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RECITAL REVIEW
Messiaen's Powerful Early Vision
May 27, 2001
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By Benjamin Frandzel
John Karl Hirten's performance of Messiaen's L'Ascension in his organ recital Sunday at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi offered a compelling glimpse into the early sensibilities of this composer. Written when Messiaen was only 25, L'Ascension is uncommonly revealing of his roots, placing this unique figure squarely in the continuum of French music. At the same time, it showed how early the seeds of Messiaen's mature style had been sown, including his predilection toward modes and rhythmic intricacy, expanded temporal sense, and unabashed search for grandeur.
Messiaen's generous sense of time (not to mention titles), which would grow ever more expansive through his career, is already at work in the first of four movements, "Majesté du Christ demandant sa gloire à son Père" ("Majesty of Christ praying that his Father should glorify him"). Progressing at a very slow tempo, enormous chords were sustained at length before traveling freely to the following harmony, as cadences repeated with ever increasing durations. Hirten, Music Director at St. Stephen's Church in Belvedere, approached the work with the ideal sort of patience, allowing the music to fill up the space and achieve the resounding effect Messiaen must have imagined. The warm, airy acoustics of the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi provided a fine home for the music.
Another striking facet of the piece was its clear debt to Debussy. The lush, extended chords of Debussy's harmonic language were heard immediately, as was his preference for harmony as pure, freely moving sonority. L'Ascension is subtitled "Four Symphonic Meditations for Organ," and throughout, Messiaen also seeks a more Impressionistic palate of colors for the organ, notably combining a rather nasal upper register with a richer sound from the lower manuals.
While the work is framed by serene outer movements, the second and third movements stress greater variety and virtuosity, particularly in the rapid figuration and chord progressions of the third movement, "Transports de joie" (Joyous Raptures). The second movement took a somewhat different approach, with an emphasis on ostinati that foreshadows Messiaen's later fascination with this technique, and also an overlapping series of diverse tone colors from the organ. Hirten met the technical demands of the work quite capably, and was conscious enough of pacing to allow Messiaen's music to breathe and expand through the church. The work ended much as it began, with rich, lingering chords floating from one to another. Titled "Prière du Christ montant vers son Père" (Prayer from Christ ascending toward his Father), the fourth movement added a bit of musical symbolism, as an ascending chromatic scale was interpolated between the static harmonies. Messiaen achieved one of his most striking effects at the very end, as a complex layering of harmonies produced a mix of many vibrations moving at differing speeds, resounding through the space. Hirten's thoughtful performance made a strong case for this relatively little-known work. Although it doesn't achieve the coherence or the glory of Messiaen's later and longer theologically-inspired cycles, L'Ascension helps clarify his place in musical history, and shows just how powerful his vision was, early in his life. (Benjamin Frandzel is a Bay Area musician and writer. In addition to writing concert music, he has collaborated with dance, theater, and visual artists, and has written about music for many publications and musical organizations. He is currently a graduate student in composition at San Francisco State University.) ©2001 Benjamin Frandzel, all rights reserved |