This disc of shorter
Messiaen piano works as played by
Louise Bessette was produced for the 100th anniversary of
Messiaen's birth.
Bessette is no stranger to his music: she studied with
Yvonne Loriod,
Messiaen's wife, and is known for performing the complete Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus in recital from memory.
Bessette's touch in the works here brings out the birdsongs wonderfully. Most performers play
Messiaen with a keen-edged, strong attack, which works for his more rhythmic pieces, such as the Cantéyodjayâ that opens this disc, but
Bessette's attack varies in sharpness, imitating the birdsong more realistically. It gives the notes a little more shimmery quality and gives each of the Petites esquisses d'oiseaux more life and character than the title "little sketch" would imply. The same is true in La fauvette des jardins (The Garden Warbler), which depicts the full view of
Messiaen's garden, the lake, and the mountain from his studio window.
Bessette doesn't thrust the majesty of the view on the listener with jagged contrasts of dynamics and articulation. The necessary contrast is there, but it isn't at all jarring; it feels organic, changing as your attention would when something in the landscape catches your eye or ear anew. Her approach also works well in the posthumously published Prelude, which is one of
Messiaen's religious pieces, and which has a hymnlike melody, clothed in his own particular harmonies. Again, the sense of magnificence is there, but it is not uncomfortably overwhelming. Where her approach isn't quite as effective is in the Cantéyodjayâ; the rhythmic motives would be brisker with a more percussive reading. Yet there is enough here to satisfy
Messiaen fans, and
Bessette's way with the birdsong is definitely something to hear.