BY SAMUEL COTTELL
From the Canyons to the Stars by Messiaen
Sydney Symphony Orchestra with visual production by Deborah O’Grady
Sydney Opera House, March 11
When asked to compose a piece to mark the bicentenary of the United States, Messiaen picked up a photo of the canyons of Utah and remarked that it was one of the most beautiful things he had seen. Wanting to experience the real canyons, he travelled there with his wife Yvonne Loriod. Receiving its premier in 1974, Des canyons aux etoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars) is a journey that commences in the canyons and concludes in the stars (and beyond as marked by Messiaen’s inclusion of an ellipses at the end of the title).
The complex and decidedly difficult piece lasting 90 minutes was expertly performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Conductor David Roberston’s clear cut direction and consideration of musical line enhanced the minute details found in the texture of Messiaen’s music. Complex chords derived from Messiaen’s own modes were perfectly balanced throughout the orchestra, particularly the woodwinds who matched the shadings against the strings with gentle ease. The extended percussion parts provided an added soundscape that enhanced Messiaen’s music. Roberston’s tempi were spot on and never rushed or dragged the work. They allowed the more tender and contemplative moments to shine and the sparkling moments to crack forward and glisten, never sounding weighty or sluggish.
Piano soloist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, a student of Yvonne Loriod, performed the arduously difficult score with exceptional zest. His steely finger work rendered the brilliantly constructed Messiaen chords with a crystal-clear clarity that emphasized their weight within different registers of the piano; sparkling up the top and creating a looming, but never muddy, set of clusters in the lower register.
Percussionists Rebecca Lagos (xylorimba) and Timothy Constable (glockenspiel) perfectly executed the fiendishly difficult percussion parts that added shimmer and shine to the work and accounted for a large portion of the textural devices employed throughout the score. A stand-out was Robert Johnson’s French horn solo in the sixth movement ‘Interstellar Call’. Here, Johnson navigated his way around the difficult horn part and coloured each musical line with gentle nuance and shading that somehow enhanced the slices between sections of the horn solo. The notes faded with a distinct echo that could be felt around the concert hall.
An added feature of the evening’s concert was Deborah O’Grady’s visual display. Portraying scenes of the Grand Canyon – including the bold rock formations, images of tourists, roads, industry and trees – the video display was more effective when it was still. At times, the moving images in rapid succession, whilst coupled to the music, created an overwhelming sensation of business. The most effective moments were when O’Grady created moods or atmospheres using still spaces (such as slow moving or still images of outer space) and close up images of a tree during the second of Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s piano solos.
Overall, this fiendishly difficult score was performed with clarity and precision. In the hands of Robertson, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra demonstrated its ability to present a high quality concert of demanding, yet beautiful music. The lighting on stage, changing colour for each movement of the work, was also effective in creating a vibrant atmosphere. Roberston’s ingenious programming has given the SSO an added edge this year, further reinforcing the fact that he is the best thing to happen to them in a long time.
Image supplied. Credit: Keith Saunders.
