Tonight we heard an evening length piece for chamber orchestra and 4 soloists, Olivier Messiaen's "From the Canyons to the Stars" (OK, it sounds better in French). My musical brain has had its cells rearranged; this is a truly amazing piece. Commissioned for the American Bicentennial, it is based on Messiaen's experiences Bryce Canyon in Utah. For those that haven't heard his Messiaen's music, he was both a Catholic mystic and a man obsessed by birds. I actually heard the world premiere of this piece almost forty years ago; and have always remembered the experience. Messiaen composes as if no other music had ever been written before, in a style that really is his own (though birds should share some of the credit). Much of the music is based on his interpretation of birdsong; in the score, every other measure contains a note labeling the particular bird the music derives from. Like being in forest (or a canyon), musical events just happen one after another. Though I am sure there is some fairly systematic logic going on, I don't really hear it. There is no development in the traditional sense. There are virtually no regular pulses; the meter shifts on almost every measure. You can't really listen to this in any traditional way; eventually your ears adjust, and you begin to hear differently.
This 90 minute piece is scored for a chamber orchestra that includes 7 percussionists; and requires extraordinary virtuosity on the part of all the players. The percussion includes a instrument that Messiaen invented. In this case, Robert Spano was conducting an orchestra of young musicians. They were amazingly good. I can't imagine how many hours they rehearsed. It was a great evening.
I saw the Metropolitan Opera's director, Peter Gelb, in the audience. I unfortunately resisted the temptation to tell him that they should do Messiaen's opera, "St. Francis of Assissi". But maybe he's thinking about it?
Messiaen in Bryce Canyon:
