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5th March 2008 West Road Concert Hall
CUMS 1 Orchestra – Matthew Schellhorn piano – Jacques Tchamkerten Ondes Martenot – Baldur Brönnimann Guest conductor.
When the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain tackled Turangalila Symphonie at the 2001 Proms to much deserved acclaim, we all marvelled at how an orchestra made up of people no older than19 years of age could bring so much musicality, verve and excitement to this work in the midst of, it has to be said, some rather workman like performances presented by some seasoned professional orchestras around this time.
It is generally accepted that NYO is the cream of our musical youth with the highest standards of teaching and coaching, so could any other aspiring young person’s ensemble achieve such standards? The answer is most definitely ‘yes’ as was experienced by the Cambridge University Musical Society (CUMS) concert at West Road Concert Hall.
Baldur Brönnimann directed with authority if lacking a little dynamism and ensemble, after some slight shaky moments during movement two, gained cohesion and confidence.
There was plenty of power when needed despite the somewhat reduced numbers in some sections. Messiaen specifies (rather optimistically!) for example 10 double basses rather than the 7 here although there was no loss of bottom right from the opening bars in the lower strings. The woodwind section was clear, bright and well articulated especially the capricious bassoon and piccolo in Chant d’amour 2 and the clarinets positively blossomed in the ‘flower theme’ with beautiful tone and control. Only the brass section suffered a little from depletion and the stratospheric D trumpet was missed in the climactic bar before the final Trés lent of the Final. Special mention should be made of the percussion section who in a restricted and confined space covered everything with great aplomb.
Soloists Matthew Schellhorn and Jacques Tchamkerten are becoming quite a ‘team’ now and who wouldn’t want this pair as part of any Messiaen ‘team’? Matthew began the evening’s proceedings with a lucid and fact packed presentation of the Symphonie that concluded with Jacques Tchamkerten introducing the Ondes Martenot with both Matthew and Jacques performing a few bars of Jardin du sommeil d’amour demonstrating how sensitive Jacques Tchamkerten is as a player and the Ondes Martenot is as an instrument.
Matthew Schellhorn’s total command of this virtuoso piano part was never more aptly apparent than in the cadenza at the end of Joie du sang des étoiles – totally breathtaking!
This was a special evening for CUMS and one that all involved should be proud and hold dear to their hearts for a long time. A great achievement.
22nd March 2008 King’s College Chapel.
CUCO – Peter Stevens organ - Choral Scholars of Clare College - Choral Scholars of Gonville and Caius College – Matthew Schellhorn piano – Jacques Tchamkerten Ondes Martenot – Stephen Cleobury conductor.
We knew we were in for a special evening right from the opening bars of Apparition de l’Église éternelle given by Peter Stevens at the mighty King’s organ. Peter Steven’s well controlled crescendo culminating in the Harrison and Harrison awesome 32’ almost literally made the earth move for us! This is the kind of building to hear this work and Stevens made the most of the massive space and reverberation that was both moving and awe-inspiring.
Singing and chanting in unison as the vocal part requires here can have as many pitfalls as complex harmonic performing but this choir with it’s crystalline diction and faultless intonation was way up there with the finest.
Praise indeed, but praise well deserved.
©Malcolm Ball
Turangalila Symphonie Philharmonia Orchestra. Esa-Pekka Salonen conductor, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano, Jacques Tchamkerten, Ondes Martenot. Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on Sea. 15 February 2008
Southend-on-sea is not the first location to spring to mind when thinking of a performance of Messiaen’s mighty Turangalila Symphonie. However, if one thinks of the gayety of children playing on the sun-kissed seafront in summer, the noisy cacophony of the fairground and young lovers strolling along the promenade at night bathed in Southend’s famous multi-fluorescent and colourful illuminations (second only to Blackpool) the heart of Turangalila isn’t that far removed!
The Philharmonia are key players in the South Bank Centre Messiaen Festival driven by the tireless and seemingly unflagging Pierre-Laurent Aimard as artistic Festival director. This team has and will be presenting Turangalila many times throughout the year and it was refreshing to experience such an event in the Essex seaside town.
The main draw back to mounting such a concert at the Cliffs Pavilion is that by nature it is more suited to musical theatre where the orchestra is positioned below in front of the stage whereby audience members seated in the stalls (which is un-raked until half way up the auditorium) can hear a good balance of vocal on stage and music from a ‘pit’ position below. Having a full orchestra on stage meant that those in the first part of the stalls experience some imbalance because brass, percussion and some woodwinds that are behind the strings consequently get a little lost. Having said this, I’m sure that these balance problems did not arise if seated in the circle or the boxes.
Because of the restricted room on stage the orchestra was somewhat reduced in numbers and even then the percussion department especially seemed to lack the necessary elbow room needed to project some moments in the music and it was a shame that all the 'gamelan' type instruments (keyboard percussion) could not be altogether (the vibraphone being at the side).
Esa-Pekka Salonen did a sterling job of holding everything together in what must have seemed an almost straightjacket situation. Salonen knows this music well now and drew out some beautiful nuances from woodwind and strings as well as some amazingly exciting tutti moments. Indeed, I don’t think I’ve heard the last chord of Joie de Sang des Étoiles held for so long since the early days of Maurice La Roux! There was one slight breathtaking moment of the panic kind when in Turangalila 2 the tam tam seemed to take forever to enter and crescendo before the final seven bars.
Only the ninth movement: Turangalila 3 I thought lost a little mystery due to a rather too well paced tempo.
I have found Jacques Tchamkerten to be one of the most sensitive ondists around. His playing was always well balanced even in the fortissimo climaxes, which in the wrong hands can be ear splittingly loud.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard makes the virtuoso piano part look effortless now and one is reminded of Yvonne Loriod in her hey day with that total and absolute involvement with not just the piano part but the entire orchestral canvas. What is more extraordinary about Aimard is the mental and physical work-load of performing the complete Vingt Regards and goodness knows how many Turangalila’s in such a short space of time, as well as overseeing the entire Messiaen Festival. A truly super-human task and we in Great Britain should be so thankful that this Messiaen and Loriod taught Frenchman chose to grace us with his presence for the centenary.
The good people of Southend were treated to a particularly fine bonus in the form of a pre concert talk and performance of Quatour pour la Fin du Temps no less, given by soloists of the Philharmonia (Barnaby Robson, clarinet, James Clark, violin, David Cohen, cello) and Messiaen aficionado Matthew Schellhorn, piano.
This was a heart felt and meaningful performance full of colour and tight ensemble. Despite what looked like Barnaby Robson suffering from the British winter he draw some stunning colours and dynamics from the clarinet in Abime des oiseaux where notes seemed to literally emerge from the depths!
So, fish and chips and candyfloss aside, Messiaen was put firmly on the Southend-on- sea menu on Friday the 15th. Let’s hope for more here in the future.
© Malcolm Ball
www.oliviermessiaen.org
4 play Messiaen magnificently
By Edward Reichel
Deseret Morning News
NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Utah Museum of Fine Arts Auditorium, Sunday 22-4-2007
Olivier Messiaen's impact on music is enormous. The link between impressionists Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and today, Messiaen has served as the inspiration for scores of composers whom he taught or who were influenced by him.
A prolific composer in every genre, Messiaen, who died in 1992 at the age of 84, left a tremendous legacy. Yet surprisingly, his music today goes largely unnoticed and unplayed, not just here in Salt Lake City , but also around the country.
Why is that?
One reason is because he wrote works of great length and complexity. But underneath that lies music of infinite beauty and simplicity. You need to look beyond the surface of Messiaen's music to discover the key to unlocking its secrets. Once you have done that, you can get a solid grasp of what makes Messiaen's music unique.
There is no question that Messiaen created his own musical universe, one that is made up of many different elements and influences. Chief among those is his religiousness. Messiaen was a devout Catholic, and that aspect of his being informs everything he wrote. Yet Messiaen is not a composer of sacred music in the traditional sense. Rather, he finds the divine presence in everything around him.
Messiaen would have been 100 next year. In anticipation of the worldwide centennial celebration, Salt Lake City has taken the lead and is presenting a weeklong festival devoted to the great French composer. The festival got under way Sunday with NOVA and concludes Friday and Saturday with performances by the Utah Symphony of "Des canyons aux etoiles. ..." In between, there will be concerts featuring works for organ and piano, including the monumental "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus," performed by Utah Symphony pianist Jason Hardink.
Sunday, Hardink was joined by symphony colleagues Joe Evans, violin, Noriko Kishi, cello, and Lee Livengood , clarinet, for a sublime reading of Messiaen's early "Quatuor pour la fin du Temps" ("Quartet for the End of Time").
The four musicians played magnificently. They brought insight and depth to their performance, which was intense, emotionally charged and wonderfully expressive. There was a luminescence to their playing that powerfully conveyed the deep spirituality of the work.
Livengood's playing was especially beautiful in the third movement for solo clarinet, "Abyss of the Birds," while Kishi and Evans captured the mystery and otherworldliness of "Praise to the Eternity of Jesus" and "Praise to the Immortality of Jesus," respectively. And Hardink's playing throughout was compelling and incisive. Evans and Kishi opened the concert with Ravel's stark Sonata for Violin and Cello, which they played with intense expression. The third movement in particular was notable for its heartfelt emotion and poignancy.
NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES concert brochure .pdf
Benjamin Fourie performed Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa on July 5th 2006.
This review is by ©Christine Lucia a guest writer for the CUE festival newspaper. 7 July 2006.
Twenty peeps of restrained Messiaen-ic ecstasy
The last of the big piano cycles on the New Music Indaba was Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus, (Twenty Contemplations of the Christ Child) played by Benjamin Fourie on Wednesday night. In comparison to Alvin Curran's Inner Cities and Maria de Alvear's Urbaum, this is an earlier juggernaut from 1944, more user-friendly, its lingering relationship to French impressionism and German serialism making it almost 'old' - for new music, that is.
