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Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) Visions de l' Amen for Two Pianos (1943)
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Cees van Zeeland (b.1954) |
Gerard Bouwuhis · Cees van Zeeland pianos
CHANNEL CLASSICS CC4592
[77:00] full-price
by Darrell Ang
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) is considered one of the greatest composers
for his clearly defined and unique character: inspired by nature and
Catholic ideology. His music is known for its melodic invention - ranging
from the liveliness of ecstatic dance to the serene austerity of plainsong
- and for its rhythms marked with the freedom of Indian classical music;
above all, for its unchartered terrain of unusual and beautiful harmonies.
Within this
extensive catalogue are a number of highly original works for the piano
which have become permanent cornerstones of late twentieth-century virtuoso
repertory: Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus and Catalogue d'oiseaux
come immediately to mind. But Messiaen's singular contribution to the
repertoire of the piano-duo must be counted amongst the most valuable of
all time: gone are the leisure-traits which have characterised much of the
nineteenth-century's developments in four-hand (or more) writing - Visions
de L'Amen is a tour de force exercise in musical architecture, sonority and
rhythmic complexity.
Inspired by a work of theology, Visions serves to
justify Messiaen's conviction of the four-fold definition of 'Amen': the
act of creation, the 'Amen' of acceptance, desire, and the 'Amen' afforded
by Paradise's fulfilment. To these he has added "the lives of creatures
that say Amen through the simple fact that they exist".
Conceived as a
virtuoso vehicle for Messiaen and his brilliant young pupil, Yvonne Loriod
(whom he would later marry), the music exploits very different temperaments
and techniques by assigning entirely separate roles to the two pianos: the
first part - given to Loriod - has all the technical ravages, the bells,
birdsongs and decorative figuration; while the second (Messiaen's own part)
carries the themes and underlying harmonies.
Movement three (Amen de l'Agonie de Jésus) introduces
a genuine interplay of pianism in a passage of sonorous heterophony;
whereby three 'weeping' motifs serve to represent the agony of Jesus on the
Mount of Olives. The central 'Amen' (Amen du Désir) begins in ineffable
calm and brings the tension to mount in an impressive display of jazzy
improvisation and big-boned virtuosity for the second pianist.
The fifth
movement (Amen des Anges, des Saints, de chant de oiseaux) calls upon the
"theme of Creation" in a more fluid - almost improvisatory - incarnation;
bordering a central section of 'birdsong' (a typical feature of Messiaen's
music) in which strains of nightingales, blackbirds, chaffinches and
whitethroats have been meticulously transcribed.
Amen du Judgement is a
brief exposition of three icy notes; in nature, a grim mirror-reflection of
the third movement's solemnity. The final Amen de la Consommation
transforms the "theme of Creation" into a triumphant chorale amidst a
carillon of chords and brilliant scintillating rhythms. With Visions, the
first fruits of partnership between Messiaen and Loriod were sown; and thus
begun the composer's association with the piano in most of his large-scale
works.
Bartók made generous use of
quarter-tones and other microtone intervals (borrowed from gypsy and Balkan
cultures) in his scores; and Czech composer Alois Hába even invented an
array of new instruments to produce fragmented tones. Curiously, it was
Charles Ives (1874-1954) - American insurance-broker and experimental
composer - who learnt of it when his father, a former bandleader in the
American Civil War, built himself a piano to explore quirky sonorities.
Dutch pianist/composer Cees van Zeeland (b.1954) - one of the artists
featured in this recording - has done well to ally himself with the French
'school': Initials, written in 1989, is full of references to post-1945
dogma perpetuated by Boulez and the Messiaenists. Lucidly segmented into
sections each designated with characteristic motivic patterns, the work
attempts to eventually amalgamate all material which at first seemed rich
in contrast.
From a calm, sustained opening, the music suddenly explodes in
furious, ascending four-note figures and blistering chord-groups. Following
this, a section underlined with jazz-like rhythms is interspersed with
Boulezian note-splinters. Patterns from the preceding segment return to
mingle; before the music subsides again into tranquility - a quasi-aria
passage.
