Ondes Martenot

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Rare instrument specialist Thomas Bloch is equally at home performing on the soundtrack of Amadeus, on stage with Radiohead, or at Milan’s La Scala (playing glass harmonica, cristal Baschet or ondes Martenot). This CD offers the widest possible range of repertoire for the ondes Martenot, one of the earliest electronic instruments (1919): a solo work and an ensemble for nine ondes Martenot (Bloch), chamber music (Martinu, Messiaen), double concerto with piano, orchestra and percussion (Wisson), electroacoustic compositions (Redolfi, Touchard), and a fully composed piece (Cooper) which contrasts with a partially improvised work (Rolin). These at times surprising works are performed by Bloch and some of his fellow-composers, and also feature Phil Minton, Fernand Quattrocchi, the Pomeranian Quartet and the Paderewski Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Valse Sentimentale - Clara Rockmore
Oraison - Ens D'Ondes De Montreal
Etude Aux Chemins De Fer - Pierre Schaeffer
Williams Mix - John Cage
Klangstudie II - Herbert Eimert/Robert Beyer
Low Speed - Otto Luening
Dripsody - Hugh Le Caine
Forbidden Planet: Main Title - Louis Barron/Bebe Barron
Elektronische Tanzste: Concertando Rubato - Oskar Sala
Poem Electronique - Edgard Varese
Sine Music (A Swarm Of Butterflies Encountered Over The Ocean) - Richard Maxfield
Apocalypse-Part 2 - Tod Dockstader
Kontakte - James Tenney/William Winant
Wireless Fant - Vladimir Ussachevsky
Philomel - Milton Babbitt
Spacecraft - MEV

Tracks:

Cindy Electronium - Raymond Scott
Pendulum Music - Sonic Youth
Bye Bye Butterfly - Pauline Oliveros
Projection Esemplastic For White Noise - Joji Yuasa
Silver Apples Of The Moon, Part 1 - Morton Subotnick
Rainforest Version 1 - David Tudor
Poppy Nogood - Terry Riley
Boat-Woman-Song - Holger Czukay
Music Promenade - Luc Ferrari
Vibrations Composees: Rosace 3 - Francois Bayle
Mutations - Jean-Claude Risset
Hibiki-Hana-Ma - Iannis Xenakis
Map Of 49's Dream The Two Systems Of Eleven Sets Of Galactic Intervals: Drift Study '31/69 c.... - La Monte Young

Tracks:

He Destroyed Her Image - Charles Dodge
Six Fants On A Poem By Thomas Campion: Her Song - Paul Lansky
Appalachian Grove - Laurie Spiegel
En Phase/Hors Phase - Bernard Parmegiani
On The Other Ocean - David Behrman
Stria - John Chowning
Living Sound, Patent Pending Music For Sound-Joined Rooms Series - Maryanne Amacher
Automatic Writing - Robert Ashley
Canti Illuminati - Alvin Curran
Music On A Long Thin Wire - Alvin Lucier
Melange - Klaus Schulze
Before And After Charm (La Notte) - Jon Hassell
Unfamiliar Wind (Leeks Hills) - Brian Eno

Amazon.com

Opening with Clara Rockmore's reworking of Tchaikovsky with the theremin, and finishing with one of Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes, OHM artfully succeeds in its goal of giving a representative (as opposed to the impossible, comprehensive) overview of the first several decades of electronic music. Over 3 discs, 42 compositions, and 96 pages of notes and photos, OHM clearly illustrates the producers' and contributing writers' point that early electronic music is much of the foundation of contemporary music. Herein lies the connective tissue bridging musique concrète, 20th-century classical, electronic experimentation, and the theoretical avant-garde to psychedelia, ambient, dub, techno, electro, and synthpop and the globalization of sound. The groundbreaking uses of loops, sampling, drones, remixes, and cut-and-paste technology are put fully into context. The diversity of music included makes any sort of summation impossible, but that is also the point: electronic music is not really a genre, but an open field of endless possibility. From John Cage's famous "William's Mix" of tape snippets to Karkheinz Stockhausen's electronic orchestral compositions, from David Tudor and Holger Czukay's experiments in unrelated blendings of audio elements to David Behrman's supremely peaceful duet between computers and musicians, the aural renegades on OHM tread where none (save a few of their contemporaries) had gone before. The liner notes convey the incredible amount of hard work and experimentation it took to stitch together many of these pieces in the predigital era. Putting aside the inevitable quibbles about what's missing (much of it due to legal and/or logistical issues), a more complete collection of musical eggheads, eccentrics, and visionaries is hard to imagine. --Carl Hanni

Customer Reviews:

excellent but uncomplete.......2006-11-12

Althought most of the music here is an excellent collection of electronic music history, this 3 CDs lack of the important contribution given by the RAI phonology studios of Milan, Italy in the 50s
(which was bigger than Koln's WDR studios) with Bruno Maderna, Luciano Berio and Luigi Nono.
This is a big mistake. Milans studios were the biggest of europe and produced many important electroacoustic pieces.
If the collection aim to describe faithfully electronic music history, it should include this artists too.

To call it music may be a bit limiting. .......2006-10-24

Some of the tracks on here are "music". That is that they contain all the bits we're trained to experience as music -- melody, etc. Some are not, and the composers would be the first people to tell you that. A lot of these works are reactions to ingrained rules, so they're bound to be jarring.

A more successful way to approach such a broad and varied collection of audio experimentation is to think of it as curated sound. This isn't something to wash the dishes to, or to seduce someone to (although if you did manage to seduce someone with the recordings on this anthology, HOLD ON TO THAT PERSON, because they've got to be a keeper). These are unique sound textures that deserve a close, probably solitary listen, and I think if you're in the right frame of mind, it can be a very rewarding listen.

My main complaint is sequencing: each dicrete piece follows it's own internal logic, so there are more than a couple rough gear changes. However, since each piece is so different, and the collection is so varied, I'm not sure that you could totally escape that.

A worthwhile collection.......2006-01-11

The OHM collection contains some of those ground breaking electronic compositions that have shaped today's styles, from the early electronic instruments of Theremin and Martenot, through Pierre Schaeffer's Music Concrete tape music and the electronic music of Stockhausen and Subotnick, to the mainframe computer output of Risset and Chowning.

It is unfair to mark this collection down due to the production quality and 'musicality' of its contents, to do so would be to staggeringly miss the point of the development of electronic music through the 20th Century. What this collection shows is the ideas behind those at the cutting edge of the genre before many could even conceive of such output. That said it is hard going at points, as experimental music can be.

Highlights for me are no doubt Olivier Messiaen's 'Oraison' on CD 1, David Tudor's 'Rainforest Version 1' on CD 2 and on CD 3 David Behrman's 'On the Other Ocean' and Maryanne Amacher's 'Living sound Patent Pending'.

OhMyGodHowDreadful.......2005-08-15

Ok, this collection is supposed to be early works and, thus not expected to be very sophisticated or polished. But the OHM collection sounds like the first attempt of a spastic cat turned-loose on a Moog keyboard. When it is not boreing, this collection of random and dissonant sounds (I can't call it music) is without any redeeming qualities to make it worth while. Don't get me wrong, I am a long-time fan of Wendy (nie Walter) Carlos and some other real pioneers of electronic music. However, I find that the Ohm collection has no similar qualities and is a major disappointment.

Kid Stockhausen.......2003-01-17

This is required listening for anybody interested in the history of electronic music. Although implicitly aiming for the techno music audience, this audio history is overwhelmingly focused on the classical avant-garde of electro-acoustic composers. The closest you'll get to pop electronica is the Brian Eno track at the end of the third disc. No Kraftwerk, no Moroder, etc. Instead "OHM" manages to point to the continuities between, say, John Cage and artists currently working at the experimental edges of electronica (so-called IDM). It seems to be saying, "You think Kid 606 is visionary? Well check out this Stockhausen track from '59!"

Admittedly, some of the songs are much more interesting to think about than they are to listen to. Some of the early pieces that were made through thosuands of hours of pains-taking tape-splicing could be made today in an afternoon with a digital audio editor and a few effects plug-ins.

Tracks:

Introduction
Chant D'Amour 1
Turangalila 1
Chant D'Amour 2
Joie Du Sang Des Etoiles
Jardin Du Sommeil D'Amour
Turangalila 2
Developpement De L'Amour
Turangalila 3
Finale

Customer Reviews:

Noisy and full of fun commotion........2006-09-05

Some time during the 1970s, I saw Seiji Ozawa conducting the Turangalila Symphony, with the Loriod sisters, in Zellerbach Hall at University of California at Berkeley. I noticed, a few seats to my left, an older bald man holding a big book, a musical score, while watching. After the performance, the conductor asked him to stand up, and it became abundantly clear who he was.

Turangalila belongs to the school of compositions that provides music that is noisy and replete with fun commotion. Other compositions belonging to this school include Colored Field (Concerto for English horn and orchestra) by Aaron Jay Kernis, Mathis and Symphonic Metamorphosis by Hindemith, and of course Stravinsky's Firebird and Petrouchka. "Steps for Orchestra" by David Del Tredici also belongs to this "school."

Turangalila is quite long. However, each of the movements is quite suitable as a stand alone piece. The ondes Martenot might be thought of as a protagonist, an underdog, a clownish child, and the like. The comical glissandos and chirpful qualities of the ondes Martenot are distinctly different from more conventional and serious soloing voices, e.g., trumpet or violin.

About ten years after hearing the live performance, I bought Esa-Pekka Solonen's version with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This is the version that I listen to, perhaps once every two years. Five stars.

historical importance, but not the best .......2005-02-14

Many Messiaen fans have been waiting for RCA to release this historic recording on CD. Although the sound has been remastered, the interpretation and playing is still unsatisfactory.

For some reason the orchestra is not able to handle the incredible technical demands placed on them by the score. There are a number of places where the instruments are not together, particularly during ritards (which are incredibly over- done to my taste). The tempos are also taken so slow as to zap much of the energy right out of what could be incredibly ecstatic music. I have a feeling that the tempos were determined more to fit the orchestra's capabilities than to fit the musical aesthetic.

Just to be clear, I consider the Turangalila to be a masterpiece in its own right, and the Seiji Ozawa recording is important in that it is the first, but there have been much better recordings since. I highly recommend the Concertgebow recording.

best tuangalila .......2004-10-08

The Turangalila Symphony is definitely not a work to snooze to. What predominates throughout the work is loud, dissonant and violent percussion and brass. There are also very mysterious passages, which have a very serene beauty. Ozawa makes this work stand out as a masterpiece of modern music. The sound quality it excellent throughout and Ozawa never misses a beat.
Excellent. Don't hesitate.

It's About Time.......2004-05-14

This has been the recording by which all Turangalila recordings have been judged since its original release more than 35 years ago. None have eclipsed it. Chung softens the edges, Previn hides the beauty. Nagano is good but the orchestra is dull while Wit would have had a great recording had the group been able to play in tune. Seiji beats them hands down. The performance is vigorous and intense and he is not afraid to show the ferocity or the beauty of the piece. The soloists perform well and the young Ozawa brings a youthful touch to recording that is at once refreshing and insightful. The TSO really play well as a group and are not timorous in any way. I have been nursing an LP of this for years and this release is very overdue. I have long wanted to play this in my car or on my iPod and thankfully, now I can.

Olivier Messiaen: TurangalÃ®la Symphonie

Average customer rating:

A compelling and original work
Intoxicating
Amazing!
Excuse me?
Best Turangalîla version?

Olivier Messiaen: TurangalÃ®la Symphonie

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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Des Canyons Aux Etoiles
Olivier Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus

ASIN: B000001GF6
Release Date: 1992-05-12

Tracks:

Turangalila-Symphonie: I. Introduction - Modere, un peu vif
Turangalila-Symphonie: II: Chant d'amour 1 - Modere, lourd
Turangalila-Symphonie: III. Turangalila 1 - Presque lent, reveur
Turangalila-Symphonie: IV. Chant d'amour 2 - Bien modere
Turangalila-Symphonie: V. Joie du sang des etoiles - Vif, passionne, avec joie
Turangalila-Symphonie: VI. Jardin du sommeil d'amour - Tres modere, tres tendre
Turangalila-Symphonie: VII. Turangalila 2 - Un peu vif - Bien modere
Turangalila-Symphonie: VIII. Diveloppement de l'amour - Bien modere
Turangalila-Symphonie: IX. Turangalila 3 - Bien modere
Turangalila-Symphonie: X. Final - Modere, presque vif, avec une grande joie

Customer Reviews:

A compelling and original work.......2007-01-02

While reading a partiular review of this recording, I was struck by the aptness of the reviewer's comment that the "Turangalila Symphony" creates an image of swimming in a clear ocean on a bright sunny day. This is a monumental piece, stretching out over ten movements and almost eighty minutes, yet there is an ethereal quality to its orchestration (perhaps due at least in part to the otherworldly sound of the Ondes Martenot) that gives it a light, shimmering quality even during its most brash moments. In each movement, Messiaen takes small melodic fragments and reworks them into an endless litany of subtle variations, an effect that often gives me the impression that the orchestra is undergoing some sort of strange metamorphosis. This is modern classical music, to be sure, but its simple and easily recognizable themes make it much more suitable for novice listeners: even my friends who have no interest in classical music have asked me to make copies of this CD. Although this is the only recording of the work that I have heard, I was impressed by Myung-Whun Chung's attention to detail and the many varied changes in color that he is able to bring out of his orchestra. In short, this is a masterwork of contemporary classical music, and a true listening experience to which I would give my highest reccomendation.

Intoxicating.......2005-06-20

Don't let yourself be scared away if Boulez and Stravinsky don't and didn't appreciate this rhapsodic "symphony" - the history of art is full of such examples, Wolf/Brahms, Stravinsky/Schönberg, Tolstoy/Dostojevsky etc. etc. In terms of "absolute music" this doesn't appeal to me and I fail to understand the logic of composition. But who cares after all? The images this work creates in my mind are nevertheless fantastic, although it has not yet made me imagine a bordello: It is more like sailing in tropical seas, swimming under the sea in clear water a sunny day while colourful fishes are passing, eating fish in lemon and olive oil at a seaside restaurant in Greece as the sunshine, white wine and the glittering of the waves compete to intoxicate me. It is meditation, relaxation, hallucination, fantasy, mystery... it is holiday! With movements entitled 'Garden of the sleep of love' and 'Happiness of the blood of stars' and so on Messiaen himself invites us to let go of inhibitions and indulge in the dreamlike states of mind that this music invokes. The production and the direction is the very best and besides approved by the composer.

Amazing!.......2004-05-11

This recording of the Turangalila Symphonie, which bears Messiaen's imprimatur, surely rests with the finest achievements of the century. The work is one of astonishing complexity, more akin to a fantastic piano concerto or showcase for the ondes martenot than a symphony. Cast into ten movements, the work seeks to portray, in Messiaen's own words, "[an] all at once love song, hymn to joy, time, movement, rhythm, life, and death." Widely touted as his seminal work, the symphony comes to life in this vivid and electrifying reading by Myung-Whun Chung. The recording is less perfect than others, but retains the fire and excitement of the piece faithfully. The ondes martenot, in particular, sounds mellow and soft, rather than strong and commanding. Despite some minor flaws, the reading is amazing, and, being recorded in Messiaen's presence, with his wife and sister-in-law on the piano and ondes martenot, it gives us a definitive account of what Messiaen himself would have wanted us to hear. The work bursts with life and energy, as befits a piece whose title can be loosely translated from the Sanskrit as meaning "speed of life." This particular disc has received wide accolades from several reputable sources, including "The Rough Guide to Classical Music" and "The Penguin Guide." As an advocate of 20th century music, I consider this piece and this reading essential. The two negative reviews on this site are disappointing in their ignorance, and I sincerely hope you won't let them steer you away from this beautiful and amazing work!

Excuse me?.......2003-11-21

Absolutely brilliant piece of music. I usually follow these reviews, as they generally provide a decent insight towards the work or recording quality. However, when someone refers to an instrumental piece as a SONG, I have trouble taking their advice with much confidence...Songs have a vocal part that is sung, hence the title song.

Best Turangalîla version?.......2002-03-26

I think this is the best Turangalîla version and reason for this is conducting, orchestra, tempo and sound.

Chung had the opportunity to work togheter with Messiaen on this work and this is done like Messiaen himself like to have it(yes Messiaen made his last revisions on this symphony 1990 togheter with Chung).

You have a new one with Nagano on Teldec but this version is in my opinion richer in "coulour" and sound and its not going way to fast as I think Naganos version do.

Nagano knew and worked with Messiaen too but I think Chung is a far better conductor, Chung know this piece probably better than any other conductor and sound is great and so is tempo.

Tracks:

Turanglila-Symphonie: I. Introduction
Turanglila-Symphonie: II. Chant d'amour 1
Turanglila-Symphonie: III. Turangalila 1
Turanglila-Symphonie: IV Chant d'amour 2
Turanglila-Symphonie: V. Joie du sang des etoiles
Turanglila-Symphonie: VI. Jardin du sommeil
Turanglila-Symphonie: VII. Turangalila 2

Tracks:

Turanglila-Symphonie: VIII. Developpement de l'Amour
Turanglila-Symphonie: IX. Turangalila 3
Turanglila-Symphonie: X. Final
L'ascension: I. Majeste du Christ demandant sa gloire a son Pere
L'ascension: II. Alleluia sereins d'une ame qui desire le ciel
L'ascension: III. Alleluia sur la trompette, Alleluia sur la cymbale
L'ascension: IV. Priere du Christ montant vers son Pere

Amazon.com

If you don't already own a copy of Messiaen's epic, weird, and beautiful Turangalîla Symphony, here's your chance. And if you already own a copy, pick up this CD, anyway--you'll love it. Conductor Antoni Wit and the Polish National Radio Symphony deliver an awe-inspiring reading of the complex work, showcasing all the drama, tonal colors, and spiky rhythms the Turangalîla demands. Messiaen's 10-movement work is a grab bag of musical themes from throughout the composer's career; you'll find elements of birdsong, Eastern mysticism, a gorgeous "love theme," and serialism in this epic composition. With this much going on, it's no wonder that few ensembles (however famous) get it right. But Wit and company do get it right, letting the masterpiece's multiple themes (statue, love, flower, chord) all unfold dramatically, with great playing all around. Naxos's sonics are remarkable as well, capturing the magnitude of the 100-piece orchestra and providing a rich balance during the tricky passages for ondes martenot (a sort of glorified theremin). As a bonus on this budget priced, two-CD set, we get L'ascension, an earlier work from Messiaen but one that's just as interesting. Here, intense rhythms are replaced by lush symphonic passages, but the playing is just as splendid. Highly recommended. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

One of the best, (if not the best,) recordings of a masterpiece........2007-07-01

I originally bought this CD to hear the playing of Thomas Bloch on Ondes Martenot, as I'm a big fan of his. Turangalila-Symphonie has been one of my favorite pieces of music ever since I listened to my brother's copy several years ago, and this recording does not disappoint in the least bit. The sound is great, and just like I prefer classical music recordings; you can hear every player, and it sound like you're in the middle of the orchestra, as opposed to being 50 rows away from the stage. The orchestra is in excellent shape, as they always are. I greatly enjoy the Naxos recordings of Antoni Wit and the PNRSO performing modern music, and this is a great addition to that group. While some movements are a little slower than I prefer, the orchestra makes up for it with outstanding clarity. Even newer recordings like the Nagano/Berlin one or the Chailly/Concertgebuw disc lack some in terms of instrumental clarity, and this recording delivers that in every movement of the piece. L'Ascension is also given a top-notch reading. Many groups would be content to treat the piece as an afterthought, compared to the Turangalila, but the group here gives it just as much attention as the first work. All in all, an outstanding recording of the work of a 20th century musical genius. Highly recommended.

A chance to explore some seriously R-rated music.......2006-03-15

There are some great recordings of Messiaen's "Turangalila" and while this isn't the only good one at budget price (Ozawa with the Toronto Symphony is now available as an RCA re-release), it has the added attraction of including "L'Ascension." The latter four-movement suite is perhaps the composer's most accessible orchestral score, also serving as a helpful introduction to his unique Christian music. I particularly like the ever-upward-reaching strings of the slow, serene finale entitled "Christ ascending to His Father." Again addressing the Turangalila, I can smile at the reaction of the young reviewer who spoke of "cat scratches" because at one point, I too found Messiaen's music to be a bit much. Now in my mid-40s, I doubt I'll ever lose my deep affection for it, particularly those ecstatic passages that express erotic delirium -- something a pre-adult listener wouldn't (and shouldn't) understand just yet. Curious listeners should go ahead and make the modest investment that Naxos, to its credit, has again made possible.

Modern French Music.......2006-01-27

Olivier Messiaen, the great French modern composer, is here represented by two of his most famous compositions: the early four meditations on L'Ascension and, a composition written after he was released from a German prison camp, the Turangalila-Symphonie, a work of monumental proportions.

L'Ascension is a 25-minute work also well known as an organ solo. Each of the four meditations has specific scripture attached to it, representing Christ's ascension. The first, written for brass ensemble, is a slow undulating progression of chords, which continually resolve themselves gloriously. The second opens with woodwinds alone, a chanting oboe (heavy on tritones), with added outbursts of nature on flute and clarinet. The huge lush string tremolos which end the piece, makes it truly French sounding. The third meditation is a scherzo with brash trumpets and full orchestra. Swift string glissandi, a heroic horn melody and calls are features of this outgoing section, all of which ends in a blaze of glory. The final meditation is marked "extremely slow and solemn" and is written for string ensemble only. Prayerful in nature, like the first, it is made up of a succession of undulating, and more importantly, rising progressions of chords. It is obvious Messiaen studied with the great Romantic/Impressionist teacher Paul Dukas, because the various orchestrations are quite vivid and colorful, amply depicting the prayers of the ascension. An interesting work from his youth.

The massive 80-minute Turangalila-Symphonie is a ten-movement work which features solo piano and a solo ondes martenos, an electronic contraption that makes an unearthly, ghost kind of sound. The title is from Sanskrit which means many things, including time, joy, love, life, and death. The opening movement introduces two important themes: the gigantic, heavy brass chords (called the statue theme) evoking ancient Mexico; and the delicate "flower theme". Together with a large battery of percussion, the movement is forceful and animated. The second movement has an almost jazzy groove which leads into the sumptuous "love theme" in the strings and ondes martenos. An other-worldly, menacing march with weird string tremolos, ondes martenos glissandos, and col legno strings enter, as well as a rhythmical, almost a Copland-ish dance-like section, gives the movement great variety. The third movement displays four themes alone and then puts them together to form utter chaos; while the fourth movement begins as an industrious scherzo, but gives way to a romantic sweeping melody and an almost jazzy secondary melody which dominates the movement. The middle movement has such a joyful and nearly humorous melody, you can't help but smile. The addition of constant tinkly bells and piano, and the confusion of the middle section, it is all a breathless account. Whereas the fifth movement is a dance of love, the sixth movement is more a love slumber, with lazy harmonic development, pulsating vibraphone, lush strings, and woodwind meanderings, all sounds subside in a peaceful sleep. Movement seven opens with a piano cadenza, and later features percussion alone, and a woodwind ensemble with solo cello. Messiaen takes some great themes from earlier movements and develops them in the eighth movement. There are some very dramatic and satisfying arrivals here; a climactic movement. The penultimate movement is a simple natural crescendo, achieved through adding instruments to increase volume. The glorious final movement has a Copland-like perpetual motion with a syncopated melody that is rather engaging. A short love theme, nearly cinematic, invades, and a huge major chord ends the work. The music has advanced harmonies, but they are all based in the tonal world, and Messiaen uses dissonance freely to accent the innate tonal world he writes in. He is especially gifted at writing great melodies and themes which are inventive and engaging, as well as infusing jazz-like rhythms and perpetual motion into the underlying score.

