The Fredösphere

Jessica Duchen found this video of Messiaen, talking about birds.  After all, what else is there to talk about?



Close readers of The Fredösphere have figured out that Messiaen is my gateway drug for eep-op-ork-ah-ah modernism.  At the urging of Alex Ross I have softened my resistance even to Des Canyons Aux Etoiles.  What I learned from this video, the first I've seen of le maître, is that his personality is not the super-serene one of my imagination, but rather that of a high-energy enthusiast.  I detect the faintest whiff of Asperger's, and why am I surprised?  A life-long obsession with bird calls was supposed to be evidence of ... what? I ask myself.  I was gazing on the haloed icon; I didn't suspect that Saint Olivier might be a bit of a nutcase.  And believe me, I use these terms with the greatest possible affection, even admiration.  Those who know me will testify that I tell the truth.

Labels: Composer