different sections also comply with the standard structure of exposition, development and recapitulation.
The first theme, stated by the piano alone, has considerable rhythmic variety and anticipates the 'gigantic' music of the Danse de la fureur of the Quatour. The second theme is based on a triplet motif followed by four repeated notes and a trill.
The third theme is a melody (marked molto appassionata) sustained by a variegated piano accompaniment.
Fantasie for violin and piano has a duration of 15 minutes.
American violinist and film maker Paul Festa premiered Fantaisie in the USA.
Read his insightful perspective and analyses of the piece here.
Read more here. |
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Apparition of the Eternal Church ~ A film by Paul Festa.
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MESSIAEN MAGNIFIED - Banquet pour O by C. Scott Tresham
Banquet pour O is one of the most unique tributes to the work of pre-eminent French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Banquet pour O is based on Messiaen’s own recording of Le Banquet céleste for organ, his first published composition. “I’ve carefully catalogued every duration of every note in that recording” says Tresham, “it’s not simply a case of saying all the quarter notes last this long, all the eighth notes are x number of seconds... many notes that look like they’re the same duration on the page are in fact completely different in Messiaen’s performance.” Each duration is then multiplied so that the entire performance (originally just over seven minutes long) will last 100 minutes. “I’m sure it will take [the audience] a while to adjust to this new level of slow, but once you do you enter a real contemplative state. There’s a whole universe to explore in each one of these sonorities. The experience can actually be euphoric.” Read more

The Olivier Messiaen Piano Competition held in Paris from 25 November to 3 December 2007. Le Liu - China - Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris and Prix pour la meilleure interprétation de l’œuvre de Ramón Humet, offert par la Sacem Marie Vermeulin - France - 2e Prix - Prix de l'Académie des Beaux-Arts Mako Okamoto - Japan - 3e Prix - Prix de la Fondation Salabert et Prix pour la meilleure interprétation d'une pièce extraite des Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus, offert par les Editions Durand Yury Favorin Russia - 4e Prix - Prix Yvonne Loriod, offert par la Fondation Olivier Messiaen et Prix du jeune soliste, offert par le Fonds pour la Création Musicale Hana Kurasawa Japon - Prix pour la meilleure interprétation d'une pièce extraite du Catalogue d'oiseaux, offert par les Editions Leduc |

The long awaited 1967 Supraphon recording of Oiseaux exotiques, Réveil des Oiseaux and La Bouscarle
with Yvonne Loriod, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Václav Neumann will be released on CD
on the Denon Crest 1000 label COCO73019.
DVD RELEASE JANUARY 18TH 2010
Messiaen's La Nativite du Seigneur with Jennifer Bate
This recording of Jennifer Bate, one of the foremost international organists of our day, playing Oliver Messaien’s La Nativité du Seigneur was made in the magnificent setting of Norwich Cathedral, when a capacity audience gave her virtuoso performance a prolonged ovation.
Messiaen’s religious works for the organ have been compared with those of Beethoven in their greatness for the solo instrument. La Nativité du Seigneur is no exception: its virtuosity embraces a magnificent cycle of nine meditations on the Christmas message.
Bate’s recordings of Messaien’s complete organ works have won international acclaim and many prestigious awards.
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The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra focused extensively on Messiaen in its 2007–8 season. A major musical figure of the twentieth century, Messiaen (b. 1908, d. 1992) created an entirely unique musical œuvre in which such divergent elements as divinity (as it relates to Catholicism and other doctrines), ornithology and the synaesthetic perception of sound as colour are all interconnected with his innovative rhythmic and harmonic musical language and tonal organisation. As a thinker and teacher, Messiaen carried out groundbreaking work in music during the second half of the twentieth century, but his work as a composer has remained unsurpassed. During this special season, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra programmed works not only by Messiaen himself, but also compositions by his musical predecessors, students and disciples.
