Playing Messiaen for a more general audience type

[quantum]

Our church may be doing a fund raising concert for our music programme in the fall.  I'm thinking of playing some Messiaen since it is the centennial year of his birth.  The programme would most likely be a mix of church choirs, church musicians, and some guest professional musicians. 

What piece would you suggest that would keep listeners interest, even for those people who do not normally listen to this type of music?  Has anyone played Messiaen for a not strictly classical listening demographic?  Mind you, a lot of people in the church do like 18th and 19th Century era compositions as well as opera. 

At the moment I'm thinking of Regard #10 - Regard de l'Esprit de joie.  It's an exciting piece, although would it be too long?  Most  of the selections on previous concerts we have done were averaging 5 mins or so per piece.

[mephisto]

If I was playing Messiaen for normal (!) people I would definetly NOT play a piece such as the one you are thinking about.

If I would play piece from Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus I would play a slow and mediative one. It is a long time since the last time I listened to any of them but No.1 strikes me as the very best.

Are you thinking about playing some of this pieces that have nothing to do with religion? The preludes are amazing.

[quantum]

If I was playing Messiaen for normal (!) people I would definetly NOT play a piece such as the one you are thinking about.

If I would play piece from Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus I would play a slow and mediative one. It is a long time since the last time I listened to any of them but No.1 strikes me as the very best.

Are you thinking about playing some of this pieces that have nothing to do with religion? The preludes are amazing.

No.1 would probably be the most "normal" sounding of the set.  Do you advise then something not to eccentric?

One of his religiously influenced pieces would be ideal as the concert is in a religious context.  Although I would consider anything that is quite suitable. 

[richard black]

Yeah, go for it, do Number 10! The thing is that at a gig like that you have just about the most open-minded audience you're ever going to get (because they've probably come out of loyalty to the cause rather than because of what's on the programme) and if you sock it to them with a piece like that they're really quite likely to find it a quite amazing experience - which of course it is, well played. The audiences who hate that kind of piece are the ones who have already decided they are going to hate it. What also helps no end is to give it a good launch - don't apologise for it by explaining that it's 'hard modern music', just tell them, in some suitably tactful form of words, that it's fantastic and they're damn lucky to have a chance to hear it.

[ramseytheii]

Messiaen is actually one of the most accessible of composers.  His organ music is regularly played across the country at churches where the people have no idea who he is, or where he stands in music history, and it is always well received.  Even pieces that start out "difficult," usually have a grand section of great consonance, or some harmonic idea that is easy to grasp onto and follow.  Because he didn't develop music in the Germanic style, and used repetition as one of the hallmarks of his style, it's easy to follow his structures, or at least to feel comfortable when the atmosphere changes.

Walter Ramsey

[mephisto]

No.1 would probably be the most "normal" sounding of the set.  Do you advise then something not to eccentric?

I would advise something not to eccentric, because we don't want to alienate people. But I can understand if people dissagree with me.

The most important thing is of course that you like the piece you are playing.

I would personally choose a slow one.

[mikey6]

no.2 is cool, not long and fairly accessible.

[birba]

Wow.  If you can play l'esprit de joie, go for it!   A VERY exciting piece.  I did 8 of his regards once in a concert, in a very particular setting and the public loved it.  Besides the esprit de joie, think of the premier communion de la vierge, noel, and one of the most beautiful and "easy to understand" on the part of the pubblic, le baiser de l'enfant jesu.