Messiaen: Complete Organ Music, Vol. 3

Featuring

Hans-Ola Ericsson
Olivier Messiaen

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Olivier Messiaen, the composer, believed rhythm was the fundamental and most essential component of music, existing even before melody and harmony.

Compositional Technique

Messiaen developed unique rhythmic techniques, including adding time values to notes or rests, using non-retrogradable rhythms (palindromes), and employing polyrhythms.

Compositional Technique

Messiaen's music from 1949-1952, including the organ pieces on this album, shows an incessant striving to explore harmony and organize musical material in new ways, influencing serial music of the 1950s and 60s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Messiaen's music is deeply rooted in theological ideas, viewing music as a way to "touch God" and express the mysteries of the Catholic faith, such as the Trinity.

Compositional Technique

Messiaen incorporated rhythms from Indian tradition and Ancient Greek metre into his music, aiming to break free from traditional European rhythmic constraints.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Messiaen was deeply captivated by birdsong, making systematic records of bird cries and using them as a principal melodic material in his compositions, starting with "Birdsongs" from Livre d'orgue.

Recording & Production

During the recording sessions for this album, the organ builders, Anders and Jan-Olof Gronlund, were present and changed the intonation of the Luleå Cathedral organ at the suggestion of Hans-Ola Ericsson, the performer, to better suit Messiaen's music.