As
the Messiaen centenary year draws to a close and with the approach
of Christmas, it seemed to me that a reminder of Jennifer Bate’s
excellent performance of La Nativité would not come amiss.
Originally recorded for Unicorn Kanchana, it’s now available
singly, as above, or in a 6-CD box set, RRC6001. The same recording
is also available as a download from Chandos’s theclassicalshop.net
but, as it omits Apparition and costs £7.99 – considerably
more than the usual price of the Regis CD – I recommend staying
with the physical disc on this occasion. If you’re looking
to download, I recommend Gillian Weir’s equally fine offering
of the three works on Priory PRCD921, which may be had from
theclassicalshop.net as a 320k mp3 for £4.99.
Peter
Quantrill reviewed
Jennifer Bate’s complete set alongside Olivier Latry’s more
recent DG recordings in 2002 and, though he awarded Latry the
accolade by a short head in la Nativité and in general,
he nevertheless thought that purchasers of Bate’s performances
would ‘gain many hours of pleasure and unfailingly sensitive
playing’, a sentiment with which I gladly concur.
Nativité
consists of nine sections, each depicting an aspect of the Christmas
message. As usual with Messiaen, one has to be prepared to
look underneath the surface of the familiar to discover deeper
doctrinal implications. Sections such as La Vierge et l’Enfant
(Virgin and Child, track 1), Les Bergers (Shepherds,
tr.2), Les Anges (Angels, tr.6) and Les Mages
(the Magi or Wise Men, tr.8) are self-explanatory and evoke
familiar Christmas card scenes, but other sections explore God’s
eternal plans (Desseins éternels, tr.3), St John’s description
of Jesus as the Logos or Word (Le Verbe , tr.4) and of
the hearers of the Word as the Children of God (Les Enfants
de Dieu, tr.5), the acceptance of suffering implied in the
Nativity (Jésus accepte la souffrance, tr.7 – some real
growling from the organ here, as if in sympathy) and the fulfilment
of Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus as Emmanuel, God with us (Dieu
parmi nous, tr.9).
This
is certainly not seasonal background music but it is deeply
rewarding and satisfying if heard in the right spirit – by which
I don’t mean that the listener has to subscribe to Messiaen’s
blend of mystic Catholicism to appreciate it. Quiet contemplation
will do fine – those seeking an adjunct to meditation will find
it excellent. When trying to meditate, I find myself either
too full of thought or inclined to nod off – Messiaen’s organ
music in general and la Nativité in particular are excellent
antidotes. Some of his orchestral music can be a little tough
going – one can often see where his more avant-garde pupil Boulez
was coming from – but la Nativité is approachable without
ever being facile.
Messaien
himself described Jennifer Bate’s recording of this work as
‘vraiment parfait’, and I’m certainly not going to contradict
the master. The other works are equally well performed – I
refer you to PQ’s review
for detailed comparisons.
The
organs employed, at Beauvais and Sainte Trinité, are excellent
instruments for the purpose and the recording – originally UHJ
ambisonic – very good throughout. I wasn’t troubled by the
Beauvais reverberation as much as PQ was, though it is noticeable.
With
an attractive cover, first-class documentation – much fuller
than one would expect from a CD in the lowest price category,
including Messiaen’s own descriptions of each of the sections
of la Nativité – and 72 minutes of excellence. A ridiculously
inexpensive CD.
Brian Wilson
Jennifer Bate (organs
of Beauvais Cathedral and Sainte Trinité) 
