Messiaen's "Turangalila-Symphonie"

[EigenUser]

You know that section about halfway through the first movement with the heavily-mechanical-sounding ostinato? Apparently there is a very low ondes-Martinot part there that I can't hear (there is so much going on everywhere else!). Does anyone know a recording of that brings this out? There are about six or seven on Spotify and none of them seem to.

[EigenUser]

Okay, maybe no one knows what I'm talking about, so I'll be a bit more general. What recording(s) have/has the loudest and most prominent ondes-Martinot throughout the entire piece? I hate it when the sound of the OM gets covered by the orchestra, even in the most ffff passages.

[TheGSMoeller]

The only recording I've really listened to is Chailly's, and one of the things I really liked about it, well mainly from the composition itself, was the use of the OM. Now since it's the only recording I'm familiar with perhaps I'm missing some key spots where it is drowned in fff's, but I can recall many times it coming through quite clearly.

[Drasko]

What recording(s) have/has the loudest and most prominent ondes-Martinot throughout the entire piece?

There is ten minutes wort of clips at Hyperion site:
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67816&vw=dc

[snyprrr]

I got Nagano/Teldec (with Berlin? yummy!) simply for the Sound Appeal. I don't have it here,- but, can't you trust those Teldec engineers usually? Anyhow, this recording brought life to this old war horse for me. Pick it up for $1.

[Abuelo Igor]

You know that section about halfway through the first movement with the heavily-mechanical-sounding ostinato? Apparently there is a very low ondes-Martinot part there that I can't hear (there is so much going on everywhere else!). Does anyone know a recording of that brings this out? There are about six or seven on Spotify and none of them seem to.

You can hear it quite clearly, even without headphones, on Cambreling's recording with the SWR Symphony on Hänssler. I got it as part of a boxed set, don't know if it's available separately.

[EigenUser]

You can hear it quite clearly, even without headphones, on Cambreling's recording with the SWR Symphony on Hänssler. I got it as part of a boxed set, don't know if it's available separately.

Woah, you know what I'm talking about. Thanks! I'll check it out sometime. I love that section and it's annoying that the OM is hardly audible there (even though it is marked 'p' in the score).

Welcome to GMG, by the way!

[Cato]

You know that section about halfway through the first movement with the heavily-mechanical-sounding ostinato? Apparently there is a very low ondes-Martinot part there that I can't hear (there is so much going on everywhere else!). Does anyone know a recording of that brings this out? There are about six or seven on Spotify and none of them seem to.

Maybe you should...


[asin]B00JJ9GV4C[/asin]


...try this one: I personally have not heard it, but read this excerpt from a 5-star review from Amazon:

The quality of sound on this record is the finest of any Turangalila recording I have heard; I've picked up on so many different instruments and colors. As much as I love the Naxos recording by Wit, I feel sometimes it blurs together into blobs of instruments with a lack in clarity. Here, I have never had this problem. I have minor things that I don't quite like such as a somewhat subdued brass in the second half of the first movement, but this is likely due to microphone placement more than anything. Speaking of which, the piano and Ondes sound so CLEAR and up-front. You cannot miss them and it is a true pleasure.

[early grey]

As far as I know this version is not available anywhere else, enjoy

Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony
BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Groves with John Ogdon (Piano) and Jeanne Loriod (Ondes Martenot)
Broadcast from the Albert Hall, Wednesday 6 August 1969

http://www.cliveheathmusic.co.uk/tapes.php

[Sergeant Rock]

Maybe you should...


[asin]B00JJ9GV4C[/asin]


...try this one: I personally have not heard it, but read this excerpt from a 5-star review from Amazon:
the piano and Ondes sound so CLEAR and up-front. You cannot miss them and it is a true pleasure.

The Hurwitzer confirms:  "This recording [Lintu Ondine] strikingly resembles Juanjo Mena's recent Hyperion recording from Bergen. I thought that version offered striking clarity in the three Turangalîla movements, but this one is if anything even more rhythmically precise and texturally transparent. This is all the more remarkable considering that the keyboards are very forwardly balanced. Angela Hewitt offers a dazzling account of the piano part, and you really can hear every single note of the Ondes Martenot, even in the most thickly scored passages of the wild Joy of the Blood of the Stars or the Final."

