Ex. VAT prices will be applied automatically for non-EU delivery addresses. See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps
For its latest recording, France's acclaimed Trio Wanderer turn to the visionary music of countryman, Olivier Messiaen. For his ethereal Quartet for the End of
Time, the Trio is joined by the accomplished French clarinetist Pascal Moraguès.
Created in exceptionally difficult conditions while he was held as a German prisoner of war, the Quartet
sums up the composer's innovations in harmony and rhythm. | 
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| |  | Messiaen - Chamber Works
James Clark (violin), Philippe Honoré (violin), Rachel Roberts (viola), David Cohen (cello), Kenneth Smith (flute) & Barnaby Robson (clarinet) British pianist Matthew Schellhorn is joined by the Soloists of the
Philharmonia Orchestra in this recording of Olivier Messiaen's
chamber works, including the eight-movement masterpiece Quatuor pour la fin du Temps and the world première
of Morceau de lecture à vue. Matthew will be performing at St Georges, Bristol in July with The Soloists
of the Philharmonia. "An excellent pianist and an excellent exponent. … Accuracy, rhythm, sonority, technique, emotion … everything is played as Messiaen wished it." Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen | 
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Michael Bonaventure (Rieger Organ of St Giles' Cathedral Edinburgh) The seeds for Messiaen's final organ work were sown during an
inspirational trip to Israel in 1984. Over the course of the next
twelve months, Messiaen found improvisation leading him back to
composition after the exhausting labours that had produced his
mighty opera Saint François d'Assise.The Livre du Saint Sacrement
became Messiaen's grand farewell to his own instrument, and
Michael Bonaventure performs it from memory here on the Rieger organ at St Giles' Cathedral, the true
acoustic of which preserves the clarity of Messiaen's lines. “The Livre du Saint Sacrement (1986) was Messiaen’s final great cycle for the organ, 18 movements lasting about two hours. The music is elemental, devout, ritualistic, eclectic. Sometimes it seems simple, a tune and shimmering accompaniment, even a single line (as in the third movement, Le Dieu caché). And sometimes it rejoices in a cacophonic chaos of counterpoint (as in movement 13, Les Deux murailles d’eau). It is always direct, however, and utterly sincere. Michael Bonaventure cajoles from the mighty Rieger organ of St Giles’ Cathedral a formidable range of authentically Gallic-sounding colours in his commanding, thrilling and brilliantly executed performance.” Sunday Times, 29th June 2008 **** “In Michael Bonaventure's performance on the Rieger organ of St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, the work plays for almost two hours. On disc it should be sampled in smaller quantities to appreciate the power of the best of the organ writing. Bonaventure certainly allows the music all the space it needs, but there's also a rhythmic energy to his playing that never allows it to hang fire for too long.” The Guardian, 27th June 2008 *** | 
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| |  | Messiaen - Chamber Works
Robert Plane (clarinet) Gould Piano Trio Described by The Independent as ‘master musicians’ The Gould Piano Trio, one of the most exciting ensembles to emerge in recent years, is joined by clarinettist Robert Plane for this recording to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest composers – Olivier Messiaen. Messiaen’s wartime masterpiece the outstanding Quartet for the End of Time was composed during the darkest days when he was a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. The particular instrumentation – piano, violin, cello and clarinet was determined by these circumstances. The result is an uplifting and spiritual work and Messiaen’s most significant contribution to chamber music. Its premiere is one of the legendary premieres of the twentieth century for it took place in the camp theatre before 5000 fellow-prisoners. ‘Never have I been listened to with such attention and such understanding’, Messiaen later recalled. The works also received a review in the camp newsletter, which recorded that: ‘The last note was followed by a moment of silence which established the sovereign mastery of the work.’ Quartet for the End of Time is coupled with the shorter work, Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano and the premiere recording of Piano Transcription of Les Offrandes oubliées. Theme and Variations was composed as a wedding gift from Messiaen to his wife whom he married in 1932. Like her husband, Claire was a devout Catholic and a composer as well as an accomplished violinist. The violin writing testifies to Claire’s passionate musicality and her technical skill, and as so often with Messiaen’s shorter works, has a power and presence that seems to belie its modest proportions. Les Offrandes oubliées, subtitled ‘méditation symphonique’ was composed in the summer of 1930, shortly after Messiaen completed his studies at the Paris Conservatoire. The work forms a stepping stone between the miniature world of the piano Préludes and the tumultuous virtuosity of his later piano music. | 
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| |  | Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphony
Michel Beroff, Jeanne Loriod, Yvonne Loriod, Wolfgang Meyer, Christoph Poppen & Manuel Fischer-Dieskau London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn | 
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| |  | Messiaen - The Montaigne Recordings
This 6 CD set is being released to mark the centenary of the birth of the great 20th century French composer Olivier Messiaen. The music on these discs was originally recorded between 1988 and 1991 and released on the label “Montaigne”. The selection of works included feature major works that cover the 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 the year 1986.