On the other hand, Vingt Regards (known in the trade as 'Twenty Peeps") was in its day revolutionary. It draws on rhythms from Indian classical music that lend surprising metrical twists and turns, on birdsong that gives the melodic material a certain 'flightiness', on artificially constructed modes (scales) that generate a whole new harmonic language, and on a concept of melodic unity that hearkens back to Brahms.
There are three main themes, Fourie explained in his introduction, and we could follow them Ariadne-like through the two and a half hours it took to play: the Theme of God, the Theme of the Star and the Cross and the Theme of Chords. These lent a narrativity that underscores the composer's vision and sense of the drama of Catholicism.
The last peep (Gaze of the Church of Love) is a veritable dual between God's theme and a theme of night: a Messiaen-ic representation of the struggle between good and evil.
Fourie divided the twenty pieces into two parts, ending the first half with Ten; 'Gaze of the Spirit of Joy'. This and Six: 'By Him Everything Was Made' are two of the more apocalyptic sections where Fourie never for a moment lost control of either the music or the integrity of his conception.
One sometimes wanted him to throw caution to the winds, take risks for the sake of greater power and momentum, succumb to the violence we could all hear in the music, which after all represents the spirit of the Almighty and the creation of the world. Where Fourie scored was in moments where ecstasy needed to sound restrained. His sonorous tone colours were generally admirably rounded, the build ups of crescendi awesome, even if more pianissimo would be welcome among the falling timbres of Messiaen's universe.
Composed in 1944 during the German occupation of Paris, this work is rarely performed in its entirety. But Messiaen conceived it as a whole and it was premiered as such, the composer giving a commentary between movements much as Fourie did.
Some would say this interrupts the flow, but for all its spiritual flights of ecstasy and cataclysmic harmonic and dynamic world it generates, Vingt Regards is also an earthly piece.
It makes us feel our smallness in the face of the divine, and Fourie's take on it, his almost brutal rootedness, stolid pacing, almost pedantic loyalty to the notes, spoke of that humanity.
It was a courageous and haunting performance, and we look forward to the growth of Fourie's conception as he repeats it, and eventually to a recording from this fine South African artist.
My first encounter with Matthew Schellhorn was at the 2002 Messiaen Conference in Sheffield where he presented a paper entitled ‘Les Noces and Trois petites liturgies: An Assessment of Stravinsky’s Influence on Messiaen’. A brave subject to tackle since Messiaen always publicly refuted any links between the two works. However, Matthew’s analysis and research threw new light on the relationship between the two works citing many cross influences between Stravinsky and Messiaen. At the same conference Matthew also made two concert appearances. One along side Peter Hill performing Visions de l’Amen and the other a dazzling account of La Fauvette des jardins a performance that prompted Chris Dingle of BBC Music Magazine to describe as ‘ a cherished memory for those privileged enough to experience it’. For me, I was totally blown away by the sheer energy and power injected into his reading of this incredibly technically demanding music. This was to be repeated with no less gloss in his debut recital at the Purcell Room on London’s South Bank (6th April 2006) as part of the Fresh Young Musician’s Platform series.
It is this ‘power’ in Schellhorn’s playing that sets his interpretations apart from others who are bold enough to tackle these mighty works.
Apart from La Fauvette, Matthew performed four pieces from the Catalogue d’Oiseaux: Le Loriot, Le Traquet stapazin, L’Alouette calandrelle and Le Courlis cendré.
Matthew Schellhorn has the ability to transport his audience to the lakes, mountains and habitats of Messiaen's marvellous birds and we were all touched by his sensitive and masterly interpretations, a fact supported by the enthusiastic reception. As Peter Hill said in his pre concert talk shared with fellow Messiaen authority Nigel Simeone, ‘these works are so rarely performed due to their technical and virtuosic demands’ but Schellhorn surmounted these demands and presented an evening of poetic and musical imagery that, to quote Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, 'was everything Messiaen would have wished'.
Even during the most complex and dense passages in the music Schellhorn displays the sensitivity and timbre control that bring all the species to life with crystalline clarity. However, the birds are only a part of this music. The landscape, habitats and backdrops are just as important, and it is this aspect that Schellhorn makes the most of and one really feels a sense of the grandeur of the mountains, the crashing of waves, the enormity of nature etc.
When I met with Matthew a month or so before the Purcell Room concert we spoke about his piano education and he revealed that he was 16 years old when he first began to work and study Messiaen’s piano music seriously beginning with Ile de Feu 1, Premiére communion de la Vierge (Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus) and Le Courlis cendré (Catalogue d’oiseaux). His love for this music continued to developed and in 2001 he was able to study with Yvonne Loriod in Paris.
He said that the one thing that really came out of these studies was reassurance. Apart from odd technical details, Loriod imparted great personal insight into the music and reassured him that he was doing everything right. A great accolade!
Matthew Schellhorn’s repertoire is wide reaching performing established piano fair by the likes of Beethoven, Chopin and Haydn to 21st century pioneers such as Jeremy Thurlow, James MacMillan and Ian Wilson.
Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone
Series: Landmarks in Music Since 1950 Ashgate ISBN: 0 7546 5630 6
This is the fourth in the series ‘Landmarks in Music since 1950’, series editor Wyndham Thomas and published by Ashgate. The others being: Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8 – Louis Andriessen: Da Staat and Gyorgy Kurtág: The Saying of Péter Bornemisza op.7. A fifth volume, Nicholas Maw: Odyssey is to be published in 2008.
Each book features a general introduction of the work under discussion, details of commission and composition history, contextual discussion of stylistic, generic and international influences and precedents, an analysis of the work, survey of its reception, a bibliography and discography and most importantly a CD recording.
OLIVIER MESSIAEN: Oiseaux exotiques shows Ashgate’s ongoing commitment to the work of Messiaen and the well-honed team of Hill and Simeone provide a highly readable and communicable account of this seminal work. Even in the analysis (Commentary) chapter of the book where often in these textbooks language and technical detail soar to heady heights understood only by those in revered university chambers, this is pitched ideally and is approachable from enthusiasts as well as students and academia.
Although the book is centred on Oiseaux exotiques, Hill and Simeone give detailed accounts of Messiaen’s life and work leading up to its composition and first performance. Facts that hitherto have never found their way into the biographies and text books in the past. Of particular interest here is the origins and birth of Domain Musical where, in typical Hill and Simeone style, they unearth detailed facts and dates mapping its development under Boulez and the setting up of the concert series at the Petit Marigny Theatre.
We are also treated to a lengthy précis of Oiseaux exotique’s predecessor Reveil des Oiseaux and for the first time in print we see Messiaen’s preliminary bird notations transcribed from his many cahiers and trace their development into the works. There are audio examples of these on the accompanying CD played impeccably by Peter Hill. The complete performance of Oiseaux exotiques is taken from the original Vega recording that was made at the world premiere in the Petit Marigny Theatre 1956.
In the chapter: First Performance, Reception and Publication, Hill and Simeone draw our attention to some American… I almost hesitate to call them composers, who were working with similar and sometimes the same bird recordings Messiaen was using around the same time. Jim Fassett who became director of CBS Radio’s music department in the 1940s produced an LP with the title Music and Bird Songs. Fasset had an obvious interest in ornithology and was enthused by the songs of the Wood Thrush, Cardinal etc but he manipulated the songs by slowing them down and changing the pitch to produce his own rather banal popular song melodies. Much worse than this and excruciatingly embarrassing to listen to was Johan Dalgas Frisch’s work where birdsongs were admirably collected as field recordings but then were added to tunes such as Sukiyaki and Swanee River! We have only to thank heaven that Messiaen never went down that road!
We are beginning to see a wealth of Messiaen material now leading up to the centenary in 2008 and a good deal of this is ‘British made’ thanks to the likes of Christopher Dingle, Stephen Broad and of course Nigel Simeone and Peter Hill. The book is presented in the usual high quality Ashgate style with beautifully set musical examples. Perhaps the only one wish is that a few plates of the actual birds would not have gone a miss in such a study although a small internet trawl will reveal these unlike the treasured material contained within these leaves.
©MB
MESSIAEN by Peter Hill & Nigel Simeone. Yale University Press ISBN 0-300-10907-5 Rrp £29.95 Hard Cover
This is very ‘special’ book. ‘Special’ because unlike most books that have been written about Olivier Messiaen this is the first to reveal the almost day to day working life of one of the twentieth century’s most important musical giants. We know there is something ‘special’ in store just by the book’s cover photograph of Messiaen – to my knowledge rarely seen.
Pianist Peter Hill and musicologist Nigel Simeone have long associations with both Messiaen and more especially Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and Peter Hill is well known for the almost definitive study of the music of Messiaen, The Messiaen Companion (see bibliography). Nigel Simeone has written many accounts and delved deep to produce some of the most authoritative writings on Messiaen and French music generally.
Where previous accounts have sought to analyse Messiaen’s oeuvres with sparse accounts of his private life, Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone for the first time have been granted access to his private papers and diaries all made possible by the permission of the composer’s widow Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen. And by ‘private life’ I don’t mean what Messiaen had for breakfast or the colour of his socks but rather facts about his childhood, relationships with his mother, father, brother, aunts and working companions throughout his life, all contribute to a greater understanding of the character and temperament of the man.
Hill and Simeone tread a very bold path from before Messiaen’s birth, through that special mother son relationship into his teens, the passionate but troubled first marriage to Claire Delbos and the birth of their son and the first meeting with Yvonne Loriod, (who went from Messiaen’s page turner to second wife and major interpreter of his piano music), and traces Messiaen’s spiritual and indeed physical journey up to his death.
There are some very moving, often heart-wrenching letters from Messiaen to Claire during the war years and his time in Vichy and the book reveals the intense love, passion and yearning Messiaen had for Claire and his son Pascal always overlooked and by passed by in earlier biographies as Messiaen was fiercely guarded when it came to his private life. The other ‘special’ feature of this book is the publication of many photographs hitherto unseen but for the immediate family. Some of these early photographs at Petichet (Messiaen’s summer retreat near the Alps in south east France) are charged with a romantic enchantment showing father, mother and son like any other family's holiday snapshot such as the one with Messiaen simply sitting in a deck chair reading. Later in the book though it is interesting that Hill & Simeone chose to present photos of Claire and Yvonne on facing pages (pp. 110-111) where Claire’s image is one of forlorn almost vacant desperation and that of Yvonne young and radiant at the piano. One almost feels the stress and irrepressible emotions Messiaen was experiencing through the 40s and 50s a time of the most tortuous personal life but also a time that yielded a plethora of music starting with Visions de l’Amen through to the Catalogue d’Oiseaux.
Apart from the archive photographs previously unseen I found Peter Hill’s own photographs most interesting for example the Messiaen family house at Nantes, the Grenoble shots and those of Fuligny.
The diaries and papers highlight the initial thoughts and framework of many works and give a fascinating insight into how pieces such as Vingt Regards sur l'enfant Jésus, La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ and Livre du Saint Sacrement evolved and grew to their definitive proportions.
There were moments in the book that had me laughing out loud especially when Loriod and Messiaen were departing for London and the taxi that dropped them at the Gare de Nord drove off with their suitcase in the boot which had both of them shouting after the taxi to no avail. Then when Jeanne Loriod suffered an electric shock from her Ondes Martenot when rain got in it at a rather doomed attempt at Turangalila Symphonie in the open air. I know one shouldn’t laugh but I gather she was unharmed - just alarmed!
I also shed a tear when reading the accounts of Messiaen’s declining health and the excruciating pain he must have been in when completing his final works. This really is a case of a man suffering for his art to bring joy to others. And one mustn’t forget the suffering of Yvonne Loriod. Not only the mental suffering caused by the ill health and eventual death of her husband but her own life threatening illness in 1963 resulting in two blood transfusions and hysterectomy with the couple having to face the fact that they would never have children.
The book highlights the punishing concert schedules Loriod and Messiaen undertook, taking them all over the world performing the most demanding programmes which must surely have had an adverse affect on their health. Having said this, the couple did always look forward to their summer retreat at Petichet where Messiaen would do most of his composing and at the same time unwind and get back to nature.
Apart from the diaries and private papers, Hill & Simeone have drawn on many other sources and accounts from latter day researchers for example Stephen Broad, Jacques Tchamkerten, Jean Boivan as well as personal communications from Loriod and close friends such as George Benjamin and Roger Muraro.
Those of us who have experienced Peter Hill and Nigel Simeone in talks or lectures will know just how engaging and communicative they are and this is reflected in the tone and pace of the writing throughout – totally captivating.
I spotted just a couple of minor misnomers. One was photograph 166 which states: Messiaen and Gary Kettel when in fact it is Messiaen and James Holland. The other is note 10 pp185 - the first recording of Visions de l’Amen was recorded by Contrepoint (Granti neuf E. Ploix-Musique Disquaires, 48 Rue St. Placide, Paris) on 78s then transferred to LP by Dial in New York a couple of years later.
My one thought was that perhaps the book ends all too suddenly. The final tribute by Boulez is most definitely apt but I felt I wanted to know a little more of Messiaen after his death. For example the decision to elect Naji Hakim as successor to Messiaen at Trinite, the work of Loriod-Messiaen completing the Traité, archiving Messiaen’s music and papers and so on – or maybe I was so enthralled I just wanted to read on and on!!
Yale have produced a book of the highest quality and Hill and Simeone have achieved a work whose contents many of us thought Olivier Messiaen had taken to that great rainbow in the sky. Bravo Peter and Nigel!
