Mark Heide
07-10-2003, 10:26 PM
The recording I am refering to is Anatol Ugorski's three CD set that he recorded for Deutsche Grammophon in 1993. It was a full price set that has now been re-issued in DG's budget "Trio" series. This recording is considered the reference recording for this work, so skip the others, because they don't come close, and at the price this is being offered for you can't pass it up.
The description for the title "Catalogue d'oiseaux" is "Songs of birds in the French countryside. Each individual bird is heard in its natural habitat, set in the landscape and surrounded by the sounds of other birds which frequent the same area." The recording features the birdsongs of the following: The Alpine Chough, Golden Oriole, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear, Tawny Owl, Wood Lark, Reed Warbler, Short-toed Lark, Cetti's Warbler, Rock Thrush, Buzzard, Black Wheatear, and Curlew.
The title should be obvious that this music is a transcription of bird songs. But, what is different in these works is that Messiaen creates the actual rhythms and uses the piano to actually represent the "real" birds. This work was completed in 1958, so you are not going to hear a Richard Strauss type of musical cliche. Messiaen was interested in composing pieces with structures that rely on tone color and rhythm. You will hear complex rhythms and dissonances approximating the way real birds would produce their sounds.
You may wonder why did Messiaen choose to do this with bird songs? Here's a qoute from him when he was being interviewed for a radio program,"in a spirit of self-mistrust, since I belong to the species called human, that I have taken birdsong as a model. If you want ot talk of symbols, then I would say that a bird is a symbol of liberty...Despite my profound admiration for the folksongs of the world, I do not believe that you can find in any human music, however inspired, melodies and rhythms which possess the sovereign liberty of birdsong."
If you are interested in hearing something new and you feel adventurous, I highly recommend this recording.
Good Luck
Mark
The description for the title "Catalogue d'oiseaux" is "Songs of birds in the French countryside. Each individual bird is heard in its natural habitat, set in the landscape and surrounded by the sounds of other birds which frequent the same area." The recording features the birdsongs of the following: The Alpine Chough, Golden Oriole, Blue Rock Thrush, Black-eared Wheatear, Tawny Owl, Wood Lark, Reed Warbler, Short-toed Lark, Cetti's Warbler, Rock Thrush, Buzzard, Black Wheatear, and Curlew.
The title should be obvious that this music is a transcription of bird songs. But, what is different in these works is that Messiaen creates the actual rhythms and uses the piano to actually represent the "real" birds. This work was completed in 1958, so you are not going to hear a Richard Strauss type of musical cliche. Messiaen was interested in composing pieces with structures that rely on tone color and rhythm. You will hear complex rhythms and dissonances approximating the way real birds would produce their sounds.
You may wonder why did Messiaen choose to do this with bird songs? Here's a qoute from him when he was being interviewed for a radio program,"in a spirit of self-mistrust, since I belong to the species called human, that I have taken birdsong as a model. If you want ot talk of symbols, then I would say that a bird is a symbol of liberty...Despite my profound admiration for the folksongs of the world, I do not believe that you can find in any human music, however inspired, melodies and rhythms which possess the sovereign liberty of birdsong."
If you are interested in hearing something new and you feel adventurous, I highly recommend this recording.
Good Luck
Mark