Word: martenot
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...wonder, then, that Messiaen's compositions defy pigeonholing. Trois Petites Liturgies de la Presence Divine (1944), scored for soprano chorus, strings and a clattering assortment of percussion, celebrates God's omnipresence by mixing swatches of Gregorian chant with Hindu rhythms and the unearthly quavering of the Ondes Martenot (an electronic wave generator). The 77-minute Turangalila Symphony (1948), a thick layer cake of orchestral textures, is part of Messiaen's treatment of the Tristan legend, which he considers "the greatest myth of human love." Chrono-chromie (1960) echoes the sounds of nature in a complex tone poem...
OLIVIER MESSIAEN: THREE LITTLE LITURGIES OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE (Columbia). Scored for soprano chorus, strings, and a miscellany of soundmakers including a vibraphone, Chinese cymbals, gongs and the electronic instrument called Ondes Martenot, this 20-year-old work is a reminder of Messiaen's Orient-tilted talents. Like a preacher shaking his fist, the French composer uses wild, sliding sounds, surprise rhythms, and his own effusive text to insist that God is omnipresent. Leonard...