Messiaen Olivier

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus

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#15 – Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#15 – Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus

“À chaque communion, l’Enfant-Jésus dort avec nous près de la porte; puis il l’ouvre sur le jardin et se précipite à toute lumière pour nous embrasser …“

“At each Communion, the Infant Jesus sleeps with us, close to the gate; then he opens it onto the garden and comes forth in a blaze of light to embrace us …“

Olivier Messiaen.

“In the most tender, gentle, sweet Regard of the whole cycle, Messiaen escapes from his own sharp style, keeping only the colors of his modal harmony. The story of this work is very simple: The Child-Jesus is sleeping in the arms of His mother… Birds are singing… He is opening the door to the garden and spreading His arms to Love… Chromatic harmonies, like a Wagner infinite crescendo lead to the most intense moment of the piece, “Le baiser” / “The kiss”. Messiaen notes on the score “with love” in the most beautiful moment of the piece and perhaps of the entire cycle. Freedom, enthusiasm, happiness, bright and intense colors, soul singing love…In the end it remains “The shadow of the kiss” / “L’ombre du baiser”, trembling like a wind over the river.”

Anca Elena.

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#14 – Regard des Anges

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#14 – Regard des Anges

“Scintillements, percussions; souffle puissant dans d’immenses trombones; tes serviteurs sont des flammes de feu … puis le chant des oiseaux qui avalent du bleu – et la stupeur des anges s’agrandit: car ce n’est pas à eux mais à la race humaine que Dieu s’est uni …“

“Sparkling, beating; a powerful blast from immense trombones; Your servants are flames of fire – then the song of birds who feast upon blue – and the amazement of the angels grows – for it is not to them but to the human race that God is united …“

Olivier Messiaen.

“If you imagine that angels are spiritual, windy and soft creatures, you must forget about it!

Messiaen creates shocking spiritual beings which come to awake us with their huge wings in the strident sound of the beginning and their voices of the trombones. The mathematical thinking (of canons) makes them close to sf characters, over human sensitivity. What can be more shocking than the superposition of a canon on Indian decî-tâlas and an augmented fourth, known as the interval of Devil in the Middle Age, with the free birds’s singing, full of neumas and Greek rhythms? This work is stupefying by its so many repetitions (are they boring?), by the loud singing of birds, so close to our ears. They are really shouting! Not only us, but the angels themselves are stupefied, because finally God choose to unify with humans. This is unfair, because their power, science, amazing grace are ignored.”

Anca Elena.

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus

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#13 – Noël

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#13 – Noël

“Les cloches de Noël disent avec nous les doux noms de Jésus, Marie, Joseph …“

“The Christmas bells say with us the sweet names of Jesus, Mary, Joseph …“

Olivier Messiaen.

“Red, violet or orange bells, huge or minuscule, far away or very close, they all are singing the purest joy of Messiah’s birth. The opening of Noël is a celebration of rhythm and color in Messiaen’s style and so many different ways to treat piano possibilities as percussion instrument are proving a childish curiosity to see which are its limits.

The middle part shows us the miracle of inner peace… The song of heart is whispered, the blessing of motherhood and the holiness of the Child are there, in front of us, in our emotional memory.

Performing Noël it’s like conducting a chamber orchestra, every instrument should be a sparkling soloist, every of them should have space and something different to tell in a story with carols, snow and the Christmas tree.”

Anca Elena.

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#12 – La parole toute-puissante

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#12 – La parole toute-puissante

“Cet enfant est le Verbe qui soutient toutes choses par la puissance de sa parole …“

“This Child is the Word who sustains all things through the power of His voice …“

Olivier Messiaen.

“It is one one of my favorite Regards. La parole toute-puissante is a flow of God’s speaking on a huge scale. Practically it is a duo between the divine voice, that means terrible accents and intonations, large neumas, mistical decî-tâlas, a sort of bird’s speaking put under magnifying glass, and an obsessive tam-tam on same numbers or a rhythmical pattern. God has imagination like we humans, have, but he is alone and unique, and that is terrible. In the end we feel the loneliness of the religious dictator, his power, the immense space of his presence. 

In the same time, this piece is a proof of the power of spoken word, the magic of letters which precede music, this is why it should be always be used right.“

Anca Elena.

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#11 – Première communion de la Vierge

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#11 – Première communion de la Vierge

“Après l’Annonciation, Marie adore Jésus en elle … mon Dieu, mon fils, mon Magnificat! – mon amour sans bruit de paroles …“

“After the Annunciation, Mary adores Jesus within her … My God, my Son, my Magnificat! – my love without the sound of words …“

Olivier Messiaen.

“Contemplation of Holy Virgin Mary pregnant… A divine peace is surrounding her presence… While waiting for the birth of Child Jesus, she has a vision of Him in light – a quote of La Vierge et l´Enfant. Time stops, everything is surreal but also true, when we can understand the sense of  eternity. The most significant moment of the piece is when she can perceive the heartbeat of her Baby / Battement du Coeur de l`Enfant. Messiaen goes over his limited experience as human to a very realistic moment of a feminine experience, through the power of grace. The final brings the same peace and silence of the beginning…“

Anca Elena.

