''Catalogue d'oiseaux'' ("Catalogue of birds") is a work for piano solo by

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

consisting of thirteen pieces, written between October 1956 and September 1958. It is devoted to birds and dedicated to his second wife Yvonne Loriod.

Premiere

The work was premiered by Yvonne Loriod on 15 April 1959 in Paris, Salle Gaveau, for the concerts of the " Domaine musical" organized by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 19255 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war contemporary classical music. Born in Montb ...

Aim of the work

For these pieces, Messiaen did not want to be limited to the evocation of the bird of which each of it bears the title.Booklet of the above referenced CD

Title of the pieces

*1 - The Alpine chough (''Chocard des Alpes'') *2 - The

Eurasian golden oriole The Eurasian golden oriole (''Oriolus oriolus''), also called the common golden oriole, is the only member of the Old World oriole family of passerine birds breeding in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. It is a summer bird migration, migrant ...

(''Loriot d'Europe'') *3 - The blue rock thrush (''Merle bleu'') *4 - The western black-eared wheatear (''Traquet stapazin'') *5 - The

tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

(''Chouette hulotte'') *6 - The woodlark (''Alouette lulu'') *7 - The Eurasian reed warbler (''Rousserolle effarvatte'') *8 - The

greater short-toed lark The greater short-toed lark (''Calandrella brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, ''Calandrella'', is a diminutive of ''kalandros'', the calandra lark, and ''brachydactila' ...

(''Alouette calandrelle'') *9 - The Cetti's warbler (''Bouscarle de Cetti'') *10 - The common rock thrush (''Merle de roche'') *11 - The common buzzard (''Buse variable'') *12 - The black wheatear (''Traquet rieur'') *13 - The Eurasian curlew (''Courlis cendré'')

Recordings

* Yvonne Loriod:

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Erato Disques S.A. by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Bo ...

2292-45505-2/VI; ECD 71590 (1970-1973) * Peter Hill: Regis B000Q7RKW8 (1986) * Anatol Ugorski:

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

4743452 (1994) * Hakon Austbo:

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

8.553532.34 (1997), Also includes '' Petites esquisses d'oiseaux'' (composed in 1985). * Paul Kim: Centaur Records CRC 2567/68/69 (2001), Also includes '' La Fauvette des jardins'' and '' Petites esquisses d'oiseaux'' * Roger Muraro: Accord 4657682 (2002) * Pierre-Laurent Aimard: Pentatone PTC 5186670 (2018) *Carl-Axel Dominique BIS BIS-CD-594/596 Also includes "La Fauvette des jardins" and "Petites esquisses d'oiseaux".

References

External links

Catalogue d'oiseaux
in ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

''
Three tracks
on Gallica
''Catalogue d'oiseaux''
on Naxos
Messiaen ''Catalogue d'oiseaux''
on Gramophone
Olivier Messiaen, Catalogue d'oiseaux (in 7 books), for piano, I/42 (1956-1958) (Håkon Austbø, piano)
on YouTube ** First Book **
I. Le chocard des alpes
(The Alpine chough) **
II. Le loriot
(The

) **
III. Le merle bleu
(The Blue rock thrush) ** Second Book **
IV. Le traquet stapazin
(The Black-eared wheatear) ** Third Book **
V.-VI. La chouette hulotte & L'alouette-lulu
(The

Tawny owl The tawny owl (''Strix aluco''), also called the brown owl, is a stocky, medium-sized owl in the family Strigidae. It is commonly found in woodlands across Europe, as well as western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. The tawny owl' ...

& The Woodlark) **Fourth Book *
VII. Le rousserolle effarvatte part 1
(The Eurasian reed warbler) *
VII. Le rousserolle effarvatte part 2
**Fifth Book *
VIII. L'alouette calandrelle
(The

Greater short-toed lark The greater short-toed lark (''Calandrella brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, ''Calandrella'', is a diminutive of ''kalandros'', the calandra lark, and ''brachydactila' ...