Re: WAYLTL? - July 2009

Messiaen: "Chronochromie" - Dorati/BBC SO [EMI]

In "Chronochromie" ("the color of time"), Messiaen uses color to bring
out rhythmic and temporal structures, hence the title. Much more
interesting, however, is the way he plays rigor against freedom, and
vice versa: a rigorous and orderly serial-based scheme of rhythms and
note durations is pitted against metrically free and (apparently)
disorderly music of a very sonorous nature, mostly in the form of
nature sounds and -- surprise, surprise -- birdsong. The winner?:

“My permutations of durations are rigorous, my birdsongs are entirely
free. Rigour is implacable, but so too is freedom. Mingling them
together shocks audiences of all persuasions. And when in the Épôde a
vast counterpoint of birds in eighteen real voices unfolds
simultaneously, with all the freedoms tangled, the apparent disorder
of inextricable sounds is the last straw for the audience, and
provokes shouts and tumult. […] Freedom! Doubtless we’re afraid of
this word. In the end it is freedom that triumphs in my music. And
if I had given a title to this modest defense, perhaps I would have
called it: A Plea for Freedom.”

"Chronochromie" has all the charm of a Greek mathematician gone bird
watching in Gaul. That should be way more than enough charm for any
one here at rmcr, but even if it's not, it's worth your time to give
this busy, almost hyperactive, work a listen if only to hear the
utterly fascinating Épôde movement. The complete setting free (or so
it seems) of the 18 solo strings caused quite an uproar at the
premiere, prompting Messiaen to write his "modest defense" of the
work. The other movements feature a lot of winds and percussion,
especially pitched percussion; metal percussion (bells, cymbals,
gongs, tam-tams, etc.) is used to mark/accentuate the complex rhythmic
patterns/schemes and help make them easier to identify and follow --
sad to say, I'm lost and scared most of the time even with Messiaen's
help. Despite its complexity, the music has that distinctive Messiaen
sound that provides some comfort even when you're totally lost.

As for the performance, the deadpan precision and detail of Boulez/
Cleveland is here replaced by Dorati & Company’s life-and-death sense
of bird-watching urgency. With Boulez, Épôde's "vast counterpoint of
birds in eighteen real voices" sounds like a well-drilled chorus of
contrived and orderly disorder, but with Dorati it sounds like a flock
of 18 crazy bird contestants trying desperately to impress the judges
on American Idol. Instrumental balances are a bit brazen (and are
exacerbated by the spotlit recording), but the momentum and
purposefulness and sheer energy of the playing more than make up for
any lack of refinement.

J. R. Robinson
Denver, Colorado
.

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