With this second release in the Horizon CD series dedicated to contemporary repertoire, RCO Live has captured this resounding homage to Olivier Messiaen in superb five-channel stereo. This recording features the following works: ** conductor: George Benjamin |
!!!NEW RELEASE!!! Momo Kodama performs Catalogue d'oiseaux SACD OVCT-00060 Triton released Jan 2010
!!!NEW RELEASE!!! NEOS are embarking on the release of the Complete Works for Solo Piano with Markus Bellheim. Volume 1 is Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus. NEOS 10907/08 EAN: 4260063109072 released: January 20, 2010 Catalogue d'oiseaux SACD 20 Jan 2010
Poemes pour Mi / Les offrandes oubliees / Un sourire (Anne Schwanewilms, sop, Lyon National Orchestra, Jun Markl) Naxos 8.572174 Release date 10 / 2009
Harawi / 3 Melodies (Bruun, Hyldig) Naxos 8.572189. Release date 12/2009
Messiaen’s song cycles Trois Mélodies (1930) and Harawi (1945) were both inspired by the loss of a loved one: the Mélodies are a memorial to his mother who had died three years previously and Harawi was written shortly after his wife Claire Delbos had begun to suffer from the long illness that would ultimately lead to her death. But far from resorting to misery, the shimmering beauty of Messiaen’s music leaves the listener with a sense of hope and transcendence.
Visions de l'Amen. Adrienne Soós and Ivo Haag. Guild GMCD 7331
MESSIAEN Early Organ Works. L’Ascension, Diptyque, Prelude, Offrande au Saint Sacrement, Apparition de l’Église éternelle, Le Banquet céleste. Inger-Lise Ulsrud organ is that of the church of St. Nikolai in Halmstad, Sweden. Simax SACD label: Simax format: SACD. Release date: 24-8-2009.
Visions de l'Amen - Chants de terre et de ciel / Yvonne Loriod, piano - Olivier Messiaen, piano - Noelle Barker, soprano - Robert Sherlaw Johnson, piano. DDG Download.
Quartet for the End Of Time performed by Fibonacci Sequence. Catalogue Number: DXL1133 Label: DEUX-ELLES
Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus performed by Anna Guðný Guðmundsdóttir. Available direct from Anna.
Oiseaux Exotiques. Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. Dir. Hiroyuki Iwaki. Release date: 22 Jul 2009 Warner Japan. WPCS12294
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Myung-Whun Chung
Orchestre Philharmonique De Radio France. Decca 478 1466
A new set in 4 volumes of the complete organ works performed by Eberhard Lauer / Kuhn-Orgel St. Johanniskirche Hamburg. Ambitus , DDD, 2005-8.
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!!! DVD of Saint François d´Assise!!! From OpusArte. CAT NO: OA1007D FORMAT: All Formats REGIONS: All Regions PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9 LENGTH: TBC SOUND: 5.0 DTS SURROUND / PCM STEREO SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL RELEASED: 01/03/2009 NO OF DISCS: 3 Messiaen's breathtakingly intense opera on the life of St Francis of Assisi stars Rod Gilfry as the charismatic visionary, beguiled by the glory of creation, yet fearful of both its imperfections and its transience. Pierre Audi's thoroughly engaging production for The Netherlands Opera brings out the naive imagery, the grandeur, and above all the vast tenderness of the resplendent score, revealed as a grandiose ritual with the meaning and purpose of life as its central theme. But the real drama of the work takes place in the orchestra. Elevated to stupendous heights by the sublimely inspired Ingo Metzmacher, The Hague Philharmonic and the Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera combine forces with a brilliant cast to produce the finest possible musical pilgrimage. forces with a brilliant cast to produce the finest possible musical pilgrimage. The Angel: Camilla Tilling Saint François: Rod Gilfry The Leper: Hubert Delamboye Frère Léon: Henk Neven Frère Massée: Tom Randle Frère Élie: Donald Kaasch Frère Bernard: Armand Arapian The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra |
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Messiaen et autour de Messiaen, for Onde Martenot and Piano Works by Olivier Messiaen, Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus (1941), Feuillets inédits Nadia Ratsimandresy - onde Martenot |
