Divine Art Records

Composer: Olivier Messiaen

  • Souvenirs d’oiseaux

    Souvenirs d’oiseaux

    English pianist Roderick Chadwick has recorded the second volume in a series which presents Books 2 through 5 of Messiaen’s “Catalogue d’oiseaux” coupled with works which are linked either in style or subject matter. This follows the well-received issue in October 2020 of the first volume, entitled ‘La Mer Bleue’ which included Book 1 of the Catalogue.

    This double album is a continuation of Chadwick’s journey through Messiaen’s “Catalogue d’oiseaux”, programming it alongside an array of solo piano works that share its themes, atmospheres and inspirations. The latest issue features Books 2 through 5, including the cycle’s great centrepiece ‘La rousserolle effarvatte’ (The Reed Warbler), which evokes the sights and sounds of the Sologne region across a full day’s span.

    Roderick Chadwick, as both soloist and collaborator, has performed some of the most challenging works for piano; his recent Stockhausen disc was highly praised. He is a particular expert on Messiaen and in 2018 co-authored and published a book on the Catalogue d’oiseaux. He lives in South London and is Reader in Music at the Royal Academy of Music.

  • La Mer bleue

    La Mer bleue

    This album is built around Messiaen, birdsong and impressionism. First we have book 1 of Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux, together with two newly written interludes and a postlude for two violins, transferring the song to the strings. Messiaen’s work is a journey towards sunlight, colour and company, from mountain to coastline, together with three feathered songsters.

    English composer David Gorton is best known for his uncompromising modernity but in his Ondine, he has produced a work much more accessible and although not specifically based on birdsong, it has many resonances with the Messiaen, and is an ideal partner to the earlier work; this is its first recording.

    With Szymanowski we reach the mainstream of 20th century writing, Romanticism hardening in light of the Great War and the October Revolution. This work, one of his greatest, is imbued with passion, longing, and in the words of Sorabji, ”an elevated ecstasy of expression”.

    Roderick Chadwick, as both soloist and collaborator, has performed some of the most challenging works for piano; his recent Stockhausen disc was highly praised. He is a particular expert on Messiaen and in 2018 co-authored and published a book on the Catalogue d’oiseaux.