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“In the prominent solo piano part, Michael Brown dispatched Messiaen’s complex rhythms incisively... ‘Trois petites liturgies’ lasts more than a half-hour, and Morlot made its themes of a divine cosmic resonance spellbinding. He drew out Messiaen’s potent contrasts of meter-defying melody and hectic rhythmic activity, of wild wonder and blissful contemplation.” - Thomas May, The Seattle Times This release from the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ludovic Morlot sees these musicians collaborate with the Northwest Boychoir, soprano Jane Archibald, pianist Michael Brown, and Cynthia Millar on ondes Martenot (an early electronic instrument) for two lesser-known works by the revolutionary composer Olivier Messiaen. 3 Petites liturgies de la Présence Divine was the first piece Messiaen wrote after being released from a prisoner of war camp in 1941 and explores colour, rhythm, and religious symbolism, as much of this composer's work did, while the Poèmes pour Mi song cycle was dedicated to his first wife, the violinist Claire Delbos, and reflects joyfully on their life together. “What does a rose-window in a cathedral do? It teaches through imagery, through symbolism, through all the characters that inhabit it — but what most catches the eye are its thousand spots of color which ultimately dissolve into a single, pure shade, so that someone looking on says only, ‘That window is blue,’ or ‘That window is violet.’” - Messiaen on composing 3 Petites liturgies