© Malcolm Ball Sept. 05
Copyright © 2000 by the Music Library Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
| "The writing and first performance of French composer Olivier Messiaen's
Quartet for the End of Time, in a German POW camp in the bitter winter of
1941, is one of the great stories of 20th century music. Ohio University
music professor Rischin has gone to heroic lengths to separate the facts
from the legends that have grown up about it. Some of these legends, as
she demonstrates, were encouraged by the composer himself. . . . Rischin
tracked down the elderly Pasquier and violinist Jean La Boulaire (who lived
his postwar life as an actor) and also talked to Messiaen's widow and Akoka's
surviving family. Oddly, none of them had been interviewed [before] about
the occasion . . . . These interviews show a remarkable picture of life
at a desperate time . . . this is a fascinating, and finally believable,
account of a remarkable occasion." -Publishers Weekly |
"Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time premiered on January
15, 1941, in Stalag VIII A, outside of Gorlitz in Silesia. Inmate Messiaen
(1902-92). . . based three movements on earlier-composed material and wrote
five in the camp. A friendly German guard provided Messiaen with paper,
pen, and rehearsal time with the other inmate musicians. Rischin carefully
describes conditions in the camp, how Messiaen was able to compose, the
eventual release or escape of the four musicians, and the musical ideas
expressed in the quartet's rhythms, tempi, and sonorities. . . . A concise
book full of insight into a chamber music classic and its first performers. -Booklist |
"In Rebecca Rischin's excellent . . . For the End of Time, Messiaen's
detachment from temporality emerges in high relief when, during World War
II, he wrote large parts of his ethereal Quartet for the End of Time while
a prisoner of war in a German camp. -David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer |
"Rebecca Rischin's illuminating look at the participating personalities
and historical context of the creation of Olivier Messiaen's Quatour pour
la fin du temps, one of the greatest artistic triumphs of the twentieth
century, provides valuable insight into the complex circumstances surrounding
this extraordinary premiere and allows us a very special glimpse into the
warmth and strength of the human spirit." -Kent Nagano, Music Director and Principal Conductor, Deutsches Symphonie Orchestra, Berlin, Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Opera |
"Messiaen's Quartet was given the most unusual and moving premiere
of any in the twentieth century. The exaggerations which followed have distorted
the event, and in some ways overshadowed the art. Rebecca Rischin has set
all that straight, restored the truth of the occasion, and reasserted the
power of this stunning music. It turns out the cello actually had four strings,
Stalag VIII A was no death camp, and the work's enduring mythology was also
composed by Messiaen. This fascinating new book shows how, and why, this
came to pass." -Charles Barber, San Francisco Conservatory of Music |
 |
Rebecca Rischin has created a work of great
substance by securing interviews with all family members of each of the
quartet’s performers – the Pasquiers (those of the famous Trio
Pasquier) – the Akoka family – and even the elusive La Boulaire
who after the war became an actor and assumed a new identity, and of course
Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and her archive materials left by Messiaen himself. Rischin explores in great detail each player’s personality, philosophical and political ideologies and how it affected their relationships throughout the time of their captivity. She draws on the not inconsiderable archive of Hannalore Laurewald which contain photos, documents and plans of Stalag VIIIA (many of which are reproduced in the book) and to my knowledge never before published. She also manages to track down prisoners who were in the audience at the time of the premiere of Quartet for the End of Time, some of whom recall the event with great passion and tearful recollection. |
EMI Classics 0946 385275 2 7
Les Rarissimes d'Olivier Messiaen is a 2CD release of early archive recordings of Trois petites liturgies de la présence divine, Les Offrandes oubliées, two Vingt Regards extracts, three Préludes, Visions de l'Amen and Quatre Etudes de rythme.
This is a much eagerly awaited release of early recordings of these works made available by EMI as part of their Les Rarissimes series.
The Trois petite liturgies recording presented here is not the premiere recording made with Roger Desormiere in 1945 (this was made available on LYS 310) but an 'equally probing performance' to use Jean-Charles Hoffelé's words from the booklet notes made in 1954 with the Loriod sisters, Ensemble Vocal Marcel Couraud and Orchestre de chambre André Girard conducted by Couraud. The recording is surprisingly clear with good detail throughout the ensemble with the Ondes Martenot quite prominent. The performance generally is 'safe' and detailed perhaps lacking a little 'gay abandon' in the second movement often found in subsequent recordings but bearing in mind that in 1954 this work was still in its infancy and probably better to be safe than sorry! The only slight let down is an out of tune celeste but if you can put up with that this is a fine document.
Speaking of fine documents Desormiere's Les Offrandes oubliees is a premiere recording and it's wonderful that this has at last seen the light of day. Yes the recording is relatively lo-fi but to hear this work in historical context is reward enough.
1947 was the first time Messiaen's piano music could be heard on disc. Pathé recorded extracts of Vingt Regards sur Enfant Jesus and the Préludes all of which are represented here with Yvonne Loriod as pianist. It is perhaps Le baiser de l'enfant Jesus more than Regard de l'Esprit de joie that demonstrates Loriod's command and fluid sensitivity to Messiaen's music and prepares the ground for the ensuing years of piano writing that was to become her hallmark as foremost Messiaen interpreter. I just wish EMI had left a little more time to catch our breath between the two Vingt Regard tracks! Loriod by this time had given many performances of Vingt Regards and the Préludes so the performances are well attuned with the poetic sensitivity that Messiaen intended.
This recording of Visions de l'Amen and the Quatre Etudes de rythme are not the first to be committed to CD (the first being on FMR CD 120) so one would have wished that EMI could have dug out some early radio broadcast performances that have never (and maybe never will) see the light of day.
The Complete Organ Works by Dame Gillian Weir.
The complete cycle - which Messiaen personally urged Gillian Weir to commit to CD - was recorded on the famous organ of Aarhus Cathedral in Denmark during January and February 1994: the original recordings were made in association with BBC Radio 3. Read more in writings and articles
Warner Classics 2564 62162-2
When I was first exposed to the music of Messiaen many years ago now, it was through the French recordings of the Vega and Erato records. It’s easy to forget just how difficult these recordings were to get hold of in those days even though France was a mere 24 miles away, record imports were rare and expensive. Of course nowadays we can obtain a recording from the other side of the world within a couple of days (immediately if it’s available online) such was not the case then. In the mid 80s Erato had the good sense to put together a 17 CD box set of all these early and sometimes first recordings of their Messiaen catalogue. These were presented in a bright rainbow coloured box with all the CDs in hard jewel cases each with their own booklet so the size was not unlike that of a car battery and almost weighing as much! As with many contemporary releases around this time it was soon deleted and became impossible to find. It is these recordings that Warner Classics have resurrected and have had the even better sense to present them in slip in wallets and fold out box where in this case the accompanying booklet weighs more than the CDs and takes up far less space.
