# Messiaen Vocal Works Recommendations



## Dulova Harps On (Nov 2, 2018)

Have been really enjoying listening to Messiaen’s vocal works lately.
So far I’ve listened to Harawi and Poemes pour Mi ( The Hetna Regitze Bruun recordings on Naxos) and I have also been enjoying the CD *Messiaen: L'amour et la foi *

What are your favourite recordings of Messiaen’s vocal works? What other vocal works of his should I be considering? Any help appreciated.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Human vocals, correct? Not OM's 'birdsong' compositions.


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

Messiaen said that to understand his music better one should know the _Chants de terre et de ciel_. The song cycle was written for Marcelle Bunlet, Messiaen’s favorite singer. Bunlet was a dramatic soprano whose primary repertoire focused on Wagner and Strauss, and the songs play to the strengths of most dramatic sopranos: long breath lines, a wide range, plenty of singing in the lower and middle voice. Messiaen described the songs as “very long, very tiring for the breath, and require a very wide vocal range. For all these reasons, it is understandable that few singers have tackled them and that these pieces are less known than others.” It's interesting that Messiaen chose the soprano voice to portray the thoughts of a man, specifically since they are his own words. However, as Jane Manning, a singer who has performed and recorded Messiaen’s song cycles points out, “a male singer would tend inevitably to appropriate the husbandly feelings Messiaen expresses, whereas a female interpreter can leave them intact as the composer’s…moreover, the soprano voice has access to a physical warmth and ecstatic brilliance uniquely its own.”


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## Dulova Harps On (Nov 2, 2018)

Prodromides said:


> Human vocals, correct? Not OM's 'birdsong' compositions.


HaHa! Yeah i haven't tackled the birdsong stuff yet! Looking purely for favourite recordings of the vocal works.
Thank you both for your replies!

Anybody else have suggestions/favourites?


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Dulova Harps On said:


> HaHa! Yeah i haven't tackled the birdsong stuff yet! Looking purely for favourite recordings of the vocal works.
> Thank you both for your replies!
> 
> Anybody else have suggestions/favourites?


My 1st is 1940s Messiaen, pre-colors & pre-birdsong, entitled _3 petites liturgies_


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

This recording of his near complete collection of songs is very good.


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

2nd level recommendation: _La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ_ (1969)


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Advanced level, if you have 5 hours to spare, is this 4-CD digi-pak set of the opera _Saint François D'Assise_.










Not recommended for novices (pun!)


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## Dulova Harps On (Nov 2, 2018)

I found the _La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ_ heavy going so i don't think i'm ready for advanced level yet!


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## Prodromides (Mar 18, 2012)

Dulova Harps On said:


> I found the _La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ_ heavy going so i don't think i'm ready for advanced level yet!


Thanks for your attempt, in any case. You don't seem ripe enough yet for 1969 vintage Olivier. I re-direct you back to 1944 Messiaen; if you notice St. Francis along your journey, bolt swiftly for protection.

Don't stop to say 'hi' to Ligeti or Penderecki, either.


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## Dulova Harps On (Nov 2, 2018)

Prodromides said:


> Thanks for your attempt, in any case. You don't seem ripe enough yet for 1969 vintage Olivier. I re-direct you back to 1944 Messiaen; if you notice St. Francis along your journey, bolt swiftly for protection.
> 
> Don't stop to say 'hi' to Ligeti or Penderecki, either.


 Or Berio! In all seriousness though i will try again with _La Transfiguration . _

I am listening to the organ works currently and i think that will help me tackle some of these bigger more ambitious vocal works. I'm really enjoying what i've heard so far of the organ works. 

Once again i thank you for your most gracious and helpful imput Prodromides! I am finding Messiaen fascinating.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

O Sacrum Convivium! (1937) The Cambridge Singers, John Rutter conducting.


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