8 Préludes - La Fauvette des jardins

Description

The interpretations of pianist Roger Muraro of "Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus" and "Catalogue des oiseaux" have received unanimous approval from critics, as well as from… Olivier Messiaen himself praising "his dazzling technique, mastery, and sound qualities."
With this record, he presents us with the very first piano works of the composer, the "Préludes," associated with a later score delightfully named "Fauvette des jardins." The refined art and subtle touch of the pianist beautifully pay tribute to the Préludes, these miniatures imbued with a certain preciousness and symbolism, whose titles "Instants défunts," "Cloches d’angoisse et larmes d’adieu," "Sons impalpables du rêve," evoke the poetry of a Verlaine or a Maeterlinck.
With the "Fauvette des jardins," we experience a day on Lake Laffrey in the Dauphiné seen through the song of the birds. The joyful chatter of the warbler contrasts with the dark cries of the black kite soaring above the waters, and joins the tinkling of the goldfinch, the laughter of the green woodpecker, and the jubilation of the lark greeting the rising sun.
The charming naivety of the endeavor should not overshadow the very bold stylistic discoveries that are sprinkled throughout the score and to which Roger Muraro does justice with a surprisingly free playing style, the "fauve" color of his attacks being in perfect unison with this wild world of nature so dear to Messiaen.
With this recording, the pianist confirms that he is indeed one of the great current interpreters of this composer, a faithful heir to a tradition that goes back to Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, of whom he was a student at the Conservatoire national de Paris.