Olivier Messiaen would have celebrated his 100th birthday in December of 2008, the time at which this recording was released. It presents to us a deeply felt interpretation of Messiaen's final composition.

Messiaen was a very unique composer for many reasons. One of which being the fact that throughout his career as organist and composer, he never wavered or deviated at all from his compositional style or technique. Most composers at one point or another get influenced by others and absorb differing styles and sounds which eventually become part of their work, but Messiaen always kept working out his unique harmonies and rhythms, to the extent that all of his works, be it for piano, organ or orchestra, all have that uniquely impressive Messiaen sound. A musical world all it's own.

The work on this CD, Eclairs sur l'Au-Delà (Illuminations on the Beyond), is a culmination of a long and steady musical search for the meaning of life and the hereafter. Everything that is Messiaen is indelibly stamped on this work, with various movements having to do with the glory of God, birds, the cosmos ... all subjects that Messiaen had devoted his life to understanding and re-creating in his music.

It is scored for a large orchestra, with the woodwinds and brass sections being much extended, again reproducing that distinctive Messiaen sound. This unique orchestration opens up new sound worlds. For example, the opening movement scored mostly for brass and woodwinds, sounds almost like a pipe organ, the instrument that the composer devoted his life playing. Other sections, like the "Several Birds from the Trees of Life" movement, shimmers and sparkles with the sounds of multiple flutes and piccolos representing 25 different birds singing the praises of God. It's a musical work that transcends usual logic and points to a higher existence, and as a whole, seems to emit a positive energy.

The conductor Ingo Metzmacher, who has many exceptional recordings under his belt, like the very fine recordings of all the Karl Amadeus Hartmann symphonies he did in the 1990's for EMI, is a strong supporter of 20th century music, and demonstrates here that Messiaen somehow defined the century with his personal approach to music making. The Kairos label recording is impressive for its balance of weight and clarity. Highly recommended!

Jean-Yves Duperron