So I grew up with a lot of this material and although some are more than forty years old now they still stand up as marvellous interpretations. Yes there have been many newer performances as we enter the 21st century and all have merits of one kind or another but we must remember that many of these Erato recordings were supervised by Messiaen himself and this I’m sure gives that ‘something special’ element that is sometimes lacking in present day performances.
The Eglise Notre-Dame du Liban was never that well sound proofed and the Paris traffic still rumbles by as Yvonne Loriod bravely soldiers through the Catalogue d’Oiseaux. Rather more disturbing is that Warner decided to introduce a ‘noise gate’ during the transfer of Le Loriot in an attempt to eradicate some pre echo that was present on the original recordings. This has resulted in the natural reverberation of the piano being ‘sucked’ out to an artificial silence after the opening chords. I personally would have lived with the slight pre echo and retained the piano resonance but there you are! And don’t try to skip directly to track 4 of CD17 (Des canyons aux étoiles) as you’ll miss the attack of the first chord.
There are a couple of new additions to the set. Turangalila Symphonie and Réveil des Oiseaux are recordings made by Kent Nagano after the composer's death. This reading of Turangalila is surely one of the most exciting but for a mis-placed cymbal crash in the last movement that presumably couldn’t be repaired due it being a live recording.
These minor points aside, this set is an invaluable tool to any student or listener coming to Messiaen for the first time as well as seasoned specialists who missed out on the original set. The booklet contains all the original notes (many by Messiaen) and texts to the choral works in English and French.
Although we still await re releases of the early Loriod piano material and the Erato Fetes des Belles Eaux recording, the Messiaen Edition is a truly welcome re issue and superb value for money for which Warner Classics must be applauded.
©Malcolm Ball 2005
Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus
Yvonne Loriod 1975 (Erato), Pierre-Laurent
Aimard 1999 (Teldec) Steven Osborne 2001 (Hyperion)
After trawling through various catalogues worldwide it appears that Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus is Messiaen's most recorded piano work since Yvonne Loriod's first recordings on Pathé 78s and subsequent LPs in1956, my Vega boxed set of which, after wife and child, would probably be the first thing I would grab from a burning house!
With so many recordings past and present its been hard to single out individual
offerings as most pianists have brought differing characteristics to this work
over the years. Indeed its also been interesting to hear how Loriod's own interpretations
have changed through time.
My first exposure to Vingt Regards was not Loriod but the Hungarian born Thomas
Rajna who came to the Wigmore Hall, London to perform the cycle in its entirety
I think as part of a tour to promote his newly released recording of the work
on 3 LPs for the Saga Record label. Since then there have been offerings from
the likes of John Ogden, Malcolm Troup, Michel Béroff, Hakon Austbo,
Volker Banfield, Joanna MacGregor, Louise Bessette, Roger Muraro, Angela Hewitt
and the great Peter Hill whose complete Messiaen
Piano Music is to appear on Regis Records (its about time!).
The three contenders I have chosen represent real landmarks in the recording
of Vingt Regards. I was always of the somewhat conceited opinion that
a Loriod performance was the definitive - this was until I heard Aimard and
Osborne when I realized that as history develops so a new higher level of interpretation
develops. It is a fact of life that standards rise and boundaries are broken
down, we see this in education constantly but I have to admit that it came as
quite a shock to hear these performances and not be disappointed from
the word go.
After hearing the first two bars of Regard du Pere played by Steven Osborne
I thought at last someone (with the exception of Peter Hill) has captured what
I think is the true tempo and spirit of this movement. So often it is far too
fast as was the case of the then youthful Béroff, or its too muddy and
unclear. This is reflected in the timings of this movement: Loriod 5.21, Aimard
6.10 but Osborne a winner at 8.10. I'm not saying that this cosmically slow
pace always works, indeed in the last movement where Osborne takes a massive
15.34 to reveal the Church of Love against Aimards 11.59 can seem a bit
ponderous - here Loriod gets it just right (as always).
Pierre-Laurent Aimard has made a feature of Regard de l'Esprit de joie
as an encore in his recitals and his dazzling technical fireworks always brings
the house down but generally I found some subtleties in his interpretation less
convincing overall. Take for example the slow right hand chords in the 'Rappell
de "la Vierge et l'enfant" section of Premiére communion
de la Vierge - Aimard comes across as too bell like, almost 'clanky' whereas
Loriod and especially Osborne has these chords merely glistening in the heavens.
The fiendishly difficult Par Lui tout á été fait has
Steven Osborne playing like a man possessed shaving off a good minute and half
from Aimard - real edge of the seat stuff!
