Essential Messiaen discs.

[Bryn]

Just had an email from our dear friend 'Mahlerei'. He is currently reviewing the Eschenbach which he quite likes, though his preferred recording is the Cambrelling.

[Oliver]

Mea Culpa, Don Petter; the recording to which I referred was indeed the Couraud....I bought Baudo's Honegger Symphonies1 and 2 at the same time, hence the error.

[Pulcinella]

Here's a link to the original Argo CD of Simon Preston playing La Nativite, mentioned above.

http://www.discogs.com/Messiaen-La-Nativité-Du-Seigneur/master/230555

And here's his other one: recorded in St Alban's so it says on the back cover.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORGANIST-SIMON-PRESTON-MESSIAEN-LES-CORPS-GLORIEUX-LE-BANQUET-CELESTE-ARGO-LP-/121028905681

So no St Giles!

[Don Petter]

Mea Culpa, Don Petter; the recording to which I referred was indeed the Couraud....I bought Baudo's Honegger Symphonies1 and 2 at the same time, hence the error.

No problem! I thought it should show up if he had recorded the work.

Kindred spirits on our Messiaen choice!

[Richard Barrett]

I have to declare an interest, having written the notes for the Eschenbach set, but I'd be intrigued to hear what you think of it (I see the whole thing is avaiable to try out on spotify). For myself, I'm more than happy with Constant and/or De Leeuw. Like you, this is one of my very favourite Messiaen pieces (along with Transfiguration) - and Eschebach certainly makes a committed case for it.

Sold.

[makropulos]

Looks like Richard might have to bite the bullet and force himself to listen to the De Leeuw, for which I too have a soft spot. Bought separately the pro rata price is pretty indefensible compared to the 6 CD set:



I got the content separately before the boxed set was released.

This is a simply marvellous set, above all for the outstanding Des Canyons... and Transfiguration from De Leeuw et al. I see the whole lot can be had (new copies) for about 25 quid, which is a great bargain.

[Richard Barrett]

I was just listening to the Chung recording of Des canyons aux étoiles and noticed something nasty that I hadn't heard before... in "Les ressuscités..." there's a point (just before 5'00") where one of the clarinets makes a too-early entry that sticks out like a sore thumb. I wonder why that was allowed to stay in. I guess it's taken me a few listens to notice it, but from now on it will be sitting there waiting to annoy me every time.

[makropulos]

I was just listening to the Chung recording of Des canyons aux étoiles and noticed something nasty that I hadn't heard before... in "Les ressuscités..." there's a point (just before 5'00") where one of the clarinets makes a too-early entry that sticks out like a sore thumb. I wonder why that was allowed to stay in. I guess it's taken me a few listens to notice it, but from now on it will be sitting there waiting to annoy me every time.

Ha! I hadn't spotted that, but now I see and hear exactly (and annoyingly) what you mean! Having said which, it's still a pretty terrific performance otherwise, n'est-ce pas?

[Richard Barrett]

Yes it is. Maybe I can find a way of removing the carbuncle in question without it sounding too artificial...

[mangerton]

Here's a link to the original Argo CD of Simon Preston playing La Nativite, mentioned above.

http://www.discogs.com/Messiaen-La-Nativité-Du-Seigneur/master/230555

And here's his other one: recorded in St Alban's so it says on the back cover.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORGANIST-SIMON-PRESTON-MESSIAEN-LES-CORPS-GLORIEUX-LE-BANQUET-CELESTE-ARGO-LP-/121028905681

So no St Giles!

Thanks, Pulcinella. Good to see that my memory was not totally at fault.

I'm not sure that the St Giles organ as it was fifty years ago would have done Messiaen justice. I suspect the Rieger organ installed in 1992 might be a rather different story.

[MrGongGong]

Yes it is. Maybe I can find a way of removing the carbuncle in question without it sounding too artificial...

Surely someone at DMU has the necessary skills to do that simple task (ask Simon next door )

[Richard Barrett]

someone at DMU

It might be little more than a matter of editing a fraction of a second out and then making up the time by inserting a snippet of the same chord from elsewhere, rather than anything more computationally clever, but it will have to wait, today I shall be mostly making some chords of my own with the help of CSound.

[silvestrione]

I don't think Chronochromie has been mentioned? A masterpiece, argued Wifred Mellers years ago, and I've never seen reasons to disagree!
I know three very fine recordings, from Dorati/BBC Sym EMI, Boulez and the Cleveland on DG, and George Benjamin on a disc called Horizon 2, with the RCO.
Rattle did it in concert at the proms with the CBSO: superb.

I have now listened again to all four of these (I too have an off-air CD-R of the Rattle!).
Somewhat to my surprise, I liked the Boulez least. A slightly cold, clinical version it seemed this time. The broad string melody in the Antistrophe isn't properly 'underlined' by the bass at the end, as it is by Dorati, and the evocation of the stream in the Introduction is perfunctory compared with Rattle in particular.
The George Benjamin has the advantage of wonderfully refined playing from the Concertgebouw winds and percussion, but the Epode for 18 solo strings is distant and uninvolving.
The Dorati is terrific, even if the instruments are up-close at times. I listened to the old ASD LP, which has marvellous presence, and came with an intro by Messiaen, with handwritten musical examples! Those were the days.
The Rattle performance just shades it, for me, because of the sense of the players' involvement, and the Epode coming across as an ecstatic dancing jam-session.

[teamsaint]

Just received an excellent ( hardly) used bargain box of the Brilliant classics 17 CD set of Piano and Organ works.

and guess what? the nice guys at Brilliant throw in a little game, just to make sure you really are listening.
the CDs are all numbered incorrectly. Hurrah !!

well, I say all, that isn't quite right. Nos 16 and 17 are just fine.
but as for the rest..well it was fun rehousing them in the correct sleeves.!!




( The previous owner had started a chart , on a post it note, still stuck inside the booklet. sadly , they hadn't managed to get any further than creating a grid, so that was no help.).

I take it nobody else has had the same problem?

( Incidentally, brilliant had a similar issue with a 3 CD set of Mozart sacred Choral works.)

[Bryn]

Just received an excellent ( hardly) used bargain box of the Brilliant classics 17 CD set of Piano and Organ works.

and guess what? the nice guys at Brilliant throw in a little game, just to make sure you really are listening.
the CDs are all numbered incorrectly. Hurrah !!

well, I say all, that isn't quite right. Nos 16 and 17 are just fine.
but as for the rest..well it was fun rehousing them in the correct sleeves.!!




( The previous owner had started a chart , on a post it note, still stuck inside the booklet. sadly , they hadn't managed to get any further than creating a grid, so that was no help.).

I take it nobody else has had the same problem?

( Incidentally, brilliant had a similar issue with a 3 CD set of Mozart sacred Choral works.)

I got the recordings in that set in earlier boxes (the organ works in a Brilliant Classic one, the piano works in their Regis set - though I previously had them on LP or cassette, and the vocal works as a Brilliant Classics double CD album). They were all correctly labelled.