Do not be afraid of this CD because it is a budget label, it is by and far a first-class recording. This may be the finest recorded version on disk (in my opinion). The playing is cohesive, and the forces are closely miked so all voices speak exceedingly clear. The ondes martenos is heard every time it needs to be; the piano soloist is excellent; and while this is the first time I have heard Antoni Wit and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, their cohesiveness, commitment, and emotional depth are in high gear. Wit's pacing of the work is the stand-out quality, forward movement and prominent textures, melodies, and secondary effects all are heard in a musical manner. The ensemble gives this modern work such emotion and make it fun for the listener; an experience if nothing else. One fair warning, the music of Messiaen is not for everyone; listen to the examples first! Even at budget price, this 2-CD extravaganza outranks many overly-hyped full-price CD's; an enthusiastic recommendation.

Messiaen's Most Magnificent Work - The Turangalila Symphony.......2005-05-27

I first heard the name Olivier Messiaen when I listened to "Illuminations of the Beyond". I burrowed the CD from a local public library. It was a beautiful atmospheric piece. Very modern and complex, yet so innocent and full of mysticism (except for couple tense moments). I really felt as if I was launched from Earth into the Heavens or a strange new extraterrestiral world...

After telling to one of my music friends about this new mysterious composer and his piece, he recommended me to listen to the well-known Turangalila Symphony. As a person who loves contemporary Classical music and has to will to be exposed to many more, I quickly did. I bought this album at a budget price, the first Naxos album I obtained.

The piece turned out to be a work I would embrace forever. Once again I felt as if I was launched into some strange world. This massive 80-minute so-called Symphony (not a "symphony" in traditional means) truly seduced me; its modern sound (including the Ondes Martenot - I first heard that name in the music from movie "The Black Cauldron" by Elmer Bernstein) and exotic features, its mysticism in ideas, and especially its theme on love/erotica inspired from Tristan and Isolde. No other music seemed to describe more than this work of my hunger for both physical and emotional love, not even the more obvious music ranging from Rachmaninoff to modern pop love songs (and some are even lame or just plain "dirty").

My favorite movements includes "Song of Love I", the scherzo-like "Joy in the Blood of the Stars", and the beautiful "Garden of Sleep".

Ever since, Messiaen has become on the composers I embrace. He is one of my favorite 20th century composers because of his distinct, subliminal style. Even atonal features (which I'm not too fond of) seems so beautiful. The Turangalila Symphony is definitely one of my desert island pieces so I can always take myself into a cosmic ride listening to this work. And I wish my future significant other would appreciate the type of love I feel the most through this music.

The album also features "The Ascension". Originally scored for solo organ, separately available elsewhere, this work describes Christ's ascent into the Heavens. The first movement is particularily moving, played by the warm sound of brass, as it seems to rise toward heaven just like Christ the Lord. Great work for a symphonic wind ensemble.

Kudos to Antoni Wit, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (with Francois Weigel on piano and Thomas Bloch on Ondes Martenot) for a marvelous performance. I have heard couple other performances including Chung's, Nagano's and Salonen's, each with relative ups and downs, but overall, this recording is still my favorite.

If you're completely new to Messiaen, the Turangalila Symphony is an excellent start to enter his mysterious world of music. At a budget price, this is a bargain.

Magic carpet ride..........2004-05-03

Having repeatedly listened to this superb Naxos double cd, I have no hesitation in heartilly reccommending it to you.

Other reviewers have praised the orchestra, the soloists and Naxos; I acknowledge them all but would like to add my nine-penneth. This work (Tuangalila) is possibly or even probably, the single most important work of the twentieth century. It is huge, it is a cartoon soundtrack, it is profound and it is mind-blowing. Messiaen alone could have welded such a work from such disparate parts and made them a glorious whole.

Tracks:

Turangalila-Sym: Intro: Modere, Un Peu Vif
Turangalila-Sym: Love Song 1: Modere, Lourd
Turangalila-Sym: Turangalila 1: Presque Lent, Reveur
Turangalila-Sym: Love Song 2: Bien Modere
Turangalila-Sym: Joy Of The Blood Of The Stars: Vif, Passionne, Avec Joie
Turangalila-Sym: Garden Of Love's Sleep: Tres Modere, Tres Tendre
Turangalila-Sym: Turangalila 2: Un Peu Vif
Turangalila-Sym: Development Of Love: Bien Modere
Turangalila-Sym: Turangalila 3: Bien Modere
Turangalila-Sym: Final: Modere, Presque Vif, Avec Une Grande Joie

Amazon.com

This symphony, commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky and written between 1946 and 1948, is surely one of the 20th century's most gigantic works. It's cast in 10 movements, and its grandeur of scope and concept, variety and sheer mass of sound are virtually unequalled. Scored for an enormous orchestra with multiple wind and percussion sections, the work includes substantial solo parts for piano and ondes martenot, an electronic keyboard instrument invented by Maurice Martenot that can produce all kinds of sound effects in a wide range of dynamics. The title is derived from two Sanskrit words of manifold meanings, but the composer insisted that he chose it only for its "sonority and melodious qualities." The piece centers on the idea of love, symbolized by the legend of Tristan and Isolde, but though its movements bear elaborate titles, it is not to be considered program music.