All three seem to reach a happy medium in Regard de l'Esprit de joie
with performances around eight and half minutes although Aimard's 'ritual oriental
dance and hunt' are swifter.
Osborne's bird passages are particularly stunning with crystal clear articulation,
speed and colour (I would dearly look forward to a Catalogue d'Oiseaux
by this extraordinary pianist) akin to Messiaen's own interpretation of bird
passages in his early recordings of Ile de feu 1 and Harawi.
One always comes back to the sheer stylish and deep understanding of Yvonne
Loriod's playing - she really 'digs in' to all the accents and never misses
an articulation so important in Messiaen's piano music where there is so much
happening melodically not just between hands but between fingers (for example:'
Les bras tendus vers l'amour' in Le baiser de l'enfant Jesus). This Erato
set is increasingly hard to find but should still be available. Aimard's and
Osborne's are readily available with Osborne's presented in a stylish jewel
case and invaluable booklet with notes by Nigel Simeone quoting from Messiaen's
own diary entries at the time of composing Vingt Regards.
Both the Teldec and the Hyperion recording suffer from the digital characteristic of a slight lack of piano 'depth' in the bass register. This is clearly heard in such movements as La parole toute-puissante and Noël where Messiaen asks for a reverberating tam-tam sound on the lowest three notes of the keyboard. Here they sound a little 'wooden' but the Loriod - Erato scores hands down as the ADD recording captures that growling depth impeccably.
If you only have one version of Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jésus
it has to be Yvonne Loriod. If you can have two versions or you can't get hold
of the Erato then the Steven Osborne - Hyperion is a must. He has certainly
left his mark on this piece with this highly recommened presentation.
MB.
Olivier Messiaen Live: Improvisations inédites
La Praye
Disques
I stumbled on La Praye, a tiny web site and equally tiny independent
label specializing in music for the organ, purely by chance. Based in Rully,
France and Montreal, Quebec their small but highly significant catalogue revealed
this 2 CD set of Messiaen improvising at the organ of La Trinité.
That these recordings came about at all is something of a small two pronged
miracle, and is thanks to the ingenuity of Olivier Glandaz the organ builder
who since 1977 has been responsible for the maintenance of the organ at La Trinité.
It was his idea to make recordings of Messiaen's improvisations during some
of the religious ceremonies and Sunday Masses at the church. The other prong
of this small miracle is down to Maxime Patel the producer of the CD. Apparently
Maxime Patel was approached by Jeanne Loriod in 2001 with an idea to mark the
10th anniversary of Messiaen's death with a release of a CD including Fête
des Belles Eaux. Sadly this project was never realized due to the sudden
death of Jeanne Loriod the same year. So Patel decided to honour the occasion
with the release of these improvisations.
Olivier Glandaz recorded these improvisations between
1984 and 1987 using 'non professional' equipment and thanks to the remastering
skills of Laurent Olivier we are presented with nearly two and a half hours
of the maître at work. Armed only with his little well used book of Gregorian
chant melodies, Messiaen weaves his magic over an often spellbound congregation
who respond with spontaneous applause giving thanks for bringing into focus
musically the lesson that had been read.
There are 29 improvisations in all displaying all aspects of Messiaen's organ
technique and fondness for the characteristic combination registers of the Trinité
organ in styles ranging from the sublime Priére du Christ montant
vers son Pére (L'Ascension) and Priére avant la communion
(Livre du Saint Sacrement) to fiery toccata moments a la Dieu Parmi Nous.
Organ music has always been notorious to record because of the inherent
nature of location. The rumble of traffic, the slamming of the odd door has
to be accepted on the best recordings and yes there is background noise and
yes there is the odd clunking of furniture down below in the church but this
never dims the experience of hearing this music in the spirit it was performed
and for those of us who were never lucky enough to be part of the congregation
at La Trinité these recordings are surely the next best thing. There
is a DVD available (see 'audio/visual
resources' page) which features Messiaen improvising, again an invaluable
document but one which lacks the spontaneity induced by a 'live' audience or
congregation and that's what makes these CDs so important both to the Messiaen
scholar and the interested listener.
At 27 Euros this really is an invaluable addition to any serious CD collection. Congratulations to La Praye!
Olivier Messiaen: Improvisations inédites can be ordered directly from Laurent Olivier at La Praye Disques at www.la-praye.com
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American Record Guide Read more Paul Kim reviews of Messiaen's piano music at musicweb-international.com/ |
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Unlike several years ago, there are now many recordings of Messiaen's vast piano cycle Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus and Jacqueline Chew's account must rate among the top contenders. This is a fine balanced and well focused recording (perhaps a little light in the bass register which is often inherent with digital recordings) with great clarity and colour. Tempos are generally good throughout and capture Messiaen's complex time scales well. Perhaps Jacqueline Chew's absolute fortissimos dont have quite the shere brute force of Osborne or Aimard but they are nonetheless gripping and powerful. It would have been nice to read some more analytical sleeve notes rather than just Messiaen's score notes. Overall a well presented and engaging package. |
