Messiaen: Poèmes pour Mi and 3 Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine
8/18/2017, 12 Tracks, 59:26
Featuring
Ludovic Morlot
Jane Archibald
Cynthia Millar
Michael Brown
Seattle Symphony
Northwest Boychoir
Olivier Messiaen
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi is a cycle of nine songs, with texts written by the composer, that he created as a gift for his wife, Claire Delbos, a violinist and composer, whom he affectionately nicknamed 'Mi' (the French musical note E).
Compositional Technique
The Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine, composed after Messiaen's release from a German prison camp, features an unusual ensemble of percussion, piano, string orchestra, and ondes Martenot, an early electronic instrument.
Interpretation
For this recording of Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine, conductor Ludovic Morlot substituted a boychoir for the women's choir specified in the original score, aiming to achieve the 'pure, angelic voices' Messiaen intended.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Olivier Messiaen, a major French composer of the 20th century, created a unique musical language using bird calls, self-invented scales and chords, rhythms from an ancient Hindu treatise, numerical symbols, and a strong connection between sound and color.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Messiaen's work expresses a visionary mindset focused on the miraculous and transcendent, drawing inspiration from the cosmos, nature, myth, numerology, ancient civilizations, and his personal Roman Catholicism.
Recording & Production
The Seattle Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media, in 2014 and has received three Grammy Awards and 23 Grammy nominations for its extensive recording history.