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#10 – Regard de l’Esprit de joie

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#10 – Regard de l’Esprit de joie

“Danse véhémente, ton ivre des cors, transport du Saint-esprit … la joie d’amour du Dieu bienheureux dans l’âme de Jésus-Christ …“

“Violent dance, joyous sound of horns, rapture of the Holy Spirit … the joyous love of Blessed God in the Soul of Jesus Christ …”

Olivier Messiaen.

“God is joy, this is one of signs of His presence. Regard de l´Esprit de Joie opens up with a “barbarian” dance in neumes, early manifestation of divine union. The joy is lifting up, passing from the foggy spirals of darkness and ignorance, then through a hunting song with jazzy accents and massive virtuosity in chords and, finally, to the Theme of Joy resonating on Christian bells, moment of intense mystical ecstasy. Despite of his theological motto, Regard de l´Esprit de joie is one of the most free and anti-dogmatic work. It seems that we are in front of a new religion which put together the lights of all religions.“

Anca Elena.

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#9 – Regard du Temps

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#9 – Regard du Temps

“Mystère de la plénitude des temps; le temps voit naître en lui Celui qui est éternel …”

“The mystery of the infinity of Time; Time sees born in itself the One who is Eternal …”

Olivier Messiaen.

“Passioned about time research, Messiaen creates an abstract, severe, enigmatic work like a metaphysical painting, Regard du Temps. This short piece is build entirely on exposure of two themes which are shown completely only in the second part of the piece – till then they appear only on fragments. First idea is like a dance, based on a denkhî rhythm, the second is a triple canon with an exotic and mysterious color, like a percussion study.“

Anca Elena.

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus

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#8 – Regard des hauteurs

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#8 – Regard des hauteurs

“Gloire dans les hauteurs … les hauteurs descendent sur la crèche comme un chant d’alouette …”

“Glory in the Heights … the Heights descend to the manger like the song of a lark …”

Olivier Messiaen.

“Regard des hauteurs is the first work where Messiaen uses almost exclusively the birds’ song. The Christian signs are missing, the birds being God’s expression is his purest form. The “speaking” of the best musicians of the world is full of imagination, freedom and freshness. Messiaen studied their formulas directly from nature, discovering a large variety of rhythms and melodic lines. We are listening: Le rossignol / The nightingale, L’alouette / The lark, La grive musicienne / SongThrush, La fauvette des jardins / Garden Warbler and Le merle noir / Blackbird .”

Anca Elena.

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#7 – Regard de la Croix

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#7 – Regard de la Croix

“La Croix lui dit: tu seras prêtre dans mes bras …”

“The Cross said to Him: You will be a priest in my arms …”

Olivier Messiaen.

“A stone and stable work made on the pillars of the Theme of Star and Cross, full of painful harmonies in the ‘sigh’ rhythmical pattern, Regard de la Croix is the last expression of resistance in front of human destiny, the image of the purest sacrifice, but also the acceptance from the beginning till end.”

Anca Elena.

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#6 – Par Lui tout a été fait

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Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus by Olivier Messiaen

“At the origins, this work had to accompany the poems of Maurice Toesca, La Nativité, a project for radio. Playing Vingt Regards sur l`Enfant – Jésus, I imagined the words which could follow the music, the voice of the actor reading the poems, the atmosphere of Christmas, people after the 2^nd World War listening it to the radio like a ray of hope after so much craziness of destruction.

The violence is present also in this cycle, a terrible and extremely one. Jesus himself was a victim of it. In Regards we find the chaos before the creation, but also the tenderness of the motherhood, the image of a sweet sleep of Child Jesus, the wonderful freedom and joy of birds… And after all, in the end, Messiaen shows us the Christian window for peace and freedom, which is love.”

Anca Elena.

Anca Elena and Pianists Corner offer you a rendezvous every two weeks. Each rendezvous will contain one Regard. The first episode will be released first week of December.

#6 – Par Lui tout a été fait

“Foisonnement des espaces et durées; galaxies, photons, spirales contraires, foudres inverses; par «lui» (le Verbe) tout a été fait … à un moment, la création nous ouvre l’ombre lumineuse de sa Voix …”

“Abundance of space and time; galaxies, photons, contrary spirals, inverted lightning: by Him (The Word) was Everything made … in an instant, creation reveals to us the luminous shadow of His Voice …”

Olivier Messiaen.

“A vision of the Creation, Par Lui tout a été fait is a dodecaphonic fugue, a celebration of the birth of the Universe and the basic energies of nature. 

All counterpoint European tradition is filled with Indian rhythms, a large variety of percussions, mathematics, modern theories of science and theology.

We can listen three cyclic themes of Vingt Regards sur l´Enfant-Jésus :  Theme of God, Theme of Love, and Theme of the Chords in a crazy work full of virtuoso passages.”

Anca Elena.

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Personal Piano Project