Simon Rattle conducts Messiaen's Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum is a work for woodwinds, brass and percussion composed in 1964 by Olivier Messiaen, commissioned by then-Minister of Culture, André Malraux, as a tribute to the millions of lives lost in the First and Second World Wars. The title comes from the Christian Credo: "I await the resurrection of the dead." The quotations introducing the five parts of the work, taken from Bible verses, reflect not only this heartfelt tribute, but also the devout Catholic faith that inspired many of Messiaen's major works. In this 1997 concert, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and its then-Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle, perform this rare work at the acoustically marvelous Cologne Philharmonie. Messiaen himself said of this work that the size of its orchestral forces destined it for "vast spaces: churches, cathedrals, even the open air and high mountains"...