The title of Olivier Messiaen's Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte-Trinité (Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity), composed in 1969, might be read two ways: as referring to the trinity in the Christian faith, or to the church of Sainte-Trinité in Paris, where Messiaen was organist for many years. Of course Messiaen did not intend the latter sense, but in this performance by German organist Daniel Beilschmidt the work and the space where he performs it -- he insisted on recording the work in Messiaen's ...
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The title of Olivier Messiaen's Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte-Trinité (Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity), composed in 1969, might be read two ways: as referring to the trinity in the Christian faith, or to the church of Sainte-Trinité in Paris, where Messiaen was organist for many years. Of course Messiaen did not intend the latter sense, but in this performance by German organist Daniel Beilschmidt the work and the space where he performs it -- he insisted on recording the work in Messiaen's original venue -- seem linked in all sorts of mysterious ways. The Méditations, in nine movements, contain many aspects of Messiaen's mature style, including dissonant stacks punctuated by moments of consonance or silence, serial organization, the use of Indian rhythms (it is odd that no one has explored or expanded upon the potential linkages of the last two ideas named), and the influence of birdsong, achieved through various bizarre registration effects. But here, all of these aspects...
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