Soon gaining in momentum, the peace is disturbed with sharp,
staccato-chords of variegated combinations. Then, familiar motives are once
again recalled and juxtaposed with more recent conjurings; before all
proceedings slide for the last time into stillness. The work closes with a
recapitulation of the introduction; culminating in a straightforward
exercise of intelligence and coherence, though largely forgettable.
Their performances are
nothing short of awe-inspiring and exemplary: beginning with Messiaen's
massive affirmation of faith, both Bouwhuis and Van Zeeland are revealed to
possess a rock-solid conception of the work's structure and significance;
successfully conveying the "growth" of Messiaen's brainchild from
primordial silence to ecstatic bravura.
The first movement is infused with
a sense of abysmal mystery; as the players craft carefully and diligently
the all-encompassing crescendo with unflinching momentum. A wild, almost
savage dance erupts in the second movement - full of panache in Pianoduo's
vision: savour their clarity as they trudge through the thickets of
polymodal turbulence.
Then, listen to how gently they sculpt the agony of
Jesus' lament; before lashing out in high-spirited, jazzy brilliance in
Amen des Anges, des Saints, de chant de oiseaux : here given a colourfully
vivid evocation of 'song' and 'soul'. A sense of foreboding shades the
opening of the next movement, culminating after every turn in crashing
chords of thunderous might.
Pianoduo's confidence reaches its peak in the
exciting conclusion: be amazed at how stylishly they "pass" the proceedings
from one to another - culminating in a display of fantastic duo-pianism
second to none - and partaking in a flourish of "finger-fireworks" that
lead the music to a rousing finish.
The same clarity of purpose
characterises the rest of the program: Ives' quarter-toned puzzles are
intoned meticulously - it is not difficult to detect Pianoduo's firm belief
in this music's artistic significance. Every detail is elucidated clearly
and not without character: I particularly relish the humour in the
Allegro movement - full of piquant flair and élan. And in Initials, the
players waste no time in convincing the listener of their amazing
familiarity with contemporary music - its myriad forms, structures and
styles - and their dedication to performances of crystal-clear definition.
With such impeccable teams as that of Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland
in existence, the future of duo-piano music is very bright indeed.
Throughout his lifetime, Messiaen carried out the roles of performer (as
parish-organist), teacher and composer with Christ-like dedication; and the
fruits of his labour are duly apparent: the enlargement of the organ's
repertoire in contemporary composition, an army of renowned students who
have included Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Alexander Goehr; and
a portfolio of some of the greatest music ever written.
Visions is a compound of seven
movements: a work of unity that may be perceived as two symmetrical halves
(of three movements) sandwiching a central section. The opening movement
(Amen de la Création) introduces the "theme of Creation" amidst a
double-layered rhythmic ostinato in a gigantic wave of crescendo; the
subsequent movement (Amen des étoiles, de la planète à l'anneau) displays
three different developments of a five-note motif in a kaleidoscopic swirl
of pianistic colour.
In
1923, Ives composed three miniatures for a quarter-toned piano. The Largo
first movement employs quarter-tones only as non-harmonic tones
(passing-notes, suspensions, etc.) within a diatonic framework; the
following Allegro movement is an interplay of rhythms à la Stravinsky for
two pianos - one tuned a quarter-toned sharp. The final Chorale movement
was carefully constructed to give full-rein to manifold quarter-toned
possibilities in both pianos: it simply takes as its harmonic basis a
primary and a secondary chord, and each instrument works through a myriad
of splintered-tones in various chordal formations. An intriguing experiment
in musical composition, this one!
The pianists in this recording - Gerard Bouwhuis and Cees van Zeeland, both
renowned in the Netherlands as accomplished contemporary-music
practitioners - have taken great pains to perform the challenging music on
this recording with expert clarity and dexterity.
Darrell Ang's idea of chamber-music is a menage a deux with his dearly beloved ...
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