Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Complete but not entirely definitive, 2 Jan 2009
On the face of it, this massive boxed set containing Olivier Messiaen's entire oeuvre (including some works which were never published) might appear to be pretty much the definitive edition. Many of the artists featured were closely associated with the composer in one way or another at some time during their careers. No-one, of course, was more closely associated with him than Yvonne Loriod and it is good to see that she features in many of these recordings, and especially welcome to see included here the two-piano version of "Visions de l'Amen" played by Loriod and the composer himself, recorded in June 1962. It is a pity, though, that so little of the music for solo piano is not represented here by Loriod's recordings, but is mostly supplied by Roger Muraro, whose playing, whilst competent, never really feels to engage with the true essence of the material. His rendition of "Catalogue d'Oiseaux", for example, is not a patch on Peter Hill's exquisite (but hard to find) edition.
The organ music suffers a similar lack-lustre treatment at the hands of Olivier Latry, although the fault here seems to be more the standard of the recording than of the performance, despite being recorded at Notre-Dame de Paris. Not that his playing is bad by any means, but both Jennifer Bate and Gillian Weir manage to pack far more feeling into their performances (and are generally better recorded).
Fortunately all of the works more than make up for any short-comings in the solo piano and organ pieces, however, with vibrant and powerful performances aplenty. The orchestral and concertante works are big, bright and beefy, just as they should be; the chamber and vocal works are impassioned and vibrant also, for all that some of the recordings are quite old (although anyone who dislikes their chamber ensembles close-miked might prefer to back the volume off a little in some places.) Jeanne Loriod's rendition of "Fête des belles eaux (Celebration of the Beautiful Waters)" for ondes martenot sextet is a particular delight.
The vocal works are all well performed also, with the real jewel in the crown, of course, being the complete performance of the huge opera 4-hour "Saint François d'Assise", played by the Hallé Orchestra, conducted by Kent Nagano and featuring Dawn Upshaw, José van Dam and Jeanne Loriod, recorded live at Salzburg, August 1998.
DG/Decca have done a nice job with the packaging, with each CD in a simple paper slip-sleeve, all housed in a single box, so that the whole 32-CD set takes up less than 3 inches of shelf space, including the comprehensive 378 page booklet of programme notes, photographs, and essays detailing Messiaen's musical output.
In addition to the caveat regarding the quality of the solo piano and organ works, the only other warning I'd give the prospective purchaser of this set is to point out that despite several works being specially recorded for this edition, a small number of works are represented by recordings made in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These do have noticeable tape hiss, although not to any distracting degree and the performances are such that it is easily ignored.
All in all, a very good release which should probably be classed as an essential purchase for anyone seriously interested in the music of Olivier Messiaen. It's a limited edition, so grab one while you can.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best complete edition!!!, 13 Dec 2008
The Messiaen celebrations come to an overwhelming climax with this superb 32-CD set of his complete works.
This is the only complete edition - Released on Deutsche Grammophon - Limited edition. Includes 400-page booklet in English and French, including complete sung texts and libretto.
* OVERVIEW: The solo piano works with Roger Muraro (7 CDs); the organ works with Olivier Latry (6 CDs); Orchestral and Choral works with Myung Whun Chung and Pierre Boulez, with Pierre-Laurent, Yvonne Loriod as soloists (ca. 10 CDs); the opera Saint Francois directed by Kent Nagano (4 CDs); Chamber Works with Daniel Barenboim, Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, Daniel Hope (new recording); vocal works with Noelle Barker
* The whole is rounded off with a performance of the two-piano Visions de l'Amen by Yvonne Loriod and Messiaen himself (recorded in Paris in 1962)
* Specially recorded for this edition: Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine, Coulers de la Cité Céleste and the rare Hymne (1932) with Myung Whun Chung; the recently discoverd Fantaisie for violin and Piano with Daniel Hope.
* THE ARTISTS: Pierre-Laurent Aimard . John Alldis Choir . Martha Argerich . Daniel Barenboïm . Noelle Barker . Pierre Boulez / The Cleveland Orchestra . Catherine Cantin . Riccardo Chailly / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra . Myung-Whun Chung / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France . Myung-Whun Chung / Orchestre de l'Opéra Bastille . Catherine Cournot . José van Dam . Sir Andrew Davis / BBC Chorus and Orchestra . Guy Deplus . Georges Guest / Saint John's College . Jay Gottlieb . Heinz Holliger . Daniel Hope . Joela Jones . Jean-Paul Kreder / Ensemble Le Madrigal . Gidon Kremer . Hervé Lamy . Christian Lardé . Olivier Latry . Jeanne Loriod . Sextuor d'ondes Jeanne Loriod . Sylvia McNair . Maîtrise de Radio-France . Nathalie Manfrino . Olivier Messiaen . Chris Merritt . Yvonne Loriod . Roger Muraro . Kent Nagano / Hallé Orchestra . Yumi Nara . Françoise Pollet . Karl Anton Rickenbacher / Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin . Quatuor Rosemonde . Mstislav Rostropovich . Robert Sherlaw Johnson . Albert Tétard . Jean-Yves Thibaudet . Dawn Upshaw . Marie Vermeulin . Luben Yordanoff...
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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good value for money, could have been better, 24 Dec 2008
This box set of Messiaen's complete works represents excellent value for money, with some superb recordings on it, but has one or two deficiencies:
Firstly, and most prominently, Roger Muraro, who performs all the solo piano pieces, is terrible; his renditions lack any feeling, colour or subtlety, and he often races through what should be slow, contemplative passages. Yvonne Loriod is infinitely better, especially on the Vingt Regards and Huit Préludes; her recordings are available as part of the 18-cd Messiaen Edition box set.
Secondly, Olivier Latry's performances of all the organ works will not be to some people's tastes. Again, La Nativité du Seigneur is performed better in the Edition set. That said, his rendition of L'Ascension is superb.
Despite this, it really excels with the orchestral and concertante works, with excellent performances from a variety of artists; Myung-Whun Chung conducting Des Canyons aux Etoiles, the Turangalîla and a few other pieces is a particular highlight.
The box set is also the only one to include Messiaen's only opera, the huge 4-hour work, 'St Francis of Assisi'; having seen Ingo Metzmacher and the Hague Philharmonic perform it live, i have to say this recording really is superb. van Dam and Upshaw give definitive performances as St Francis and the Angel respectively, and Kent Nagano leads the Hallé well.
A final point - the 300-page booklet that comes with the box set is basically a mini-compendium of information and analysis of Messiaen's works, complete with full sung texts and an interview with Messiaen.
Overall, good value for money (i managed to buy it for £70) but mainly for the larger works. If you're interested in the solo piano and organ works, buy the Messiaen Edition box set instead.
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