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DVD BRL9022 Label: Brilliant Classics
Organ works (2 DVD)
Willem Tanke (Marcussen Organ of the Saint Laurens Church, Rotterdam)
2008 was the centenary of Messiaen’s birth, and this 2 DVD set of a selection of his organ music is a superb introduction for those new to his music and an essential purchase for all organ aficionados. Messiaen wrote in many genres, chamber, orchestral, piano solo, and enriched greatly the organ repertoire of the 20th century. Although Debussy and Ravel influenced his earliest works, (orientalism and famously the songs of birds were life long influences and a source of fascination to him) Messiaen became a significant influence upon avant-garde composers such as Boulez and Stockhausen. You can sample Tanke’s approach to Messiaen, which is influenced by his study of Buddhist faith and philosophy, on YouTube (keywords: Tanke and Messiaen). The technology afforded by DVD allows the listener to view from several angles, including underneath the bench to see Messiaen’s ferociously mobile pedal parts at first feet, as it were. ( Brilliant Classics )
Tanke plays the Marcussen organ in St Laurens Church, Rotterdam
Tanke has recorded the complete organ works of Messiaen for Brilliant Classics on CD, recently reissued in time for Messiaen’s centenary
‘This new set by Willem Tanke is most certainly Messiaenic heaven to me, and has placed the music far closer to my heart than any of the previous sets. This recent release is as close to perfect as I think I will find’ The Organ
Tanke is a specialist in the organ works of Reger, JS Bach and Messiaen. He is also famous as an improviser and champion of contemporary Dutch music. He is a professor of theory and improvisation at Rotterdam Conservatoire
DVD 1 [53:08]
Livre d'orgue
1. Reprises par interversion 6:47
2. Piece en trio 2:40
3. Les Mains de l'abime 9:35
4. Chants d'oiseaux 9:33
5. Piece en trio 8:36
6. Les Yeux dans les roues 1:54
7. Soixante-quatre durees 12:03
DVD 2 [51:12]
1. Adoro te (from: Livre du Saint Sacrement) 4:59
2. Entree (from: Messe de la Pentecote) 4:07
3. Meditation 3 (from: Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte-Trinite) 4:09
4. Meditation 2 (from: Meditations sur le mystere de la Sainte-Trinite) 14:06
5. La Resurrection du Christ (from: Livre du Saint Sacrement) 6:23
6. Le Verbe (second part, from: La Nativite du Seigneur) 8:49
7. Les deux murailles d'eau (from: Livre du Saint Sacrement) 8:39
Bonus Track: Willem Tanke counting out loud:
8. Piece en trio, Soixante-quatre durees and Entree 18:56
Recorded: 14,15/05/2007
16:9, PCM Stereo, NTSC, Region All
Fête des belles eaux, Ensemble d'Ondes de Montréal. FEUILLETS INÉDITS, Louise Bessette (piano)
ATMA ACD22621 Label:Atma DDD
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First recording (European Premiere) of Turangalila Symphonie recorded at Aix-en-Provence Festival on 25th July 1950. Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Télévision Française. Yvinne Loriod piano, Ginette Martenot Ondes Martenot, Roger Dèsormiére conductor. Part of a 6CD box set from INA Mémoire vive Aix-en-Provence (Festivals 1954-1957) IMV078 |
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7 CD box from Accord Visions De L'Amen ~ Cantéyodjayâ ~ Catalogue D'Oiseaux ~ Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps ~ Sept Haïkaï ~ Turangalîla-Symphonie ~ Oiseaux Exotiques ~ Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant Jésus |
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9 CD SET of Messiaen's orchestral and chamber music. Includes: Turangalîla-Symphonie, Eclairs sur l'Au-Delà..., Quatuor pour la fin du temps, Des Canyons aux étoiles...,La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ, Les Offrandes Oubliees, |
17 CD Box set ORGAN WORKS - PIANO WORKS - SONGS complete Willem Tanke, organ, St. Bavo's Cathedral, Haarlem Peter Hill, piano Ingrid Kappelle soprano Håkon Austbø piano. Brilliant Classics 8949 EAN Code: 5029365894920.
7 CD Box set of COMPLETE ORGAN WORKS performed by Hans-Ola Ericsson / Grönlund-Orgel Lulea Cathedral (Sweden).
BIS , DDD, 1988/1989.
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Signum Classics SIGCD126 |
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NEW SERIES OF DOWNLOADABLE TALKS BY P. JEAN-RODOLPHE KARS This transmission series, was recorded in 1997 for Radio Espérance. Although these talks are directed to listeners of a Catholic culture they also provide a valuable musicological resource from a man who has experienced Messiaen and his music at first hand. The files are in MP3 format and available from Maison de l’Emmanuel Full pdf list of the files here |
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REGARD DE L'ETOILE. |
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EMI CLASSICS Olivier Messiaen 1908 / 1992 : The Anniversary Edition (14 CD set) featuring Martha Argerich, Serge Baudo, Michel Beroff, Yvonne Loriod, Andre Previn, Olivier Messiaen, Michelle Command, Antal Dorati etc. |
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3 CD set to celebrate the centenary. |
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FROM DECCA MESSIAEN EDITION II |
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The Messiaen Edition - 100th Anniversary Set DECCA Orchestral & Chamber Works, Song Cycle CD1 Turangalîla-symphonie (1946-48) (76:36) 1. I Introduction 2. II Chant d’amour 1 3. III Turangalîla 1 4. IV Chant d’amour 2 5. V Joie du sang des étoiles 6. VI Jardin du sommeil d’amour 7. XII Turangalîla 2 8. VIII Développement de l’amour 9. IX Turangalîla 3 10. X Final CD2 (76:00) L’Ascension – Quatre méditations symphoniques pour orchestre (1932-33) (19:40) 1. I Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père (Très lent et majestueux. 2. II Alléluias sereins d’une âme qui désire le ciel (Bien modéré, clair. 3. III Alléluia sur la trompette, alléluia sur la cymbale (Vif et joyeux. 4. IV Prière du Christ montant vers son Père (Extrêmement lent, ému et solennel. Cinq rechants (1948) 5. I Modéré - Presque vif 6. II Bien modéré 7. III Lent, caressant 8. IV Très vif 9. V Vif Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1964) 10. I Des profondeurs de l’abime. Je crie vers toi, Seigneur: Seigneur, écoute ma voix! (Psaume 130) 11. II Le Christ, resussité des morts, ne meurt plus; La mort n’a plus sur lui d’empire (Epitre aux Romains) 12. III L’heure vient ou les morts entendront la voix du Fils de Dieu (Jean) 13. IV Ils ressusiteront, glorieux, avec un nom nouveau dans le concert joyeux des étoiles et les acclamations des fils du ciel (Corinthiens, Apocalypse, Job) 14. V Et j’entendis la voix d’une foule immense (Apocalypse) La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ (1965-69) Premier Septénaire 15. I Récit évangelique 16. II Configuratum corpori claritatis suae 17. III Christus Jesus, splendor Patris CD3 (75:28) 1. IV Récit évangelique 2. V Quam dilecta tabernacula tua 3. VI Candor est lucis aeterna 4. VII Choral de la sainte montagne Deuxième Septénaire 5. VIII Récit évangelique 6. IX Perfecte conscius illius perfectae generationis 7. X Adoptionem filiorum perfectam 8. XI Récit évangélique 9. XII Terribilis est locus iste 10. XIII Tota trinitas apparuit 11. XIV Choral de la lumière de gloire CD4 (73:03) Poèmes pour Mi (1936, orch.1937) Livre I 1. Action de graces 2. Paysage 3. La maison 4. Epouvante Livre II 5. L’Epouse 6. Ta voix 7. Les deux guerriers 8. Le Collier 9. Prière exaucée Quatuor pour la fin du Temps (1940-41) 10. I Liturgie de cristal 11. II Vocalise, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps 12. III Abime des oiseaux 13. IV Intermède 14. V Louange à l’Eternité de Jésus 15. VI Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes 16. VII Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps 17. VIII Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus CD5 (77:00) Chants de Terre et de ciel (1938) 1. I Bail avec Mi 2. II Antienne du silence 3. III Danse du bébé-Pilule 4. IV Arc-en-ciel d’innocence 5. V Minuit pile et face 6. VI Résurrection Harawi (1945) (51:13) 7. I La ville qui dormait, toi 8. II Bonjour toi, colombe verte 9. III Montagnes 10. IV Doundou Tchil 11.V L’amour de Piroutcha 12. VI Repétition planétaire 13. VII Adieu 14. VIII Syllabes 15. IX L’escalier redit, gestes du soleil 16. X Amour oiseau d’étoile 17. XI Katchkatchi les étoiles 18. XII Dans le noir CD6 (80:46) Poèmes pour Mi (1936) Livre I 1. Action de graces 2. Paysage 3. La maison 4. Epouvante Livre II 5. L’Epouse 6. Ta voix 7. Les deux guerriers 8. Le