La Mort du nombre, for soprano, tenor, violin & piano, I/6
Vocalise-étude, for soprano & piano (orchestrated as II mvt. of "Concert à quatre"), I/15
Chants de terre et de ciel, song cycle for soprano & piano, I/19
Theme and Variations, for violin & piano, I/10
This elegant release includes some of Messiaen's most accessible early vocal and chamber music. The music's roots in the French musical culture of the early twentieth century is plainly evident, so the CD should appeal to fans of gentle post-Impressionism. The music is still recognizably Messiaen; his distinctive harmonies and idiosyncratic sense of rhythm are apparent, but this is the composer at his most sensual, without the spikiness or austerity that characterize some of his later work. These pieces were all written ...
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This elegant release includes some of Messiaen's most accessible early vocal and chamber music. The music's roots in the French musical culture of the early twentieth century is plainly evident, so the CD should appeal to fans of gentle post-Impressionism. The music is still recognizably Messiaen; his distinctive harmonies and idiosyncratic sense of rhythm are apparent, but this is the composer at his most sensual, without the spikiness or austerity that characterize some of his later work. These pieces were all written when the composer was in his twenties. The most substantial work here is the song cycle Chants de terre et de ciel, which Messiaen wrote to his own texts for his wife. The saturated harmonies and fluid rhythms give the music a sinuous and almost erotic intensity. There are many moments when the music achieves an ecstatic stillness, in which time seems suspended. Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc has a voice with the purity and immaculate intonation that the songs (which were long...
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