Customer Reviews

Olivier Messiaen: Éclairs sur l'au-delà (Illuminations of the Beyond)

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Olivier Messiaen's Éclairs sur l'au-delà (Illuminations of the Beyond) may not be as familiar to audiences of the French mystic's music as his earlier works, but for this listener this valedictory work contains not only echoes of his recurring musical language of birdsongs, vaporous clouds, and recreations of the atmospheres beyond this planet, but it is in many ways a summation of his rich imagination and contribution to the world of music. It is a 65-minute work composed for a large orchestra (128 instrumentalists), but each of the eleven 'movements' uses a different combination of instruments - from tutti orchestra, to sub-orchestras of expanded woodwinds, brass and an extensive array of percussion instruments. The result is a luminous and transcendent work that serves as the wise musical poet's summation of his vision of the 'beyond' -a space of enormous beauty that he seems to be describing as one who sees it closely in his final moments on earth.

Myung-Whun Chung conducts the Bastille Opera Orchestra in an unfettered, direct from the score, honest performance. While the Bastille Opera Orchestra may not be among the major ensembles in the world, Chung manages to mold a performance from this ensemble that literally glows with airbourne beauty. The solo choir passages are clean, precise, and yet still manage to emerge and submerge into the fabric of the work, making the tutti passages almost unbearably 'holy'.

For those who are not familiar with this final work by Messiaen, the best approach to listening to it is to ignore the written word and simply submit to the suspension of time this beautiful score encourages. And after 'experiencing' the music, then reading the titles of the eleven movements and exploring the words of the master enhances the appreciation. Writing about Messiaen's music is difficult at best, if not rather impossible. The strength of his music is in the experience in which he transports the listener: all else is secondary. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, June 08

ok - well this is good - This piece was the first Messiaen I heard. I heard it on radio about three times - first hearing, I thought it was very odd and really quite rubbish - the next couple of hearings I was still cynical, but I had never heard anything quite like it before, and it kind of drew me - I started to find the the 5th and 6th movements mesmerizing, as well as the final movement. I eventually ended up buying it on CD - and it is an impressive piece.
I have now listened to some other Messiaen pieces, including Turangalila, the Quartet for the end of Time, Et Exspecto, Des Canyons aux etoiles and Livre du Saint Sacrement which are v good, and I don't know whether or not I would say this is the best, but it has more of a serenely majestic feel to it. The fifth movement is the most ecstatic music I have ever heard, the first movement is a fantastic piece - totally static - it seems to make the piece move outside of time at the very outset. Much of the work consists of a sort of spiritual ecstasy mixed with genuine awe, with scattered birdsong - which acts like a sort of 'small' quality showing that God, whilst majestic and awesome, and awesomely loving, is also beautiful and approachable.
This is music that many people 'won't get' which is a pity, as I think it presents something almost wholly unique in our western society let alone music - we have a busy society which always has to be places, and never feels it can be timeless. This is music that reaches into another world - as indicated in its title - which is far away from our western lives of appointments, meetings and merely forming interest cultures.
The last thing I want to see is this sort of music representing some kind of pretentious modern music culture - it is important stuff - and needs to be heard by a wide range of people. - Not everyone will like it on first hearing- perhaps very few will - but people should work at understanding what is going on and not be scared - after all its difficult to get on with any really good music - even more 'normal' stuff unless you've lived with it a bit. I get quite irritated by people running away from this stuff scared, and I also get irritated by people moaning about the precise quality of some bit of the performance or conductor's pace or something like its important.
End of diatribe - just go listen - and if it seems odd - listen again - and again - perhaps listen to other similar stuff - and don't do it just because you want to show off how educated you are - but give in time and you'll appreciate it. In the future, I think Messiaen may well come to be seen as as important as characters like Mozart or Beethoven or Wagner or Mahler - but this has a different feel - and this is its timelessness.

Messiaen writes the most beautiful slow music, and Eclairs sur l'au-dela provides plenty of proof, from the sustained silences in the first movement to the gradual ascension in the last. Myung-Whun Chung is the definitive interpreter of Messiaen, and I highly recommend this recording.

