Olivier Messiaen ‒ Preludes pour Piano

Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992), Preludes pour piano (1929) Performed by Hakon Austbo 00:00 - No. 1 La colombe 02:03 - No. 2 Chant d’extase dans un paysage triste 09:16 - No. 3 Le nombe léger 10:59 - No. 4 Instants défunts 15:23 - No. 5 Les sons impalpables du rêve 19:08 - No. 6 Cloches d’angoisse et larmes d’adieu 26:30 - No. 7 Plainte calme 29:46 - No. 8 Un reflet dans le vent The eight Preludes were published in 1929, while Messiaen was still a student, at the instance of Paul Dukas. While the titles sometimes suggest Debussy, the music itself shows considerable originality. The first of the set, La colombe (The Dove), is evocative in its binary form, the second half repeating the first until the final gentle ascent, a charactcristically symmetrical piece. Chant d’extase dans un paysage triste (Song of Ecstasy in a Sad Landscape) is similarly clear in structure. The opening section, presented simply at first, frames a chordal section