A Student in Paris
Donald Macleod focuses on Messiaen's student days in Paris. With Offrand au Saint-Sacrement; A Reflection in the Wind (Prelude No 8); Diptyque; La mort du nombre;.
Donald Macleod explores Olivier Messiaen's student days in Paris
Olivier Messiaen was the single most important contributor to the organ repertoire in the twentieth century. He took up learning the organ whilst he was a student in Paris, and was fortunate to hear virtuoso organists around the city, including Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel DuprΓ©. Aged just twenty-two, he succeeded Charles Quef as titular organist at the Sainte-TrinitΓ© in Paris. Messiaen remained in this post for over sixty years, composing many solo works for the organ that pushed the instrument to its very limits. He rose to become one of the leading composers in France, and also a worldwide musical celebrity. This week Donald Macleod focuses each day on one specific organ work Messiaen composed, whilst exploring the period in which it was written along with those other instrumental works from the same time.
Olivier Messiaen didn't come from a musical background. He taught himself the piano and at the age of eleven started attending classes at the Paris Conservatoire. Amongst his earliest works are his Preludes for solo piano, composed in the aftermath of his mother's death. By 1930 Messiaen had won the conservatoire's First Prize for composition. In that same year he composed his work for solo organ, Diptyque, which he described as an essay on earthly life and eternal happiness in two parts. Messiaen's faith would always be a key part of his life, and integral to his music. In that same year, 1930, he composed a cantata about transcendence, La mort du nombre, exploring the relationship between human time and eternal time, between music and silence.
Offrande au Saint-Sacrement
Olivier Latry, organ
A Reflection in the Wind (Prelude No 8)
Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano
Diptyque
Hans-Ola Ericsson, organ
Les Offrandes oubliΓ©es
Orchestre National de Lyon
Jun MΓ€rkl, conductor
La Mort du nombre
JaΓ«l Azzaretti, soprano
James Oxley, tenor
Christophe Poiget, violin
Alice Ader, piano
Producer Luke Whitlock.
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Music Played
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Olivier Messiaen
Offrande au Saint Sacrement For Organ
Performer: Olivier Latry.- DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON.
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Olivier Messiaen
8 Preludes for piano
Performer: PierreβLaurent Aimard.- DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON.
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Olivier Messiaen
Diptyque, essai sur la vie terrestre et l'eternite
Performer: HansβOla Ericsson.- Bis.
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Olivier Messiaen
Les Offrandes oubliees - meditation symphonique
Orchestra: Orchestre national de Lyon. Conductor: Jun MΓ€rkl.- Naxos.
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Olivier Messiaen
La Mort du nombre
Performer: Christophe Poiget. Performer: Alice Ader. Singer: JaΓ«l Azzaretti. Singer: James Oxley.- ASSAI.
Broadcasts
- Mon 10 Jul 2017 12:00ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
- Mon 10 Jul 2017 18:30ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3
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