Eclairs sur l'au-dela (Flashes from the distant beyond) was Messiaen's last orchestral piece. It uses exotic techniques such as bird song, Hindu raga rhythm, Gregorian chant, and modes of limited transposition in a large, multi-movement orchestral piece. The orchestra features an expanded percussion section. Those who know and love Messiaen's musc will greatly enjoy L'eclairs sur l'eau-dela. It convincingly integrates the diverse techniques into a final spiritual statement. Those who do not know Messiaen's music will find this piece to be a great introduction to a twentieth-century giant who assimilated Debussy and Schoenberg while writing in his unique compostional voice. The French performance lacks some of the weight and power that the New York Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta brought to this work at its premiere at Avery Fisher Hall. The interpretation is bright and crisp when needed and sensous in the more meditative moments.

This is simply one of the greatest recordings ever made. It was dedicated to the composer and can't be topped for sound quality, dynamics, passion, subtlety, delicacy, worship. The conductor, engineers and orchestra are as perfectly tuned to the spirit and genius of Messiaen as it's possible to be. This music can only be shared by someone who knows and loves the soul of music.

"Eclairs sur l'au dela" for orchestra is Messiaen's last work, with the exception of a minor concerto for four musicians that had to be completed by George Benjamin. Messiaen wrote these "illuminations of the Beyond" between 1987 and 1991, and the work was premiered in late '92, six months after the composers death.

The work really does have all the features Messiaen is known for among its eleven movements. A long, bright brass chorale opens the work, an "Apparition of the Glorious Christ". Birdsong fills the second and third movements, while the fifth, "Abiding in love" is a long, slow adoration. The seventh movement, "The Seven Angels with the Seven Trumpets" is the most striking of the work. While Messiaen's treatment of this theme in his celebrated "Quartet for the End of Time" was a joyful dance, here it's a grim and threatening cadence marked by the occasional beating of a timpani in the wings.

Certain parts of "Eclairs" are among Messiaen's best writing. However, as a whole it suffers from a problem common to much of the composer's work: it's overlong. Most of the first half of the work is perfectly timed, even the five-minute brass chorale that opens "Eclairs" and the ten-minute "Abiding in Love" work in spite of their limited musical material. However, everything from the seventh movement seems dull and often directionless. At these moments, even the most dedicated fan of Messiaen finds his attention wandering. One's listening to the work is likely to be through skipping from track to track for the good stuff, ignoring a fairly large portion entirely.

For a long time only one this recording on Deutsche Grammophon was easily accessible, featuring the Bastille Opera Orchestra and Myung-Whun Chung. I must say, however, that the 2004 EMI disc with Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker superseded this Chung version. Rattle had years to dedicate to the piece, and while Chung recorded it as part of a long Messiaen cycle, Rattle concentrates on it alone among Messiaen's output. Plus, the sound of the Rattle EMI recording is much better and brighter than this DG Chung disc. However, the liner notes for the Chung version are considerably more informative than the very basic remarks in Rattle's EMI recording.

If you are a total Messiaen newbie, I'd recommend starting with the TASHI Ensemble's performance of "Quatuor pour la fin du Temps", one of the most extraordinary CDs in my collection. But "Eclairs" has much brillance, in spite of its tendency to go on and on, and should be one of the first discs you purchase once you know you like this great French composer.

This is an o.k. piece. Very well performed by Chung. It does come across as a Turangalila lite. I think only a Messiaen completist should buy this.

I thought this CD would be worth a listen to after experiencing the Turangalila Symphony. However, compared to the great Messiaen works, such as the Turangalila or the Quartet for the End of Time, this work is quite mediocre, and not worth the price of the CD.

In form the music alternates between serene moments and Messiaen's famous birdcall music. However, the more serene moments do not have the timeless quality that you can find in Mahler, Tavener, Part, etc. Unless you must listen to all of Messiaen's works, skip this one.

I love the six Messiaen titles in my collection and so upon the recommendation of the Amazon Critics went out and bought this one. I must say, I found it incredibly boring and tedious. If you are new to Mr. O.M. start elsewhere! I still give it 5 stars because what the hell do I know? This is strictly a matter of personal taste. I do know that if I started off my O.M. collection with this one I would have been turned off big time. That would be a pity as O.M. is marvelous.