Attraction of the Marvelous

This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Olivier Messiaen. It seems that everywhere I turn, I hear about a concert or about some of his music, which was eloquently described by Anthony Tomassini in the NY Times earlier this year (6 April 2008). The names of his works are poetic enough, such as "Quartet for the End of Time" and "Des Canyons aux Etoiles" ("From the Canyons to the Stars")--not to mention his lifelong passion for birdcalls. He loved Shakespeare, fairy tales, and the Bible, all of which he described as having the "attraction of the marvelous." Hence the title of this post.

And now, Therese Fahy (pianist), one of the fellow residents here at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, is preparing for a major concert of his work: "Reveil des Oiseaux," with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland this coming October. Her concert of Messiaen's works last spring got an excellent review from the The Irish Times (click on the title of this post, then scroll down to read it). She is practicing six or more hours a day, but still has time to go on an occasional walk after dinner with me, Romeo the cat, and others.

(Afterthought: additional Messiaen music material referred to in the NYTimes, "A Taste for the Natural and Celestial," about the recent release by Naive of a 6 CD boxed set of recordings.)