20th Century

Messiaen and his wife, Yvonne Loriod, were the god-fearing sort; they had no discernable vices and owned one book: the bible. The consequence is a terrifyingly focused performance of Messiaen's almost improperly vivid, sensuous and at times demonic work.

This brutish opera, one of the twentieth century's most compelling, on the consequences of a boring bourgeois life, brings musical royalty together, husband and wife team Vishnevskaya and Rostropvich, for an unforgettably vivid performance.

Much is said of the Rite of Spring's brutality, unpredictability and force, but little successful is ever done to effect it. How is a conductor supposed to recover the Rite's initial, terrifying blow - a blow that had crowds tumbling out of auditoriums all over Europe - in a world where such artistic volatility has become quite the convention? And how does one square the intricacies of the musical detail with the primal force of the whole? Rattle shows us how: slow the ritual down, carve it up and shine a light on every last savage detail.

There’s no more nightmarish vision in the 20th century musical canon than
this portrait of the archetypal clown down on his luck, Pierrot,
disintegrating into madness. Originally recorded for Open University, Jane
Manning half-speaks, half-sings her way through this queer landscape with
conviction.