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[UP digital exclusive – for download only]
Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus is one of the most outstanding piano cycles ever composed: twenty movements meditate on the mystery of the baby Jesus and the wonders of the universe, and convey Messiaen’s profound and passionate belief. Composed during the occupation of Paris in 1944, it combines the rigour of mathematics with spectacular, joyful virtuosity, in the scale and scope of a Gothic cathedral. Tender and spiritual harmonies contrast with the rhythmic excitement of gamelan and raga patterns.
Joanna MacGregor’s performances of Messiaen’s epic cycle have become admired the world over, and for the first time her 1995 recording becomes available as a digital download, to celebrate Messiaen’s centenary year.
The work, says Joanna MacGregor, "is massive, almost unruly in its overflow of energy and colour, teeming with gorgeous sonorities and intellectually rigorous ideas. Each movement is quite literally a meditation on a theological aspect of his Roman Catholic beliefs, yet the contemplations are meticulously and dramatically paced: they can be serene, fierce, languid, rigidly doctrinal or even humorous."
'Joanna MacGregor's understanding of the music's ebb and flow is exemplary, beautifully rendered in a performance where each chord is given a different weight and direction.' (BBC Music Magazine)
'A tremendous feat … a triumphant account bristling with visionary ecstasy and earthy humanity … towering, uplifting.' (Venue)
Downloads cost £0.79 per track
Please click here to go to main artist page, where you can listen to and buy individual tracks.
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