Schönberg Ensemble - Reinbert de Leeuw

The most important innovation in Olivier Messiaen's (1908-1992) composition style is the use of his own modes (scales), which determine not only the melody but also the entire harmony. Each mode - for which Messiaen reverted to music from a distant past: Gregorian and polyphony - carries a specific timbre, which Messiaen also associated with actual colours. His oeuvre is also based on rhythmic principles in which the 'valeurs ajoutées' (rhythmic elements added to a rhythmic framework) determine the specific character. By combining his modes with rhythmic, unchangeable frameworks of varying lengths, he created a clearly layered type of music. The Schönberg Ensemble, with Reinbert de Leeuw back on piano for this occasion, brings us a programme containing early works by the French composer. 'Visions de l'amen' for two pianos consists of seven movements whose titles all contain the word 'Amen' ('Amen de la création', 'Amen des étoiles', 'de la planète à l'anneau', etc.). One of the most remarkable innovations of the piece is the use of the full range of keys: outbursts, leaps, contrasts and long passages in extreme registers in which the music seems to be trapped, especially in the highest registers. This habit of Messiaen's had an important influence on his pupil Pierre Boulez, as well as on Stockhausen, Xenakis and Benjamin