CD 1-2
La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur
Jésus-Christ (1965-1969)
Yvonne Loriod, (piano)
Arturo Muruzabal, (cello)
Martine van der Loo, (flute)
Harmen de Boer, (clarinet)
Peter Prommel, (marimba)
Ruud Stotÿn, (vibraphone)
Henk de Vlieger, (xylorimba)
Ludwig van Gijsegem, (tenor)
Reiner Holthaus, (baritone)
Choir of the BRT, Brussels; Groot Omroepkoor
Radio Symphonie Orkest, Hilversum/Reinbert
de Leeuw
rec. live, Great Hall, Concertgebouw,
Amsterdam, 29 June 1991.
NAÏVE - DISQUES MONTAIGNE MO
782170 [36:44 + 63:13]
CD 3
Visions de l’Amen (1943)
Amen de la Création [7:18];
Amen des étoiles, de la planète
à l’anneau [5:46];
Amen
de l’Agonie de Jésus [7:53];
Amen du Désir [10:54];
Amen des Anges, des Saints, du chant
des oiseaux [7:06];
Amen du Jugement
[2:43];
Amen de la Consommation
[7:08]
Maarten Bon; Reinbert de Leeuw (pianos)
rec. Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht
1988
NAÏVE - DISQUES MONTAIGNE MO
782159 [48:55]
CD 4
Sept haïkaï (1962)
[21:00]
Couleurs de la cité céleste
(1963) [16:10]
Un vitrail et des oiseaux (1986)
[8:20]
Oiseaux exotiques (1955-56) [14:47]
Yvonne Loriod (piano)
Ensemble Intercontemporain/Pierre Boulez
rec. live, 26 November 1988, Théâtre
des Champs-Élysées, Paris
NAÏVE - DISQUES MONTAIGNE MO
782131 [61:45]
CD 5-6
Des canyons aux étoiles
... (1971/4)
Marja Bon (piano); Hans Dullaert (horn);
Ger de Zeeuw (xylorimba); Wim Vos (glockenspiel);
Asko Ensemble; Schönberg Ensemble ;
Slagwerkgroep Den Haag/Reinbert de Leeuw
rec. live, 3 October 1990, Vredenburg
Utrecht.
NAÏVE - DISQUES MONTAIGNE MO
782142 [47:10 + 44:00]
Montaigne/Naïve
has collected the large Messiaen works
which were recorded and released on
their label between 1988 and 1991,
and this 6 CD box commemorates the
centenary of his birth. The selection
features major pieces which cover
a most significant period in Messiaen’s
life as a composer. The earliest of
these is the Visions de L'Amen
for two pianos which was written in
1943, whilst the most recent, Un
Vitrail et des Oiseaux for piano
and small orchestra comes from 1986.
La Transfiguration
de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ
falls into the middle of this period,
seeing its completion in 1969. The
vast forces involved and grand scale
of the work reflect something of the
four year period which it took to
create the piece, but the music is
pure Messiaen, and one of his greatest
achievements. I have to own up to
a special affection for this 1991
live recording in the Concertgebouw
in Amsterdam, as I was in the audience.
Sat to the right of the choir and
actually behind the orchestra, I had
an ideal spot to see exactly what
was going on, and the atmosphere was
electric – reflected in the silence
of the audience throughout. Messiaen
himself recalled that, when the performance
was over, Reinbert de Leeuw "came
down from his desk, and he came up
to me to embrace me in my seat in
the concert hall!!! Where the audience
still was applauding for over ten
minutes! It was an extraordinary performance
..." I’d actually forgotten that
moment, but reading the quote brought
it all back. The VARA radio engineers
know the Concertgebouw location as
well as anyone if not better, and
the recording is exceptionally fine.
Despite having instruments and musicians
spread over a space about the size
of two or more tennis courts the perspectives
are very natural. Messiaen’s sense
of drama and anticipation makes us
wait until some softening-up in the
penultimate movement, Tota Trinitas
apparuit, and then for the truly
hair-raisingly gorgeous climax in
the final Choral de la Lumière
de Gloire. On the strength of
it I bought the old analogue Antal
Dorati/Decca recording almost immediately
afterwards. This seems to be unavailable
now which is a shame, but this performance
and recording knocks it squarely into
a cocked hat on all fronts. Principal
competition for this recording must
now be from Myung-Whun Chung on DG
– which seems to be out of print at
the moment, but for sheer live power
and emotional involvement I’ll stick
with De Leeuw; it made me cry all
over again.
Throughout his life Messiaen maintained
a strong devotion to Catholicism,
and the Visions de L’Amen for
two pianos is a strong representation
of his visionary response to this
faith. I have the good fortune to
have discovered the wonderful 1970
recording with John
Ogdon and Brenda Lucas, but have
to admit to being highly impressed
by this spectacular performance by
Reinbert de Leeuw and Maarten Bon.
De Leeuw is a noted pianist, and Bon
is also known for his various contributions
to the multi-piano repertoire, including
a four piano transcription of Stravinsky’s
‘La Sacre du Printemps’. These are
performances of masculine power in,
for instance, the Amen of the Stars,
and poetic magic in the Amen of
desire, and, short of an out-of
tune string in the upper register
of the left piano which pops out briefly
somewhere near the beginning of Amen
of the Stars there are no real
technical problems at all. This is
one of those pieces which, once you
have become hooked, will have you
looking at all the other desirable
versions around. If there were no
others available, I would however
be perfectly happy with this recording.
The Vredenburg acoustic is suitably
vast without being churchily resonant,
and both players are genuinely in
tune with the spirit of the work.
