OLIVIER MESSIAEN

Catalogue d'Oiseaux

CD1: Book 1

1. I La Chocard des Alpes

2. II Le Loriot

3. III Le Merle bleu

Book 2

4. IV Le Traquet Stapazin

Book 3

5. V La Chouette Hulotte

6. VI L’Alouette Lulu

CD2: Book 4

1. VII La Rousserolle Effarvatte

Book 5

2. VIII L'Alouette Calendrelle

3. IX La Bouscarle

CD3: Book 6

1. X Le Merle de roche

Book 7

2. XI La Buse variable

3. XII Le Traquet rieur

4. XIII Le Courlis cendré

Momo Kodama (piano)

Momo Kodama is equally in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician. She regularly performs with violinist Yuzuko Horigome, and has formed memorable partnerships with Steven Isserlis, Nobuko Imai, Regis Pasquier, Dmitri Makhtin and her sister Mari. A large part of her repertoire is dedicated to music of modern times including Arvö Pärt, Toru Takemitsu and Olivier Messiaen. Having studied the Turangalîla Symphony with Yvonne Loriod, Momo Kodama was asked by the composer's widow to premiere Messiaen‘s Fantaisie pour violin et piano (written in 1933 but never performed in public), which she did at La Roque d'Anthéron with Isabelle Faust. She has already recorded Messiaen’s other great solo piano work, Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus, for Triton to great critical acclaim.

Messiaen, who was an enthusiastic and accomplished ornithologist, investigated for his Catalogue d'Oiseaux 13 birds with their songs and their specific sound environments, and travelled the world in search of new species. The thirteen pieces in the catalogue, however, are devoted to birds in France. Each piece is in fact, according to the composer, written in honour of a French province.

Triton 3SACD’s OVCT00060