Messiaen: Les corps glorieux, I/20 & Messe de la Pentecôte, I/36

Featuring

Tom Winpenny
Olivier Messiaen

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Composer Biography

Olivier Messiaen, a towering figure in 20th-century European music, entered the Paris Conservatoire at a remarkably early age in 1919.

Instruments

The organs of Hildesheim Cathedral, where this recording was made, were almost entirely destroyed in World War II and have been rebuilt and enlarged multiple times since.

Composer Biography

Messiaen was appointed Organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité (La Trinité) in Paris in 1931 and remained there for over sixty years until his death.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Messiaen's highly personal musical language drew heavily on the natural world, the music of Eastern cultures, and his devout Catholicism.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Messiaen's interest in birdsong was stimulated during his time as a prisoner of war, and he later stated, 'Birdsong is also my refuge.'

Performer Biography

Tom Winpenny, the organist on this recording, is Assistant Master of the Music at St Albans Cathedral and was previously sub-organist at St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Composition History

Messiaen composed Les Corps glorieux and Messe de la Pentecôte more than a decade apart, representing two stylistically different periods of his music.