OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908-1992): Poèmes pour Mi for Soprano and Orchestra, Les offrandes oubliées, Un sourire.

Description: Like the cycle Harawi below, the Poèmes are deeply mystical and spiritual texts by Messiaen himself, written for his first wife. This 31-minute, nine-song cycle is accompanied on the disc by Messiaen's first published work, Les offrandes oubliées of 1930, a meditation on Christ's sacrifice for humanity and the slightly shorter Un sourire, a commission from 1991 "in the spirit of Mozart" which makes no stylistic allusions to that composer but follows on in Messiaen's deeply mystical and spiritual style. No texts. Anne Schwanewilms (soprano), Orchestre National de Lyon; Jun Märkl.