ACD 2621 Cover

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Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
La Fête des Belles Eaux
World Premier Recording!


Ensemble d'Ondes de Montréal
Jean Laurendeau • Estelle Lemire • Suzanne Binet-Audet
Geneviève Grenier • Louise Larose • Marie Bernard


ACD2 2621
• ATMA Classique continues its celebration the Olivier Messiaen centenary with previously unrecorded music for six Ondes Martenot, as well as unpublished works for Ondes and piano.

• This release also marks the 80th anniversary of the Ondes Martenot, which was invented in 1928. ATMA has a special edge in recording this music: Johanne Goyette, founder, owner, president, and chief producer for ATMA is a graduate of the Montréal Conservatory in Ondes Martenot, which she describes as “a kind of dinosaur - but still living.”

• Yes, there are six Ondes Martenot in Montréal! (In fact, there are at least seven: Johanne also has one.) Montreal is a bit of an Ondes Martenot hot-bed. There is a resurgence of interest in the instrument at the moment, and the Ensemble d'ondes de Montreal consists of six professional Ondes Martenot players.

• The most famous role for the Ondes Martenot is in the Turangalîla Symphony. Messiaen also used three Ondes in his late opera Saint-François d'Assise.)

• La Fête des Belles Eaux was written for the Paris International Exhibition of Arts and Technology in 1937, and accompanied a 'son et lumière' show; you could think of it a Republican Fireworks Music! We don't know of any important versions of this in the current catalogue. The Quatre Feuillets Inédits is a world premier recording.

• An oddity is included as a bonus in our celebration of the Ondes Martenot: the first movement of Ravel's String Quartet played by four Ondes. Ravel heard his quartet played by Ondes, and said “that is the way I was hearing it in my dreams.”

• Produced, recorded and edited by Johanne Goyette at the Salle Pierre-Mercure (Centre Pierre-Péladeau) Montréal (Québec), Canada, September 8-11, 2008.


Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)

La Fête des Belles Eaux pour sextuor d'ondes martenot
  1. Premières fusées     2:50
  2. L'eau     3:01
  3. Les fusées     1:16
  4. L'eau     10:01
  5. Les fusées     1:40
  6. L'eau     9:27
  7. Superposition de l'eau et des fusées     1:40
  8. Feu d'artifice final     5:19

Feuillets Inédits quatre pieces pour ondes Martenot et piano
Louise Bessette, piano
Estelle Lemire, Ondes Martenot
  9. Presque lent et berceur     1:59
10. Lent     2:31
11. Bien Modéré     3:55
12. Lent     2:54

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Quator à Cordes en fa Majeur | String Quartet in F Major
13. 1st movement - Allegro moderato     8:30
Ensemble d'Ondes de Montréal



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