Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus: XI. Première Communion de la Vierge | Heegan Lee Shzen

Olivier Messiaen’s “Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus” is without a doubt, one of the greatest twentieth-century works. The cycle consists of 20 very elaborate and intricate pieces, spanning 177 pages, and takes a whopping 2 hours to play. Each of the pieces in the cycle gives a mediation, and a view of theological exploration.

In my performance here - The 11th piece in the cycle - Première communion de la Vierge, is an essay in stillness, both of the Virgin, and of ourselves, as we contemplate the mystery of the word made flesh. In the period between the Annunciation and the Nativity, the Virgin contemplates in adoration the child within: The child yet to be born. The music grows from four slow chords, the theme of God, transfigured with flickering light and birdsong. Later in the piece, the chords become more rhythmic and animated: Mary’s Magnificat begins, at first hesitatingly, and with more than a hint of jazz. The outburst of joy eventually subsides and we hear, low in the bass, the rapid heartbeats of the child. At the end, the music returns to stillness and expectation.

A work of art such as this, typically on a different type of platform than that of other famous composers that we all know, requires significant amount of effort understanding the idea behind the composition and the elements to put this piece together as a whole. This performance was from a while back during my days as a conservatory student at Manhattan School of Music from a concert of mine. This was recorded at a concert I performed in New York in 2014. Though the video quality isn’t fantastic, I always had great interest in such unique rarely played repertoire and I am happy to share my performance of this wonderful work of art with everyone.

Performance by Heegan Lee Shzen 李胜

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Видео Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus: XI. Première Communion de la Vierge | Heegan Lee Shzen канала Heegan Lee Shzen 李胜