Messiaen:" Reflection on the Spirit Of Joy"

Pierre-Laurent Aimard plays #10 of "Twenty Reflections on the Infant Jesus"



**10. Regard de L’Esprit de Joie – Reflection of the Spirit of Joy (8:03)
[“Theme of God” combines with the”Theme of Joy”]
“The fact that God is happy has always impressed me – and that this unceasing ineffable joy also inhabited the soul of Christ. A joy which, for me, is a rapture, an ecstasy in the craziest sense of the term.”----Messiaen
Violent dance, joyous sound of horns, rapture of the Holy Spirit… the joyous love of Blessed
God in the Soul of Jesus Christ...
After an introductory oriental dance, the THEME OF JOY is developed for the first time. Then we hear three variations on a victorious air de chasse, or hunting song.[2:01] In the second variation, the THEME OF JOY combines with the THEME OF GOD. The oriental dance reappears, in unison in the extreme treble and bass, A coda on the THEME OF JOY concludes the work.
Towards the end the performer is asked to play as if “in a great transport of Joy.”[7:17]
What he calls “hunting song” I call “an out-of-control Fred Astaire dancing on the roof of the stable!” There’s a wonderful feeling of abandon!!