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Poèmes pour Mi
Posted by Robert on January 21, 2022, 10:58 am
Simon Thompson in his recent review of Messiaen, when referring to the work Poèmes pour Mi, states that it ‘sets a series of Messiaen’s own texts, all of which, again, orbit around his own faith.’ While this is not untrue, in as much as every note and word that Messiaen penned is deeply imbued and coloured by his devout and all-encompassing Roman Catholic faith, I think it is frankly amiss when discussing this work to make absolutely no mention of the fact that the work was inspired by and dedicated to his first wife; the violinist and composer Claire Delbos. Indeed the name Mi was Messiaen’s personal term of affection for her and so the work could very easily have been called Poems for Claire or Poems for My Wife. The review even makes explicit reference to the fifth song in the cycle L’ Épouse (The Wife) again without making any mention of Madame Messiaen. I am not writing this out of a wish to criticise anyone but simply to acknowledge credit where credit is due.
Tout cela, vous me l'avez donné. Et vous vous êtes encore donné vous-même,
Si elle s'ouvrait sur l'éternité Je te verrais plus belle encore.
As devout as Messiaen was, he was no priest and these are the words of a young man in love. On that point I think it would also have been helpful if the review had mentioned that unlike the other pieces in the relevant recording Poèmes pour Mi was written when Messiaen was still in his twenties and shares that ravishing sound that many of his early works possess. For those interested and unfamiliar with the work I would recommend the original version for piano and soprano voice and indeed the version by the late great Jane Manning which is how I got to know and fall in love with the piece many moons ago.
Re: Poèmes pour Mi
Posted by Simon Thompson on January 28, 2022, 10:01 am, in reply to "Poèmes pour Mi"
This is an excellent point, made with clarity and knowledge. Robert is quite right to draw attention to the importance of Claire Delbos as the the composer's muse, all the more so because she is often forgotten (or at least set aside) next to the importance of Messiaen's second wife, Yvonne Loriod.
It is also important, and right, to draw attention to the fact that the composer's love of the sensual was, in some ways, every bit as important as his devout Catholicism. He, like the rest of us, was complicated!