Under a Desert Sky, Olivier Messiaen’s Canyons Meet the Milky Way

Excerpts from review by Jim Farber for San Francisco Classical Voice

Photo Credit: Gary Payne

"There is a great line in the film Shakespeare in Love about the wondrous nature of opening nights:

"The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster ....  Strangely enough, it all turns out well ... It's a mystery."

That is a perfect description of Art of Elan’s wondrous performance of Olivier Messiaen's atmospheric 1974 masterpiece, Des canyons aux étoiles (From the canyons to the stars) that took place Oct. 12 under the stars in Borrego Springs — less than 36 hours after Tropical Storm Rachel drenched the high-desert community.

By the time an audience of some 250 gathered inside the Stargazing Theater on the grounds of La Casa del Zorro Resort, the ominous storm clouds had departed, the wind that was gusting had diminished to a gentle sway, and the stars of the Milky Way came out on cue."

"Filling every inch of the platform stage, the 40 members of the Art of Elan Chamber Orchestra (with Hatmaker on violin) were joined by piano soloist Conor Hanick and horn soloist Danielle Ondarza, with Fiona Digney and Andrew Watkins adding crystalline playing on the xylorimba and glockenspiel. The skilled percussionists were drawn from Schick's UCSD graduate students."

"Schick’s conducting was masterfully precise while allowing the music to sparkle and soar. Equally impressive was Hanick’s performance, a concerto-like marathon of ensemble partnership and solo virtuosity (in the fourth and ninth movements, composed for the piano alone). Similarly demanding was the solo for horn, movement 6, "Appel interstellaire" (Interstellar call), which Ondarza  executed expertly.

As the climax of “Zion Park et la cité céleste” (“Zion Park and the celestial city”) faded away against the backdrop of the Milky Way, it was clear that this was a remarkable achievement for Art of Elan and the perfect way to celebrate the organization's 20th anniversary."

Read SFCV review in full here.