Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles... ("From the Canyons to the Stars...")

Featuring

Ludovic Morlot
Jeffrey Fair
Matthew Decker
Michael A. Werner
Steven Osborne
Seattle Symphony

Olivier Messiaen

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles… is deeply rooted in his visionary Catholicism, which he considered the 'first aspect of my work, the noblest and, doubtless, the most useful and valuable.'

Compositional Technique

Messiaen, an authoritative ornithologist, extensively quoted birdsong in his music, including in Des canyons aux étoiles….

Performer Biography

Ludovic Morlot, the conductor on this album, served eight years as Music Director of the Seattle Symphony and is now its Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus.

Recording & Production

This recording of Olivier Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles… was captured live in concert on June 2 & 4, 2022, as part of the Seattle Symphony's 2021/2022 Delta Air Lines Masterworks Series.

Compositional Technique

Des canyons aux étoiles… features two exotic instruments, the aeoliphone (wind machine) and the geophone, which imitate the sounds of wind and rumbling earth, respectively.

Composition History

Olivier Messiaen's work Des canyons aux étoiles… was inspired by his 1972 visit to Bryce Canyon National Park and nearby scenic areas in southern Utah.

Compositional Technique

Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles… incorporates three main inspirations: the correspondence between sound and color, the sounds of the natural world including birdsong, and his Catholic faith.