Chamayou,Bertrand Messiaen Vingt Regards Sur L'Enfant-Jesus CD

A giant fresco, a kind of odyssey, is Bertrand Chamayou's description of Olivier Messiaen's piano masterwork, Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-J?sus. Written in 1944, it is a monumental, mystical and iridescent sequence of 20 gazes or contemplations on the infant Jesus. Messiaen once wrote that "The drama of my life is that I have written religious music for an audience that has no faith." Bertrand Chamayou feels that the Vingt Regards "is a mystical rather than a religious experience... It arouses the same kind of awe as walking into a magnificent cathedral or seeing a glorious sunset. You feel that time stops." Chamayou first played the work in 2008, Messiaen's centenary year, but it has been part of his life since he was nine years old. "It was revelation... I think I can say that the Vingt Regards has played a role in shaping the way I play, the sound I produce and my approach as an interpreter." To complement this two-hour landmark of the repertoire, Chamayou has also recorded five short musical tributes to Messiaen, written in the years following his death in 1992. They are by Toru Takemitsu, Tristan Murail, Gy?rgy Kurtg, Jonathan Harvey and Anthony Cheung.

1. Live Ear Emission! "Homage to Olivier Messiaen" 2. Rain Tree Sketch II "In Memoriam Olivier Messiaen" 3. Cloches D'adieu, Et Un Sourire... "In Memoriam Olivier Messiaen" 4. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 1, Regard Du P?re 5. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 2, Regard de L'?toile 6. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 3, L'?change 7. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 4, Regard de la Vierge 8. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 5, Regard Du Fils Sur Le Fils 9. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 6, Par Lui Tout a ?T? Fait 10. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 7, Regard de la Croix 11. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 8, Regard Des Hauteurs 12. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 9, Regard Du Temps 13. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 10, Regard de L'esprit de Joie 14. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 11, Premi?re Communion de la Vierge 15. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 12, la Parole Toute Puissante 16. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 13, No?l 17. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 14, Regard Des Anges 18. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 15, Le Baiser de L'enfant-J?sus 19. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 16, Regard Des Proph?tes, Des Bergers Et Des Mages 20. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 17, Regard Du Silence 21. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 18, Regard de L'onction Terrible 22. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-Jesus: No. 19, Je Dors, Mais Mon Cour Veille 23. Vingt Regards Sur L'enfant-J?sus: No. 20, Regard de L'?glise D'amour 24. Humble Regard Sur Olivier Messiaen 25. Tombeau de Messiaen for Piano and Digital Audio Tape