Search - Messiaen, Loriod, Sadlo :: Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ

A Dramatic Reading of 'Ex Expecto....'

S. C Rice | 11/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Interestingly enough, it was not `....transfiguration...' that caught my ear on these discs, it was the performance of `Ex Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum' that was tagged on the end. It is performed with a great deal of spirit and poignant affect. I found this performance very moving. It has a profound sense of anxiety and expectation throughout. The final orchestral crescendo really holds you on the edge of your seat and makes you feel the terror of the coming judgement. Many of the unusual timbres of the orchestra are highlighted in this performance. There are some extended percussion sections that are played with a great deal of individuality and musical interest. There really is a strong contrast between this performance and (for example) the performance of the Cleveland Orchestra playing the work under Boulez. That performance is very measured, balanced, cerebral, timbral. This performance is not so measured; various players stick out at various times; but the music still works. What the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra achieves is a gripping performance.
`Ex Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum' is a piece of an almost programmatic nature, on the last days spoken of by the Christian scriptures. The title means `I await the resurrection of the dead,' which is a meditation on the dead rising from their graves and the living being called to stand before God either in judgement or under the protection of the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ, escaping it. Books that record all the works in the lives of the souls will be opened, and they will be judged on that basis. Those that fail are cast into the lake of fire eternally. Hard to get more foreboding than that! Messiaen is characteristically uses the affectual palate of awe, terror, mystery, etc. Some of the percussion sounds are evocative of the dead rising (clanking bones, etc). It is rare to find a composer who really expresses awe (which is a mixture of wonder and abject terror) well; Messiaen is your composer here. You really feel the awe. This performance helps you feel it. `Ex Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum' is one of the great religious works and stands beside Handel's Messiah and Haydn's Creation in that respect (though very different from those two).
`La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ' is a good work also, but perhaps more didactic and less dramatic than `Ex Expecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum.' There are lots of moments where the plainchant will cause things to drag a little. I think that the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony in places doesn't quite give the work what it needs, in order to breath and live. The recording features Yvonne Loriod, Messiaen's wife on the piano, which is always excellent."