collier 9. Prière exaucée 10. Rondeau (1943) Visions de l’Amen (1943) 11. I Amen de la Création 12. II Amen des étoiles, de la planète à l’anneau 13. III Amen de l’Agonie de Jésus 14. IV Amen du désir 15. V Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant des oiseaux 16. VI Amen du Jugement 17. VII Amen de la Consommation Jean-Yves Thibaudet - piano Yvonne Loriod - piano Olli Mustonen - piano Robert Sherlaw Johnson - piano Paul Crossley - piano John Ogdon - piano Brenda Lucas - piano Takashi Harada ondes martenot Joshua Bell - violin Janos Starker - cello Steven Isserlis - cello Michael Collins - clarinet Felicity Palmer - soprano Noelle Barker - soprano Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra National Symphony Orchestra, Washington D.C. BBC Symphony Orchestra John Alldis Choir Westminster Symphonic Choir Riccardo Chailly Leopold Stokowski Bernard Haitink Antal Dorati Pierre Boulez Decca 6cds 4780352 |
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Complete Edition. DG 32cds Apparition de l'Eglise éternelle |
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!!!LE DOMAINE MUSICAL!!! Accord have re-released much of the old Vega recordings made by Le Domaine Musical under Pierre Boulez of 20th century works by Messiaen, Berio, Stockhausen, Boulez. Henze, Pousseur, Nono and more. These recording were made between 1956 and 1967.
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MESSIAEN EDITION Warner Classics 18 CD set that replaces and updates the original |
This 18-CD set offers a comprehensive overview of Messiaens work in recordings made between 1963 and 2000 by the Warner labels Erato and Teldec. The performers include the composer himself, his wife the pianist Yvonne Loriod, Pierre Boulez, Marie-Claire Alain and other champions of Messiaens work.
As a tantalising and unique bonus, a full CD is devoted to an extensive interview with Messiaen recorded in 1988 in which he speaks, in French, about bird-song, colour, travel, religious faith, opera and the avant-garde. The richly illustrated 149-page booklet includes a full English translation of the interview as well as the composers detailed commentary about most of the works included in the set with booklet editor Fabian Watkinson supplying information about the remaining works.
Gramophone described the 80th Birthday Messiaen Edition released by Erato in 1988, on which the current edition is based, as a treasure chest of great music and fine music-making. see reviews
CD 1: Petites esquisses doiseaux (1985); Huit Préludes (1928-29);
Quatre études de rythme (1949-50)
Yvonne Loriod, piano
CD 2: La nativité du seigneur (1935) Le banquet céleste (1928);
Apparition de léglise éternelle (1932)
Marie-Claire Alain, organ
CD 3 : Poèmes pour Mi (1936); Chants de terre et de ciel (1938)
Maria Oràn, soprano · Yvonne Loriod, piano
CD 4 : Quatuor pour la fin du temps (1940-41)
Huguette Fernandez, violin · Guy Deplus, clarinet
Jacques Nielz, cello · Marie-Madeleine Petit, piano
Cinq rechants pour 12 parties vocales réelles (1948)
Solistes des churs de lORTF/Marcel Couraud
CD 5 : Visions de lAmen (1943)
Katia and Marièlle Labèque, pianos
Les offrandes oubliées (1930) Hymne au Saint-Sacrement (1932)
Orchestre philharmonique de lORTF/Marius Constant
CD 6 & 7 : Vingt Regards sur lenfant Jésus (1944)
Yvonne Loriod, piano
CD 8: Harawi, (Chants damour et de mort) (1945)
Rachel Yakar, soprano · Yvonne Loriod, piano
CD 9: Turangalîla-symphonie (194648) 1990 Revised Messiaen Edition
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano; Dominique Kim, ondes Martenot
Berliner Philharmoniker/Kent Nagano
CD 10, 11 & 12: Catalogue doiseaux (195658); La fauvette des jardins (1970)
Yvonne Loriod, piano
Réveil des oiseaux (1953)
Yvonne Loriod, piano; Orchestre National de France/Kent Nagano
CD 13 : Couleurs de la cité céleste (1963); Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (1964)
Yvonne Loriod, piano; Groupe Instrumental à Percussion de Strasbourg;
Orchestre du Domaine Musical/Pierre Boulez
LAscension (193233) Quatre méditations symphoniques pour orchestre
Orchestre philharmonique de lORTF/Marius Constant
CD 14 : Trois petites liturgies sur la présence divine (194344)
Yvonne Loriod, piano; Jeanne Loriod, onde Martenot
Maîtrise et Orchestre de Chambre de la RTF/ Marcel Couraud
Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité (1969)
CD 15: Méditations sur le mystère de la Sainte Trinité (1969) (contd.)