Throughout his life Messiaen maintained a strong devotion to Catholicism, and many of his works like “Visions de L’Amen”, “ La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur, Jesus Christ”, a large scale piece for choir and orchestra that was written in the late 1960’s, and the 1963 composition for piano and ensemble “Couleurs de la Cité Celeste” are representations of his unwavering faith in Christianity. Messiaen was also an avid birdwatcher and recorded and catalogued their songs which he transcribed and used to marvellous effect in several of his compositions, including the aptly named “Oiseaux Exotique” of 1956, which alongside the later “Un Vitrail et des Oiseaux” is similarly written for piano and chamber ensemble. The “Sept Ha?ka?” was written in 1962 and is subtitled “japanese sketches for piano and small orchestra”. It 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. The final work in this set is the massive “Des Canyons aux Etoiles”, for solo piano, horn, xylorimba, glockenspiel and orchestra. Written in 1974, it is a monumental cycle of meditations on the majesty of God in all his creation, and was inspired by a visit that the composer made to the great canyons of Utah in the U.S.A. Artists featured in the recordings include renowned Messiaen interpreters, Pierre Boulez, Yvonne Loriod, the Schoenberg Ensemble, and Reinbert de Leeuw. | 
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| |  | Olivier Messiaen - Chamber Works
Hebrides Ensemble, William Conway Includes the first recording of Fantaisie, a work for violin and piano, thought to be lost until it was re-discovered
by Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen and then published in 2007. “Scotland’s hottest property.” The Guardian | 
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| |  | Polyphonies 'Jeune France'
Ensemble Sequenza 9.3, Catherine Simonpietri Dating from 1953, Le Cantique des Cantiques is among Daniel-
Lesur's finest pieces - and is perhaps the only one of his major
compositions to be performed outside France with any
frequency.Written for 12-part unaccompanied voices, it was one
of the remarkable group of works commissioned by the brilliant
choral conductor Marcel Couraud. In the late 1940s and ‘50s,
Couraud commissions included two other classics of the 20th-century choral repertoire: Messiaen's Cinq
Rechants inspired by the Tristan legend of love-death, and Jolivet's Epithalame, written as a celebration of his
own 20th wedding anniversary. Daniel-Lesur's piece shares with these the common theme of love-songs,
something which Couraud stipulated in his commissions from these three veterans of 'La Jeune France',
founded in 1936 in a spirit of musical cohesion, quality and friendship by four French composers: Olivier
Messiaen,André Jolivet , Daniel-Lesur and Yves Baudrier. 2008 is the centenary of the births of Olivier
Messiaen and Daniel-Lesur.Vocal ensemble Sequenza 9.3, who were awarded a Diapason d'or in 2006,
commemorate the composers through this recording. | 
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| |  | Martha Argerich & Friends - Live from the Lugano Festival 2007
Bartók: | Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz 75 Renaud Capuçon (violin) & Martha Argerich (piano) | Beethoven: | Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 'The Ghost' Martha Argerich (piano), Renaud Capuçon (violino) & Mischa Maisky (violoncello) Piano Quartet in D major, WoO 36, No. 2 for violin, viola, violoncello and piano Karin Lechner (piano), Alissa Margulis (violin), Lida Chen (viola) & Mark Dobrinsk (cello) | Busoni: | Fantasie für eine Orgelwalze (Mozart/Busoni) Martha Argerich (piano) & Lilya Zilberstein (piano) | Dohnányi: | PIANO QUINTET No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1895) Nicholas Angelich (piano), Dora Schwarzberg (violin), Lucy Hall (violin), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola) & Jorge Bosso (cello) | Glinka: | Grand Sextet in E flat major for piano, string quartet & double bass Alexander Mogilevsky (piano), Lucy Hall (violin), Alissa Margulis (violin), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola), Mark Drobinsky (cello) & Enrico Fagone (doublebass) | Lutoslawski: | Variations on a Theme of Paganini for 2 Pianos Martha Argerich (piano) & Mauricio Vallina (piano) | Messiaen: | Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano Alissa Margulis (violin) & Francesdco Piemontese (piano) | Ravel: | Ma Mère l'Oye Martha Argerich (piano) & Alexander Mogilevsky (piano) Daphnis et Chloé (for 2 pianos) (transcribed for two pianos by Lucien Garban) Sergio Tiempo (piano) & Karin Lechner (piano) | Schumann: | Andante and Variation for two pianos Op. 46 Martha Argerich (piano) & Gabriela Montero (piano) Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Martha Argerich (piano) |
"These annual live sets from the Lugano festival are one of the delights of the year." The Observer | 
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| |  | Olivier Messiaen - Centenary Edition
Louis Thiry (organ of Geneva Cathedral) 1972 recordings. This centenary set from Calliope is a well-timed reminder of
the great recordings that continue to emanate from this label.
Messiaen’s many distinguished pupils included Pierre Boulez,
Yvonne Loriod (who later became Messiaen's second wife),
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Iannis Xenakis and George Benjamin.
Louis Thiry recorded almost all the organ works, after
working on the scores with the composer in these first
stereo recordings. | 
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