Search - Messiaen, Peter Hill :: Messiaen: Preludes/ Quatre Études de rhythme/ Canteyodjaya

Pianistic masterworks

Steve Benner | Lancaster, UK | 02/26/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first volume of Peter Hill's epic survey of the complete piano music of Olivier Messiaen. The works presented here include "Préludes" (1929), "Quatre études de rythme" (1949/50) and "Cantéyodjayâ" (1949).Over half of the disc is taken up with the eight "Préludes" of 1929. Dating from the period when Olivier Messiaen was studying composition under Paul Dukas at the Paris Conservatoire, these gentle studies clearly owe much to the works of this genre by Claude Debussy. Already in evidence within them, though, are many of the compositional characteristics that Olivier Messiaen was later to make so very much his own. Although it was to be many more years before his passion for bird-song and Hindu-derived rhythms were to become manifest in his music, other hallmark techniques, such as his famous "modes of limited transposition" - as well as an obvious spirituality - were clearly well developed, even this early in his writing. The highlight of this particular cycle of pieces is undoubtedly 'VI: Cloches d'angoisse et larmes d'adieu', which presages most potently this composer's later awe-inspiring works of religious devotion. And while the cycle as a whole is not as powerfully expressive as most of his later output, it nevertheless possesses an unassuming elegance and is well worth investigating.The four studies in rhythm, which follow, are quite a different affair. These post-date the preludes by 20 years and show just how far Olivier Messiaen's musical thinking had come in that time. These works build on the "musical mosaic" technique which the composer had been exploring and were really written as exercises in compositional technique, rather than as pianistic masterpieces. The constructional elements of these pieces comprise rhythmic "neumes", combined and recombined to form an endless sequence of new patterns from the same basic building-blocks. Perhaps a little hard to approach at first, you may nevertheless find that by the end of their 18 minutes, they have well and truly inserted their hooks into your brain! They are certainly given wonderful performances here. In reality, fiendishly difficult to play, Peter Hill makes them sound almost effortless.The final work on this disc, "Cantéyodjayâ", also demonstrates the mosaic-like compositional technique of the previous work. Composed just before the "Etudes de rythme", this work shares thematic material with the composer's great "Turangalîla Symphony" of 1948. Much of the transcendent expressivity of that work is encapsulated here also, in an exuberant display of pianistic virtuosity, which is dazzlingly executed on this recording. Its 12 minutes make a moving and fitting close to the disc.There is just one technical comment I would make on this disc. Whilst this particular release dates from 1989, these recordings were, in fact, originally issued as two volumes of black vinyl discs in 1985 (the preludes) and 1986. Half of the disc was recorded almost 18 months earlier than the rest and, to be honest, it shows. Not so much in the playing, which is everywhere quite faultless, but mostly in the recording's overall brightness, which is just a tad lacking throughout the preludes. This really is nought but a minor quibble, though, and you shouldn't let it deter you from adding this disc to your collection of twentieth century piano masterpieces."