Olivier Messiaen, organ (Recorded on the Cavaillé-Coll organ in La Trinité Church, Paris)
CD 16 & 17: Des canyons aux étoiles ... (197174)
Yvonne Loriod, piano · Georges Barboteu, horn _ Alain Jacquet, xylorimba ·
François Dupin, glockenspel _ Ensemble Ars Nova/Marius Constant
Sept Haïkaï (1962)
Yvonne Loriod, piano _ Ensemble Ars Nova/Marius Constant
CD 18: Olivier Messiaen interviewed by Claude Samuel (in French), 1988

First available recording of TIMBRES-DURÉES realised in 1952
see Audio/Visual resources
HYMNE DES PASSEREAUX AU LEVER DU JOUR
The first recording of this work. Also includes Abîme des Oiseaux and transcription of Subtilité des Corps Glorieux.
Aurelian-Octav Popa (clarinet) Caliope CAL 9354
ORGAN WORKS PERFORMED BY LOUIS THIRY
3 CD Box set on Caliope B000XQHQZ8.
TURANGALILA SYMPHONIE. Kaori Kimura piano, Takashi Harada ondes martenot
Recorded in the Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University on 21 May 1985. First Australian performance. First commercial release.
Hiroyuki Iwaki conductor
Label: ABC Classics 12472 Australia Available from BuyWell.
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CD from Messiaen Prize Winner Prodromos Symeonidis performing CANTEYYODJAYA. Includes piano music by former Messiaen pupils: Stockhausen / Xenakis / Benjamin / Murail Telos TLS 107 |
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JOYCE HATTO 1928 – 2006
It has emerged that this recording of Vingt Regards is in fact the recording made by Paul Kim and not Joyce Hatto. |
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The enterprising Explore label are re-issuing many old Decca and Headline releases from the 70s among which is Visions de l'Amen by John Ogden and Brenda Lucas EXP0013 |
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FÉTES DES BELLES EAUX for 6 Ondes Martenots with Takashi Harada playing all parts. Also presented on this fine CD is FUEILLETS INEDITS for Ondes and piano. |
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MARCEL DUPRÉ DVD Messiaen joined Dupré's organ class in October 1927 at the Paris Conservatoire continuing and maintaining the great French improvisor/composer tradition that had gone before him. |
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Roger Muraro performing Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus on Accord DVD 476-719 0 As well as an astonishing performance of Vingt Regards recorded at l'Eglise de La Grave, Roger Murarao provides a fascinating insight to the lives of Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod and their influence on his musical career. |
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OLIVIER MESSIAEN ~ The Crystal Liturgy ~ A film by Olivier Mille Finally Olivier Mille's film is now commercially available!!! |
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Paul S. Kim's recording series on Messiaen's complete piano works is now finished. The final 4th volume (The Early Works) was released in 2005. The repertoire in this album includes the Eight Preludes, Les offrandes oubliees, Piece pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas, Fantasie burlesque, Rondeau, and Prelude (1964). This 4th volume was among those selected in the prestigious All Music Guide (AMG) Best of 2005 Classical Keyboard Music . Available on the Centaur label. See reviews page for further information on Paul Kim's Messiaen releases. |
!!!NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS!!! See Bibliography
Forthcoming Concerts and Events
My heartfelt and sincere thanks go to Dennis Davis for his continued and tireless contribution to the 'forthcoming concerts and events' section.
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Messiaen 2008
For any 2008 concert listing reference please email
2010
8 - 9 January 2010 11.00 & 20.00 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performs Le tombeau resplendissant, for orchestra Music Hall, Cincinnati USA.
14-15-16 January 2010 at 8pm, Chicago Symphony Orchestra/David Robertson perform Les offrandes oubliees at Symphony Center, Chicago USA.
