COMPOSERS: Messiaen
LABELS: Audivis Montaigne
WORKS: La transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur, Jésus-Christ
PERFORMER: Yvonne Loriod (piano), Arturo Muruzabal (cello), BRT Choir, Brussels, Hilversum RSO & Chorus/Reinbert de Leeuw
CATALOGUE NO: MO 782040 DDD
La transfiguration has strong claim to be regarded as Messiaen’s most important religious work, due not so much to the substantial shift in his musical style, as to the dominance of the work’s theological content over purely musical considerations. La transfiguration is consequently a difficult work to perform successfully: de Leeuw’s admirable performance should be commended for its insight and attention to detail. Unfortunately some bass textures are rather distant and the final chords of several movements have been slightly clipped, presumably because of audience noise. Christopher Dingle
Messiaen: La transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur, Jésus-Christ
La transfiguration has strong claim to be regarded as Messiaen’s most important religious work, due not so much to the substantial shift in his musical style, as to the dominance of the work’s theological content over purely musical considerations. La transfiguration is consequently a difficult work to perform successfully: de Leeuw’s admirable performance should be commended for its insight and attention to detail. Unfortunately some bass textures are rather distant and the final chords of several movements have been slightly clipped, presumably because of audience noise. Christopher Dingle
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:12 pm