Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen

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.

Messiaen - Chamber Works

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.

Messiaen: Livre du Saint-Sacrement

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.

Messiaen - Chamber Works

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.

Messiaen - Turangalîla Symphony

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.

Olivier Messiaen - Chamber Works

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.

Polyphonies 'Jeune France'

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.

Martha Argerich & Friends - Live from the Lugano Festival 2007

Olivier Messiaen - Centenary Edition

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.