14-(2pm)15-16 January 2010 (8pm) San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/George Benjamin, Nicolas Hodges, piano perform Oiseaux exotiques. Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco, USA.
15 January 2010, 8.30pm Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife/Lu Jia Jose Luis Castillo and Gustavo-Diaz Jerez, piano, Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot perform Turangalila Symphonie at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife Canary Islands. January 16th, 8.30pm
16 January 2010, 8.30pm Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife/Lu Jia Jose Luis Castillo and Gustavo-Diaz Jerez, piano, Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot perform Turangalila Symphonie at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Auditorio Alfredo Kraus Canary Islands.
19 January 2010 at 7.30pm Chicago Symphony Orchestra/David Robertson perform Les offrandes oubliees at Symphony Center, Chicago USA.
22 January 2010 Thomas Rosenkrantz performs Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jesus (complete) Solo concert and master class. University of California at Irvine Irvine, California USA
24 January 2010 2.30pm Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Kent Nagano Olga Gross, piano perform Couleurs de la cite celeste at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montreal Canada.
27 January 2010 7pm Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Tugan Sokhiev perform Les offrandes oubliees Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, Finland.
29 January 2010 Thomas Rosenkrantz performs Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jesus (complete) Solo concert and master class. Roosevelt University Chicago, Illinois, USA.
3 February 2010 20.15 Ivo Janssen performs exerpts from Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus. GROTE ZAAL Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, NL
4-6 February 2010 (8pm), 7 February (3pm) 2010 Cleveland Orchestra/Pierre Boulez L'Ascension Severance Hall, Cleveland, OH USA.
17 February 2010 8pm Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/Yannick Nezet-Seguin perform Les offrandes oubliees at Avery Fisher Hall, New York, USA.
20 February 2010 12 noon Mark Knoop, piano performs Canteyodjaya as part of Modern Times: Connecting Composers about Darmstadt, a weekend of concerts, talks and films at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge UK.
21 February 2010 (11am), 22 and 23 February (8pm) 2010 Gurzenich Orchester Koln/Jun Markl Soloist tbc perform Poemes pour Mi. Philharmonie, Cologne Germany.
24 February 2010 8pm Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/Yannick Nezet-Seguin perform
Les offrandes oubliees Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Canada.
26 February 2010 8pm Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra/Philippe Herreweghe. L'Ascension. Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp.
26 February 2010 8.30pm Soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain perform Theme et variations. Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Nicosie, Cyprus.
5 March 2010 7.30pm Tonhalle Orchester/Jun Markl Camilla Nylund, soprano. Poemes pour Mi and L'Ascension. Tonhalle, Zurich, Switzerland.
6 March 2010 Armin Fuchs, piano and I Karen Leiber perform Harawi at "Alte Schmiede" Vienna.
14 March 2010 Illumination. A program of musical and visual ekphrasis - the use of one artistic medium to illuminate the experience of another - situates a musical performance within an art exhibition. Inspired by sacred literature, Olvier Messiaen composed Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jesus in 1944. Mark Robson performs the piano masterpiece. On exhibit are Secular Icons, Edward Beckett's contemporary visualization of musical gestures rendered within the strict discipline of Russian iconography. Pasadena Conservatory of Music, USA.
18 March 2010 8.30pm Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano/Juanjo Mena, conductor Simone Pedroni, piano ondes Martenot, tba perform Turangalila Symphonie at Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo (Milan) Italy.
19 March 2010 8.00pm Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano/Juanjo Mena, conductor Simone Pedroni, piano ondes Martenot, tba perform Turangalila Symphonie at Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo (Milan) Italy.
21 March 2010 4.00pm Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano/Juanjo Mena, conductor Simone Pedroni, piano ondes Martenot, tba perform Turangalila Symphonie at Auditorium di Milano Fondazione Cariplo (Milan) Italy.
22- 23 -25 March 2010 8pm Filarmonica della Scala/Zubin Mehta perform Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum La Scala, Milan Italy.
6 April 2010 9pm Catalan National Symphony Orchestra Barcelona/Manuel Valdivieso Les offrandes oubliees at L'Auditoria Simfonica, Barcelona Spain.