See more at: http://www.classicstoday.com/review/lintus-light-lively-messiaen/#sthash.0iwJZpta.dpuf


Sarge

[EigenUser]

The Hurwitzer confirms:  "This recording [Lintu Ondine] strikingly resembles Juanjo Mena's recent Hyperion recording from Bergen. I thought that version offered striking clarity in the three Turangalîla movements, but this one is if anything even more rhythmically precise and texturally transparent. This is all the more remarkable considering that the keyboards are very forwardly balanced. Angela Hewitt offers a dazzling account of the piano part, and you really can hear every single note of the Ondes Martenot, even in the most thickly scored passages of the wild Joy of the Blood of the Stars or the Final."

See more at: http://www.classicstoday.com/review/lintus-light-lively-messiaen/#sthash.0iwJZpta.dpuf


Sarge

It's on iTunes, so I'll sample it there in a few minutes (after the Ohana ends!). It isn't on Spotify, though. I've been too cheap to buy recordings since getting Spotify for the student price of $5/month . I'm making a trip to the Juilliard store in NYC on Friday (tomorrow) or Saturday. They have good stuff there. Maybe they'll have this. When I was there back in March they did have the new Ondine release of the Ligeti VC/SanFranPoly/Lontano/Atmospheres. I probably won't end up getting the CD, though, because my only CD player is my car (my computer CD drive is broken and I don't want to give up my computer for a week to get it fixed at the Apple store).

They also had a beautiful complete Messiaen box. It was perfect white cube -- at first I seriously thought it was an Apple product because of the packaging! Alas, it was over $100 and I had scores that I wanted to get.
[asin]B001D94L1Q[/asin]

Okay, sampling it now. 1st movement statue theme. Perfect so far! Perfect! You know that shriek that the strings/onde have before each statement of the statue in the opening? It is loud and clear above the strings. Usually it's hard to hear over the strings. I need to find out if it is audible in that crazy mechanical section I love in the second half. It rarely is because it is playing at the low end of the range.

2nd movement -- the glissandos in that other mechanical section after the two verses of the love theme are clear. Not as expressive and "human" sounding as the Chung, though.

3rd movement -- very audible, but not as expressive. It almost sounds too synthetic.

4th movement -- Great! Lots of expressive glissando in the love theme verses doubled with the strings

5th movement -- Great, again! Also a great rendition from the orchestra, from what I can tell in 1.5 minutes

[EigenUser]

You know that section about halfway through the first movement with the heavily-mechanical-sounding ostinato? Apparently there is a very low ondes-Martinot part there that I can't hear (there is so much going on everywhere else!). Does anyone know a recording of that brings this out? There are about six or seven on Spotify and none of them seem to.

I found it this morning! It is on Spotify -- I have no idea how I missed it:


Unfortunately, the recording quality isn't great -- and neither is the orchestra's playing, for that matter. But, I can definitely hear the low Ondes-Martinot in that section.

[snyprrr]

I can confirm that the keyboards in Nagano's Teldec recording are not "totally out front". Everything is quite nicely mixed- during the thickest passages you can just make out the tonal contours of the ondes.

[Andy D.]

The Hurwitzer confirms:  "This recording [Lintu Ondine] strikingly resembles Juanjo Mena's recent Hyperion recording from Bergen. I thought that version offered striking clarity in the three Turangalîla movements, but this one is if anything even more rhythmically precise and texturally transparent. This is all the more remarkable considering that the keyboards are very forwardly balanced. Angela Hewitt offers a dazzling account of the piano part, and you really can hear every single note of the Ondes Martenot, even in the most thickly scored passages of the wild Joy of the Blood of the Stars or the Final."

See more at: http://www.classicstoday.com/review/lintus-light-lively-messiaen/#sthash.0iwJZpta.dpuf


Sarge

I have no shame whatsoever in resurrecting this thread; I have fallen in love with this piece and that recording did it!