Messiaen has become something of a cult figure in recent years; for the uninitiated, his music requires some getting used to. The Symphony's most immediately striking characteristic is the orchestration: from gossamer delicacy of single and double lines, through sonorous brass chorales and thunderous percussion, to the literally overwhelming, often chaotic effect of every instrument on stage playing every note in the scale simultaneously. Its most problematic aspects are its length, repetitiousness, and static quality: the slow movements feel as if time had truly come to a standstill. Obviously, it requires great skill, concentration, and dauntless courage to bring such a work to life, and the performers on this disc succeed brilliantly. Aimard, who studied the piano part with Yvonne Loriod, the wife of the composer and primary exponent of his music, is terrific, and the orchestra sounds ravishing in a score undoubtedly far removed from its tradition. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

A thousand brilliant minute touches create a whole that is often overly sweet.......2006-07-17

In the mid-1940s Olivier Messiaen, the composer of a wide variety of Roman Catholic pious works, took a peculiar turn towards the subject of romantic love. A 1945 commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra gave him carte blanche for a work of whatever proportions he desired. The "Turangalila-Symphony" (1946-1948), supposedly inspired by the legend of Tristan and Isolde, was the result.

The symphony is unconventional in structure, eschewing sonata form and comprising ten movements. It is a massive work both in length, well over an hour, and in the instrumental forces it requires. The orchestra is augmented with a larger percussion section, and there are prominent solo parts for ondes martenot, the early electronic instrument, and for piano. In fact, the symphony, whose fifth movement contains an elaborate piano cadenza, has been called a piano concerto as well. "Turangalila" is a showcase of all the elaborate concepts Western and non-Western that Messiaen had learned to date, especially Hindu rhythms (including Messiaen's favourite "non-retrogradable" ones) and gamelan-like colour. So, the work is inventive, but does it sound good? I have to say that yes, but only in moderation. Listening to it once in a great while can be a pleasant experience, but too much exposure reveals the work's syrupy, mushy overtones. No wonder that Boulez called it "brothel music". Messiaen the Christian mystic was one of the greatest composers of the 20th century--works like "Eclairs sur l'au dela" and "Quatuor pour la fin du temps" consistenly dazzle the listener--but as for Messiaen the lover, well, thank goodness this was just a temporary aside.

This Teldec recording sounds wonderful, with bright colours and sharp tones. The Berliner Philharmoniker lead by Kent Nagano by Messiaen's 1990 revision of the symphony, which as score samples in the liner notes show, was substantial. One can be thankful that Nagano's pacing is expert enough to get the symphony onto a single compact disc without coming across as overly quick. Pierre-Laurent Aimard, friend of the composer and one of the world's finest pianists of contemporary repertoire, gives a dazzling performance. Dominique Kim appears on ondes martenot solo.

Staged/mechanical.......2005-12-30

Not sure how else to say it, but this is chopped into sections, more than is called for. Messiaen wrote in a peculiar manner, phrasing is somewhat in blocks. Nagano takes things too methodically, there's not the right amount of blending.
This Nagano/Berlin does not compare favorable with my first choice Ricardo Chailly/Concertgebouw, which I gladly give 5 Stars.
Concerning the above reviews, which frankly I've NOT bothered to read, is very typical of amazon reviews. Too amny give away too many stars.
Which frankly is not just and fair to alot better recordings.
NOTE: Buyer beware.
Sorry 2 stars.

I have now become dis-enchanted with Messiaen as of last week. READ Wilbod's review of the opera St Francsis/Nagano.
I have to agree with him.
Messiaen was OK for about 3 months after which I lost interest..

So brilliant it makes me love the piece.......2005-11-11

I think it was T.S. Eliot who said that a great artist must create the audience by which he is appreciated. That's certainly true of Messiaen and his seminal Turangalila (premiered in America by Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood--if only he had recorded it!) Just as much as Le Scare, Turangalila is a shocking, cosmic work. It is raucous and primitive, but with a bizarre flavor at times of the slithery cabaret harmonies beloved by Poulenc and Milhaud. Stravinsky was much more disciplined and had more structural clarity than Messiaen; I imagine he would have also been appaled by the banality of the musical seeds that grow into luxuriant jungle here. Turangalila sprawls and uncoils its immense length like an engorged python.

Messiaen would go further in his obsession with exotic cultures, gamelan, bird calls, and storming the cosmos. His output is a bulging suitcase of noises I don't like opening, but here Nagano does so brilliantly I couldn't help but be won over. The virtuosity and sheer ease of the Berlin Phil. make you realize that at long last orchestras can toss off Turangalila without strain--something one cannot say about ealire recordings. I must say that at this level of committment, Nagano made a convert of me. I even went to a concert of Turangalila with Eschenbach and the Philadelphia Orch. in Carnegie Hall, an event greeted with cheers at the end. Messiaen has won--he created his audience after all.

Stellar, Often Breathtaking Performance from Nagano, etc........2004-06-19

Olivier Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony is admittedly one work that won't please traditionalists who feel at home listening to the likes of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. And yet, it is truly one of the most intriguing, sonically majestic works composed in the symphonic genre. Kent Nagano's brilliant, exhuberant recording of this work with the Berlin Philharmonic may be the most exciting version recorded to date. Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, a disciple of Messiaen's, is marvellous throughout, especially in the solos. To their credit, the Berliners perform this piece with much brilliance and warmth, offering a splendid performance which ranks as well as their magnificient recent recordings of the Brahms symphonies with Harnoncourt conducting and those of Beethoven under Abbado's baton. Teldec's sound engineers have rendered one of the best recordings I have heard of the Berlin Phiharmonic, replete with much sonic range and atmosphere. For those unfamiliar with Messiaen's work, then this recording is truly a fine introduction.