If you should happen to discover this
work for the first time through this
set and want to explore further then
Steve Osbourne and Martin Roscoe on
Hyperion are high on the recommended
list, and Messiaen also recorded the
work in 1962. There is also Paul
Kim’s remarkable pairing with
his son Matthew. You may sense I am
gently leading you beyond the present
recording, which is true to a certain
extent – you may find this pair’s
sheer power and violence sometimes
goes beyond even that of the Church
and its Creator.
Disc 3 of this set
is a live recording of a concert given
for Messiaen’s 80th Birthday.
While this occasion has its own historical
value, even the incomparable musicianship
of the Ensemble Intercontemporain
and Yvonne Loriod’s incredible pianism
can’t entirely disguise plenty of
ambient audience noises, some well-timed
coughs and a fairly ‘difficult’ theatre
acoustic. Never mind: what we do have
is the premiere performance of Un
vitrail et des oiseaux, which
as its name reveals is deeply concerned
with birdsong for its musical material.
Unfortunately, the booklet is somewhat
partisan in having the individual
notes on all the pieces in French
only, but the riot of colours from
the instruments, written with Messiaen’s
unique way with counterpoint, are
fairly self-explanatory, assuming
you are already familiar with his
work. Both Sept haïkaï
and the more famous Oiseaux exotiques
are similarly avian in content.
Sept Haїkaї
is subtitled "Japanese sketches
for piano and small orchestra"
and is the composer’s musical response
to the landscape and birds of Japan,
as well as the order and ceremony
that defines that country’s culture.
While the title Couleurs de
la cité céleste only
thinly hides a content which also
involves a great deal of birdsong,
the composer’s Christian faith is
also represented in plain-chant alleluias,
and going beyond Western ideas through
the use of Hindu rhythms. This is
a work of fascinating variety, and
comes through as one of the best in
the programme.
I had the good fortune
to be studying at the Royal Academy
of Music when their Messiaen Festival
was held in 1987. Most of the top
flautists had already left or were
gigging for fat salaries at that time,
so several of them resorted to me
as a substitute. I’ve rarely had such
a good time before or since, among
other things playing piccolo in Oiseaux
exotiques and the final work of
this set, the massive Des Canyons
aux Etoiles. We had Yvonne Loriod
playing the piano part, Messiaen in
the audience bundled in scarves and
overcoat, and the marvelous John Carewe
as conductor. I’ll never forget during
one of the rehearsals, Messiaen getting
up and gently describing the melodic
shapes of one of the birds in terms
not only of its song, but in the way
it flew over the water. Melanie Daiken
did her best with on the spot translations,
but by the sound of his voice and
the gentle movement of his hands we
all immediately knew what he wanted
to express.
Knowing Des Canyons
aux Etoiles from the inside helps,
but this is one of those works which
seems to love being recorded. The
music has such a breadth of expression
and such magical atmosphere that it
is almost impossible not to transfer
much of that impression of it onto
disc, assuming the performance is
a good one. Reinbert de Leeuw’s here
is very good indeed, and could hardly
fail with such a stellar lineup of
soloists and ensembles, all of whom
are entirely in tune with 20th
century music and Messiaen in particular.
I’ve known the Esa-Pekka Salonen recording
for CBS as was for as long as it’s
been out, and this is still very good.
It doesn’t beat Myung-Whun Chung on
DG however. Between Chung and De Leeuw
there are a few aspects to consider.
The piano is considerably closer in
the balance with De Leeuw, giving
the instrument more of a ‘concerto’
perspective rather than as a member
of the orchestra as a whole. The De
Leeuw recording is more direct and
visceral in general. The recording
sounds more multi-miked, with brass,
percussion, strings et al right
up and bold-as. The wind machine is
also given a more hefty cranking on
the present disc, and the dark, menacing
noises in Cedar Breaks et le Don
de crainte are mad, almost to
the point of being comic – but it
does all work somehow. In all of these
things Chung is more refined: low
brass notes sound more like organ
pedal notes than deep growly farts,
and the Cedar Breaks noises
are less dramatic, more apologetic
to start with, and then spooky – in
a cheesy ghost tunnel kind of way,
it’s certainly one of Messiaen’s stranger
movements. As a recording to live
with on a permanent basis Chung might
have the edge, but I would say De
Leeuw most certainly has a special
place for his slippers in my CD cupboard.
Chung’s percussion rings on that little
bit longer, his instruments blend
more elegantly and his edges are less
rough hewn, but I admire the craggy
energy from all of De Leeuw’s players,
Hans Dullaert the horn player in particular.
As a set, this has
to be considered a real bargain –
especially when you consider it is
priced at around six discs for the
price of two. None of the performances
will disappoint. Many have an historical,
almost legendary feel to them – the
Transfiguration in particular,
which is worth the price of the box
on its own, but also the 80th
Birthday concert which has its own
unique value despite all the blemishes.
You can also find these pieces flawlessly
directed by Boulez in a nice safe
DG studio. The Visions de l’Amen
may not be an absolute first choice,
but has very many convincing qualities
and is a fine recording and performance
in its own right. The Canyons too
has rivals, but such knowledge is
unlikely to disturb you unless you
have comparisons to hand, and I would
suggest there won’t be many which
will have the beating of the recording
from this set. Fans of Messiaen need
not hesitate to join Naïve Montaigne
in celebrating some of the finest
performances of one of the best composers
the 20th century had to
offer. To those who are exploring
and wish to discover his work from
a single, budget-priced source – I
envy you, enjoy!
Dominy Clements
NAÏVE
- DISQUES MONTAIGNE MO 782179 6CDs
[531:07] 