12 April 2010 8pm Orchestre de l'Opera National de Paris/Pierre Boulez Melanie Diener, soprano perform Chronochromie, Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, Poemes pour Mi Opera Bastille, Paris France
13 April 2010 20h30 : RÉCITAL D’ORGUE – L’ART DE L’IMPROVISATION IV « PAQUES » DUPRÉ, TOURNEMIRE, MESSIAEN et Improvisation
par Loïc MALLIÉ Notre Dame Cathedral Paris France.
15 April 2010 7.30pm Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Ludovic Morlot Steven Osborne, piano. Oiseaux exotiques. Koncerthuset, Copenhagen, Denmark.
24 April 2010 2.15pm Ensemble Intercontemporain/Susanna Malkki Sebastien Vichard, piano perform Oiseaux exotiques. Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Netherlands.
5 May 2010 7.30pm Benjamin Nabarro, violin, Sarah Butcher, cello, Peter Sparks, clarinet, Matthew Schellhorn, piano perform Quatuor pour la fin du temps Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York UK
7 May 2010 8.30pm LES REFLETS DE MESSIAEN Works for piano and ondes Martenot Véronique Muzy, C.S. Lévine. THEATRE DU BALCON 38, rue Guillaume Puy 84000 Avignon France
9 May 2010 8pm Ensemble Intercontemporain/Susanna Malkki Sebastien Vichard, piano perform Oiseaux exotiques. Philharmonie, Cologne Germany.
13-20 May 2010 7.30 London Symphony Orchestra/Valery Gergiev, Joanna MacGregor, piano and Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot. perform Turangalila Symphonie at Barbican Hall, London UK.
31 May 2010 8pm Ensemble Modern/George Benjamin Ueli Wiget, piano perform Oiseaux Exotiques. Alte Oper, Mozart Saal Frankfurt, Germany.
3-4 June 2010 8.15pm Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/David Robertson Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano perform Un vitrail et des oiseaux. Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.
12 June 2010 11am Ojai Music Festival Eric Huebner, piano performs Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus. California, USA
13 June 2010 5.30pm Ojai Music Festival Ensemble Modern/George Benjamin Ueli Wiget, piano perform Oiseaux Exotiques. California, USA
17 June 2010 7.30pm Peter Serkin, piano, Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Gerard Schwarz performs Oiseaux exotiques. Banaroya Hall, Seattle USA.
19 June 2010 8pm Peter Serkin, piano, Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Gerard Schwarz performs Oiseaux exotiques. Banaroya Hall, Seattle USA.
14 July 2010 7pm Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra/Sylvain Cambreling Momo Kodama, piano perform Reveil des oiseaux at Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan
31 July - 8 August 2010 The 13th edition of the Meiji Messiaen Festival “Boulez/Messiaen, an Eventful Filiation” www.festival-messiaen.com
14 October 2010 (8pm), 15 (8pm), 16 (8pm), 17 (2pm) Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/Gustavo Dudamel Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano, Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot perform Turangalila Symphonie Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles USA
...and 2011
10 February 2011 (7.30pm), 12 (8pm) & 13 (2pm) Seattle Symphony Orchestra/Douglas Boyd Peter Serkin, piano perform Oiseaux exotiques Benaroya Hall, Seattle USA.
7 March 2011 7.30pm. London Symphony Orchestra cond. Sir Simon Rattle perform Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Barbican Hall, London UK.
10 March 2011 (7pm), 11& 12 (8pm) National Symphony Orchestra/Christoph Eschenbach Cedric Tiberghien, piano, Tristan Murail, ondes Martenot perform Turangalila Symphonie The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC USA
25 -26 March 2011 at 8pm Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Jarvi Stewart Goodyear, piano, Cynthia Millar, ondes Martenot perform Turangalila Symphonie Music Hall, Cincinnati. USA
7 April 2011 8.15pm, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Ludovic Morlot perform Les offrandes oubliees. Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; 8 April 8pm BoZar, Brussels; 10 April 2.15pm, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
9 April 2011 8pm Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Ades perform Eclairs sur l'au-dela Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles USA
28 April 2011 (7.30pm), 29 (2pm), 30 (8pm) New York Philharmonic Orchestra/Alan Gilbert, Emanuel Ax, piano perform
Couleurs de la cite celeste Avery Fisher Hall, New York, USA
1 - 2 June 2011 8pm Toronto Symphony Orchestra/Peter Oundjian perform Les offrandes oubliees. Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto Canada.
Please email with any Messiaen concerts or events to be included on this page.