Nagano Sets the New Standard!.......2002-04-19

There are simply few words that can describe the absolute magnificence of this recording. Nagano assembles this vast mosaic in the most masterful way I can imagine. It is at once breathtaking and orgiastic! The Berlin Philharmonic is playing at their highest level....Aimard was made to play this work. The piano is well balanced with the ondes marenot and the rest of the ensemble. The recording itself is very clear. The various tempi are clearly defined within each of the movements. I would recommend this disc to anyone who has a love for great music, even if you already have a recording of the Turangalila. Nagano, Aimard, Kim, and the Berlin Philharmonic set the new standard of excellence for this colossal and imaginative work!

Average customer rating:

Wonderful
Excellent recording of unusual and entertaining music

Ondes Martenot

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0002TNGXM
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Album Description

Rare instrument specialist Thomas Bloch is equally at home performing on the soundtrack of Amadeus, on stage with Radiohead, or at Milan's La Scala (playing glass harmonica, cristal Baschet or ondes Martenot). This CD offers the widest possible range of repertoire for the ondes Martenot, one of the earliest electronic instruments (1919): a solo work and an ensemble for nine ondes Martenot (Bloch), chamber music (Martinu, Messiaen), double concerto with piano, orchestra and percussion (Wisson), electroacoustic compositions (Redolfi, Touchard), and a fully composed piece (Cooper) which contrasts with a partially improvised work (Rolin). These at times surprising works are performed by Bloch and some of his fellow-composers, and also feature Phil Minton, Fernand Quattrocchi, the Pomeranian Quartet and the Paderewski Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2004-11-27

My love of Messiaen introduced me to the Ondes Martenot... and with this disc Thomas Bloch has shown us the full capabilities of the instrument. The Messiean work is a delight, his performance the best I have heard of this work so far. The Martinu not a grade A piece, but his performance does it justice. Virtually all other works on the disc were new to me. Some are a challenge the first time through, not really intended as background music in any way. But soon I had a chance to really sit and listen and enjoyed all works. Clearly his technique is superb, no surprise there given his work on the Turringalia Syphony I had heard previously. But I did not know he was a composer of considerable merit. These works stand well on their own, an interest in Ondes Martenot not required. I look forward to more discs.

Excellent recording of unusual and entertaining music.......2004-10-29

Thomas Bloch and his fellow musicians have made a real winner with this CD. The music is diverse and interesting and the performances are lovely.

I am unfamiliar with some of the composers presented on this disc (Martinu and Messiaen are the most well known), but there are some very good pieces of music here - even though they might not be described as 'masterpieces'. Bernard Wilson's double concerto for ondes Martenot, piano, strings and percussion reminds me of Bartók's piano concertos.

Some of the other pieces on this CD are works of pure fantasy. If you want to know what 9 ondes Martenot sound like when played together, Thomas Bloch's Wave Orchestra provides you with a delightful answer.

The ondes Martenot is one of my favourite 20th century 'period instruments' and this disc is a wonderful introduction to this instrument.

Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie; Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Average customer rating:

I hate to be controversial, but ...
Quatuor pour la fin du temps
FORMIDABLE

Olivier Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie; Quatuor pour la fin du temps

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007RA7BS
Release Date: 2005-05-24

Tracks:

I. Introduction - Peter Donohoe
II. Chant D'amour I - Peter Donohoe
III. Turangalila I - Peter Donohoe
IV. Chant D'amour II - Peter Donohoe
V. Joie Du Sang Des Etoiles - Peter Donohoe
VI. Jardin Du Sommeil D'amour - Peter Donohoe
VII. Turangalila II - Peter Donohoe
VIII. Developpement De I'amour - Peter Donohoe

Tracks:

IX. Turangalila III - Peter Donohoe
X. Final - Peter Donohoe
I. Liturgie De Cristal - William Pleeth
II. Vocalise, Pour I'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps - William Pleeth
III. Abime Des Oiseaux - William Pleeth
IV. Intermede - William Pleeth
V. Louange A I'Eternite De Jesus - William Pleeth
VI. Danse De La Fureur, Pour Les Sept Trompettes - William Pleeth
VII. Fouillis D'arcs-En-Ciel, Pour I'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps - William Pleeth
VIII. Louange A I'Immortalite De Jesus - William Pleeth
Le Merle Noir - William Pleeth

Customer Reviews:

I hate to be controversial, but ..........2006-07-30

The appeal in this release is that it contains two of Olivier Messiaen's (1908-1992) best known works, the Turangalila Symphony and the Quartet for the End of Time, at a budget price. There's really nothing bad about these performances, but to be quite frank, there's not much exciting about them either. In the symphony, the playing/conducting is often a little dull, or perhaps just a little mechanical. The sound, while certainly not horrible considering that the symphony and quartet were recorded in 1971 (DDD) and 1968 (ADD) respectively, really isn't terrific either. If you are looking to pick up your first recording of the symphony, it seems the Naxos release under the direction of Anton Wit would be a good choice, as it has received very high reviews.

Now to the controversial part (Messiaenites need not read further, as the next portion of this review is directed to those unfamiliar with these works and contains my impression of these two works, as a newcomer to this composer). Upon examining the various Messiaen releases on Amazon, I was not only surprised by the number of Messiaen CD's available, but also the awe and amazement professed in the reviews of such works. Why had I not come across the music sooner, or so I thought at the time. Not only are Messiaen's compositions great, they defeat all evil on Earth and unlock the eternal mysteries of the universe - or at least that's what I came to expect after reading the reviews. So perhaps my expectations were a little inflated.

Well, I listened to the music. Yet, as the music ended I realized that I hadn't been transported to Heaven. Possibly, I wasn't listening hard enough. So I listened to this release again, and as the music ended, I was still on Earth, and the only thing that had become "illuminated," perhaps, was that I was not destined to be a Messiaen fan. Now from what I have read on this site, and elsewhere, some followers of Messiaen would indicate that I am musically immature, not very sophisticated, or even closed-minded. Maybe that's true. I really don't consider myself to be a sophisticated person. However, there could be a second interpretation here, and that is, I understand what this music is about, but I am just not ecstatic about it. After all, should we really view art music in such absolute terms? Should we say if a listener doesn't like the compositions of Messiaen that something is wrong with that person? This view doesn't make much sense to me.

On a whole, I enjoy symphony more than the quartet. Many parts of the symphony are quite enjoyable in their uniqueness. There is a lot of interesting percussion writing, and there is a part for an electronic instrument called the ondes martenot. The writing for this instrument tends to include glissandos between pitches, and reminds me of the sound effect used to depict whirring UFO's in those black and white science fiction movies (CD1 - Track 8). The writing in Turangalila is often exuberant and contains readily identifiable melodic ideas over busy orchestral and percussion writing, such as in "Joie du sang des etoiles" (CD1 - Track 5). But why is this work 80 minutes long, and why does it have 10 movements? I found that, sometime in the seventh movement I was ready for a break from Messiaen's world of sound. I noted that the motives presented in the earlier movements occasionally appeared throughout the symphony, but for me, this wasn't enough to hold the whole work together. Even the movements themselves seem to be a little long-winded. Sure, any snippet of "Jardin du sommeil d'amour" (CD1 - Track 6) is lovely - but why does this movement go on for 12 minutes? Other movements, such as long and repetitive "Developpement de l'amour" tends to addle me just a bit. So my thoughts on the symphony is somewhat mixed. I will rarely return to the music for a start to finish listening. However, some of the movements are enjoyable as well as interesting and I occasionally listen to those every now and then.

I found the quartet, scored for violin, clarinet, cello and piano, to be far less enjoyable. Again, this is a long work and contains eight movements, for some reason. Although this is a quartet, the writing within the movements themselves rarely has four parts appearing simultaneously. For instance, the third movement (CD 2 - Track 5) is a 6 minute clarinet solo, while the fifth movement is a duet for piano and cello. For me, this serene movement (CD 2 - Track 7) is the most successful of the quartet, but it tends to go on just a bit too long. My least favorite movements would be the third, or maybe the second (CD 2 - Track 4), with its nasty introduction and the endless phrase scored for violin, cello and piano that occupies the last four minutes of the movement. I feel like this music is supposed to give the impression of timelessness, but to me, much of this is just (sorry Messiaen fans) boring.

In conclusion, I would place this release somewhere between two and three stars, but I will round down in this case given this particular performance, and to provide some contrast to all the five star reviews out there. But, of course, all of this is just an opinion. Anyone new to this music (after listening to the sound clips) should weigh this one less-than-stellar review, against the endless five star reviews of Messiaen's works.

CD 1: 68:39
CD 2: 63:14

Quatuor pour la fin du temps.......2006-04-15

The record is in the very highest class, the players meeting every demand the composer makes upon them and the fine, clear EMI record gives the group striking presence while affording proper background ambience.

FORMIDABLE.......2005-07-03

Most surprising, I should say, that this account of Turangalila should be receiving its first notice here only now. In his more recent eminence as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Rattle has received high praise, and rightly so, for his recording of Messiaen's Eclairs sur l'Au-dela. However it was through his work with the City of Birmingham Symphony that Rattle first came to international notice for sheer and simple genius, and this performance will go a long way to showing why.

Rattle has Messiaen's style to perfection, and he is joined in this 1986 recording by Peter Donohoe, greatly under-recognised in my own opinion, as a completely exemplary piano soloist. The piano part is very difficult and the composer himself made references to the work as a `piano concerto', which I think a slight exaggeration. What it really is is a symphony with piano obbligato, a description first coined for the Brahms D minor. The description fits Turangalila much better, but Brahms's grim masterpiece came to mind shortly after the start with some memorable martellato trills from the soloist. Otherwise there is nothing grim about Turangalila, which is a huge upbeat masterpiece like Mahler's 8th, and one that can be mentioned in the same breath so far as I am concerned. The title is apparently Sanskrit (how's that for one-upmanship?) and means something like `play of time'. Its theme is love, ordinary human love and not something with a divine dimension except insofar as it is set against a background of eternity, as is everything that the deeply spiritual Messiaen ever did. In terms of how it deals with its theme it fits Beethoven's description of his own Pastoral Symphony very well `more expression of feeling than depiction' - it would be easy to recognise the movements called `Joy of the blood of the stars' and `Garden of love's repose', but I imagine it would be anyone's guess which of the remainder are the 3 Turangalila movements, which are the 2 love-songs and which is about the `development of love' if we had not been told. As usual, the expression is extrovert, perhaps a little kitsch and probably more than a little self-indulgent. I have no complaint with any of that, as this is a composer I take to in a big way without sharing a shred of his religious belief. His grasp of orchestral sound, for one thing, is simply colossal, he can carry off demotic effects that would have made Ravel or Delius hesitate, and Rattle is exactly the man to put it all across to us. One thing conspicuous by its absence from this score is Messiaen's beloved birdsong effects, but music lovers bored with Holst's Jupiter may find, as I do, the Joie du sang des etoiles something more to their taste.

There is also a performance here of the Quartet for the End of Time that would have had me buying this disc for just on its own. It rivals the famous Tashi account and in fact predates it by several years. It is a more emotional and forceful account than Tashi's, which may or may not be how you like it done, but by any standard it is a superb one. As a final filler there is a 6-minute flute and piano duo called The Blackbird. In this let me reassure you that it's not actually William Pleeth, great cellist though he is, who has taken up the flute, but Karlheinz Zoller. The blackbird's song, when he takes up his recital-position at the end of a branch or at the corner of a rooftop, is one of the most varied in the whole avian kingdom as well as one of the loveliest. What I don't hear in this representation is the familiar `tweety oodle-doodle peep: twit twit twit twit twit' that I know from my local virtuoso, but Messiaen knew birdsong better than I have ever done.

The recordings, respectively from 1986, 1971 and 1968 are very good, if not quite up to the superlative standard of the same conductor's more recent Eclairs, but any music-lovers worried about that are just too fussy I should say. This is