Messiaen: Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps, Les Offrandes Oubliées, Etc / Plane, Gould Piano Trio CD

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 Messiaen, reinterpreted
There’s nothing quite so exciting as hearing a piece of music for the first time, but it’s also very stimulating to discover fresh interpretations of familiar works. Such is the case with Olivier Messiaen’s “Les Offrandes oubliées,” which up till now has existed solely in orchestral form. This new Chandos disc presents the premiere recording of the composer’s version for solo piano, and the differences are as profound as they are intriguing. The orchestral recordings are, of course, glorious in and of themselves. Yet, to my ear, the austerity of the piano version better integrates the composition’s ferocious middle section, with its abrupt shift of mood and tempo. The piece just seems to flow with a stronger organic unity scored for piano. If this stripped-down version sacrifices some of the emotional sound and fury of its orchestral incarnation, it generates a much more intimate and reflective mood. It’s not for me to say which arrangement is superior, merely to note that both have their own particular strengths. For Messiaen fans, the piano version is a must-have, if only to make their own comparisons. This disc also presents two other famous Messiaen pieces, “Theme and variations” and “Quartet for the end of time.” There are no surprises regarding instrumentation, but the Gould Piano Trio (joined by clarinetist Robert Plane for the “Quartet”) manages to put its own interpretative stamp on the music. Again, this is a subjective response, but these musicians seem to privilege the lyrical impulses in these compositions slightly above their dissonant elements. I have several other versions of these pieces in my collection, and they tend to exhibit a bit cooler emotional temperature. This is not to imply that the Gould Piano Trio isn’t tuned in to the more atonal side of Messiaen’s aesthetic, but it does seem a bit more diligent in channeling the warmer sound colors in the composer’s palette.
Submitted by Emma Choi (Studio City, CA, USA)
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