DESCRIPTION:
In the spring of 2017 I saw the documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" by Werner Herzog, about the prehistoric Chauvet cave in the Ardèche in the South of France, which was discovered in 1994. Besides prehistoric paintings on the walls an approximately 30.000 year old flute was shown, made of the bone of a vulture and tuned according to the pentatonic system which characterises modality throughout the ages and all over the world. After watching the documentary I imagined a prehistoric flautist and Olivier Messiaen imitating a bird together, the flautist on his instrument and Messiaen while composing on paper. When the bird flew away, the flautist and Messiaen stopped their work and looked at each other, with a smile of satisfaction and happiness. This image I used to continue a dialogue with Messiaen' music which I had started at the Domkerk in Utrecht (the Netherlands) in 2012. I gave a performance of a number of movements from "Livre du Saint Sacrement" then, alternating with improvisations adapted to the taste of an audience consisting of avant-pop and avant-jazz aficionados. If the dialogue at the time was rather superficial, now —five years later— it has become more intense, a real encounter now of Messiaen's music and my own, rooted as the latter is in timeless modal music of Europe, North-Africa and Asia.

The video shows the long version (85 minutes). There is also a short version (58 minutes).

0’00” 1. Invocation
3’50” 2. O. Messiaen - Adoro te
8’35” 3. Improvisation on a North-African rhythm
13’15” 4. O. Messiaen - La Source de Vie
17’10” 5. The Flautist and an Angel of Perfumes
18’50” 6. O. Messiaen - Acte de Foi
21’55” 7. Listening to the fairies
26’05” 8. O. Messiaen - Final passage from ‘Les ténèbres’
29’00” 9. O. Messiaen - La Résurrection du Christ
37’00” 10. Stillness
41’30” 11.The Loop Man # Ardha Jai Taal

46’10” 12. O. Messiaen - Les deux murailles d’eau
55’25” 13.The Blue and the Green Lake
59’40” 14. O. Messiaen - Final passage from ‘La Transsubstantiation’ (with improvisation)
62’00” 15. Along Ley Lines
70’10” 16. O. Messiaen - Offrande et Alleluia final (with two improvisations)