COMPOSERS: Messiaen
LABELS: Arte Nova
ALBUM TITLE: Messiaen
WORKS: Preludes; Quatre etudes de rythme; Canteyodjaya
PERFORMER: Martin Zehn
CATALOGUE NO: 82876 57833 2
Messiaen’s Préludes and Rhythmic
Studies make strange bedfellows.
On first hearing, few listeners would
suspect that they were composed a
mere 20 years apart, let alone by the
same hand. The subtle colours and
poetry of the early Préludes (1928-
9), written when Messiaen was
barely 20, are a world away from the
fiery anarchy produced, ironically,
by the abstruse calculations of the
Rhythmic Studies. The exigencies of
programming complete cycles of
Messiaen’s piano music have led to
the pairing becoming commonplace
on disc, but it should not be
forgotten that it is a remarkable
pianist who can excel in both pieces.
Having recorded fine accounts
of the Catalogue d’oiseaux and Vingt
regards, Martin Zehn has already
demonstrated his versatility and
this new release will not disappoint.
His forthright approach has much
to commend it, and is particularly
apposite for the apparent soundworld
of the Studies. The hammering
at either end of the keyboard in
‘Neumes rythmiques’ flashes like
polished steel. The composer’s own
idiosyncratic recording (FMR,
reviewed November 2003) is, for
once, instructive here, for Messiaen’s
understated attack contains both
more menace and more humanity
than Zehn.
In the Préludes everything is
in its rightful place, but, for all
the clarity of performance and
recording, Zehn matches neither
the wit in ‘Le nombre léger’ of
Roger Muraro (Accord) nor the
lyricism of Peter Hill (Regis). There
is much to admire about Zehn, but
this music needs more grace and
breathing space. Christopher Dingle