Messiaen: Les oiseaux (2008)

This disc of shorter Messiaen piano works as played by Louise Bessette was produced for the 100th anniversary of Messiaen's birth. Bessette is no stranger to his music: she studied with Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen's wife, and is known for performing the complete Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus in recital from memory. Bessette's touch in the works here brings out the birdsongs wonderfully. Most performers play Messiaen with a keen-edged, strong attack, which works for his more rhythmic pieces, such as the Cantéyodjayâ that ... Read More

This disc of shorter Messiaen piano works as played by Louise Bessette was produced for the 100th anniversary of Messiaen's birth. Bessette is no stranger to his music: she studied with Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen's wife, and is known for performing the complete Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus in recital from memory. Bessette's touch in the works here brings out the birdsongs wonderfully. Most performers play Messiaen with a keen-edged, strong attack, which works for his more rhythmic pieces, such as the Cantéyodjayâ that opens this disc, but Bessette's attack varies in sharpness, imitating the birdsong more realistically. It gives the notes a little more shimmery quality and gives each of the Petites esquisses d'oiseaux more life and character than the title "little sketch" would imply. The same is true in La fauvette des jardins (The Garden Warbler), which depicts the full view of Messiaen's garden, the lake, and the mountain from his studio window. Bessette doesn't thrust the majesty of the view on the... Read Less