Myung-Whun Chung is one of the foremost Messiaen conductors of his generation and he is gradually making his way though recording the composer's orchestral works for Deutsche Grammophon. This release features two of the composer's most important works, Trois Petites liturgies de la Présence divine and Couleurs de la cité celeste, as well as the lesser known Hymne au Saint-Sacrement pour grand orchestre. Trois Petites liturgies, for women's voices, piano, Ondes Martenot, strings, and percussion, is one of Messiaen's most ...
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Myung-Whun Chung is one of the foremost Messiaen conductors of his generation and he is gradually making his way though recording the composer's orchestral works for Deutsche Grammophon. This release features two of the composer's most important works, Trois Petites liturgies de la Présence divine and Couleurs de la cité celeste, as well as the lesser known Hymne au Saint-Sacrement pour grand orchestre. Trois Petites liturgies, for women's voices, piano, Ondes Martenot, strings, and percussion, is one of Messiaen's most immediately appealing works. Sections of ethereal, lyrical serenity are thrown into stark relief with moments of harsh, percussive declamation. The sweetness might be cloying if it was not balanced with the brash interjections, and the juxtaposition of the elements is powerfully effecting. Couleurs de la cité celeste, for piano and orchestra (1963-1964), is by no means a piano concerto, but the composer uses the instrument to strategically augment the timbral possibilities of the...
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