Messiaen - Regard XX. Completing the cycle Vingt Regards (live performance).

[ozzy]

Regard de l'Église d'amour

The last conclusion and the return of the main theme, and also reminesences from many of the other pieces. The piece has some of the most difficult passages I have ever played, and I have been practising literally hours and hours just at the first bars, just to mention an example. Super complex passages interfoliated with the magnificent return of the Theme de Dieux. On top of that: the last ten minutes of a beyond-words joy.
Itīs ab-so-lu-tely breathtaking! I just canīt put it another way...
(Of course at a much higher grade when also hearing the first 19 in a live concert, but still...
  Vingt Regards...What a piece!!!)

[dnephi]

A momentous undertaking.  But can you explain why or how?  I can't recall how many times I've heard #6, but it still sounds angry, not like the creation of the universe.

However, there is one part in it which puzzles me.  F# Major Chord... "Thunder at bottom" Dissonant Chord "Thunder" "B-flat Major Chord" Thunder.  That alone seems tremendously interesting like a God creating order in a universe without it.

Comes with time? :$

[jre58591]

wow, i really liked this. i only have one thing to add, for you have a pretty good grasp of the piece: it seems like you held back a bit on it sometimes. like some chords or passages i felt should have been louder. thats about it though. the rest of it is certainly yours. and i cant get over the fact that you sound so close to steven osbourne!

[steve_m]

b

[ozzy]

wow, i really liked this. i only have one thing to add, for you have a pretty good grasp of the piece: it seems like you held back a bit on it sometimes. like some chords or passages i felt should have been louder.

I see clearly what you mean, but I must say I think this is mainly due to recording/accoustic and/or mp3-packing. I can assure I didnīt hold anything back at the moment.
So even I can of course feel a little disappointment that that particular felleing and timbre is so difficult to maintain when you record it like this. (Not blaming my excellent recording technician and friend "hiroshi" of course!)

[ozzy]

A momentous undertaking.  But can you explain why or how?  I can't recall how many times I've heard #6, but it still sounds angry, not like the creation of the universe.

However, there is one part in it which puzzles me.  F# Major Chord... "Thunder at bottom" Dissonant Chord "Thunder" "B-flat Major Chord" Thunder.  That alone seems tremendously interesting like a God creating order in a universe without it.

Comes with time? :$

Iīm not sure I follow you here, but youīre still talking about a passage in the Regard VI, or?
The climax where the Theme de Dieux returns? (In that case actually F#Major, thunder, other chord, thunder, D#major/A#, thunder    ...)

[dnephi]

Yea, that was a passage in #6 sorry, and it was the Theme de Dieu according to the music.  Actually the place I downloaded it from is down and so I can't look at it at the moment.

And to steve, no.  I actually had at first considered it horrible sacrilege to have something as sacred as creation supposedly being related by such ugly and repulsive music. 

And about his quartet for the end of time, my initial reaction was disappointment that the end of time hadn't yet arrived before he wrote it.  However, there must be something I'm missing if you learn such difficult pieces and go through all that work.

[iumonito]

Superhuman, really.  Very nicely done.

I hope the audience went wild!

You should do it over for Christmas this year.

Seriously, do some Sorabji next.  I think you could illustrate that music really well, although it will call for some more rubato.

Cheers.

[dnephi]

Yea, pardon my earlier comments.  This is awesome.

Thanks!

Which ones do you think work best by themselves or would be good as a small group?

[jre58591]

the larger ones, like 6, 10, 15, and 20, would probably work on their own. also, maybe a pair of contrasting ones would work well.

[dnephi]

So, perhaps #s 1 with one of the large ones would be particularly interesting because #1 is a thematic catalogue.  It would also have a mood and tempo difference.

Thanks for the idea.

Dan