On February 4th, I made a recording of Messiaen’s Les Mages which was not bad but in the days after did not quite satisfy me. On February 5th,I went to a concert with Persian music at RASA in Utrecht, with maestro Dariusz Talai, tar and setar, and Keyvan Chemirani, tombak. The concert was wonderful. Of course I could not understand subtleties of craftsmanship and artistry, as that asks for a lot of expertise in listening to this music, but more important is that I was able to receive a spiritual meaning, which I felt could benefit my interpretation of Les Mages. On February 6h, I made a new recording, in the spirit of both Messiaen and the Persian music that I had heard.
There are perhaps three layers in art: craftsmanship, artistry and spirituality. Not every work of art needs spirituality, but some do. In the recordings below craftsmanship manifests itself in many obvious ways, such as control of touch in playing the pedal part and a fluent legato for the left hand part. Artistry is necessary for, for instance, a view on the structure of the piece, supported by analysis. Spirituality is difficult to describe, but in the second version it becomes clear through a deep rest.
Here are the versions of February 4th and 6th respectively:
