Messiaen: Fete... for 6 Ondes Martenot early electronic

$

109

Olivier Messiaen: Fete Des Belles Eaux (1937 for 6 Ondes Martenot) / Clement Jannequin: various 16th cent. works




label & cat. no.:
The French Broadcasting System in North America "Processed by Gotham Recording Corporation" GRC 7053 pressed in:
USA? date:
1962 format:
2xLP condition:
Vinyl: vg+, ex- (few minor scuffs and pressing imperfection bubbles; writing on labels)
Cover: (originally issued without a cover in a plain paper sleeve, now placed inside a sturdy new cardboard sleeve) description:
This ultra rare artifact is a double lp transcription album for radio stations containing the archival 1st recording of one of the earliest all-electronic compositions. Messiaen's stunning and beautiful Fete Des Belles Eaux predates musique concrete and was written for live performance on 6 Ondes Martenot accompanied by an abstract light and water show (a 'water ballet'). The Ondes Martenot is an early electronic keyboard instrument with glissando and vibrato controls and a unique ethereal sonority and reverberation; it was invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot with a design based on the Theremin. The piece is for the most part tonal, and masterfully exploits the sound qualities of the instrument; this recording marked the 1st time the piece had been performed in its original all-electronic orchestration since the 1937 premiere, and I know of no commercial release on which this 1st recording is available (this is a different recording than the one released later on Erato). According to the minimal type-written/mimeographed notes, "Jane Loriod plays the solo part for Ondes Martinot," but no other players are mentioned. This album also features a great informative spoken introduction in English, and (quite athematically) works from the 16th century by Jannequin and Anonymous performed by lutist Mildred Clary and others. In many years of collecting this is only the second copy of this rarity I have ever seen, ranking it among the hardest to find early electronic music vinyls!

artist info from album notes etc.:
Known as the father of the French avant garde, Messiaen worked with Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, and was an essential teacher of Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio, Francois Bayle, and Francois Bernard Mache (among many other 20th century luminaries). He was influenced by Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Hindu music, Gamelan, and nature (birdsong), and his composing style was driven in part by his synesthesia (a brain condition that caused him to visually perceive sounds). Other composers who have experimented with the Martenot are Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Frank Zappa, Darius Milhaud, Alfred Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Giacinto Scelsi, Edgard Varese, Jacques Ibert, John Donald Robb, Rod McKuen, Karel Goeyvaerts, Toru Takemitsu, Andre Jolivet, Jacques Bondon, and Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux. This lp should be heard by anyone interested in early electronic instruments and performers like Oskar Sala and his trautonium, John Eaton and the Syn-Ket, Robert Moog, Donald Buchla/Morton Subotnick, Clara Rockmore, Miklos Rosza, the Ondioline, Raymond Scott, Bruce Haack, the Arp, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Gershon Kingsley, John Cage, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Milton Babbitt, Max Matthews, Jean-Claude Risset, Bernard Parmegiani, Herbert Eimert, Robert Beyer, Gottfried Michael Koenig, David Tudor, and Hugh Le Caine. Check out my other items for more avant garde/experimental, early electronic/electroacoustic, audiophile, 20th century classical, soundtracks, poetry/spoken word, space age pop, and artist records. US Shipping - Media Mail is $5.00 for 1-2 single records, then $0.65 for each additional; Priority Mail is also available but pricing depends on zipcode (you can check eBay's calculated shipping price at the bottom of this page); other expedited shipping options and insurance are all available on request. Combine multiple items to save on shipping.
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