POUR MI - TO MI

Who was "Mi", the woman who inspired Messiaen to write the beautiful and complex work Poemes pour Mi? This was one of the questions Liv Elise Nordskog and Signe Bakke stood when they started work on this disc, having immersed himself in Messiaen's diverse and rich world of sound for many years.

Poet Cécile Sauvage was Messiaen's mother. Her poem cycle L'Ame one Bourgeon (Soul in the bud) from 1908, was written while she was pregnant with her ??son. Nearly thirty years later Olivier Messiaen and his wife, violinist and composer Claire Delbos, had a son. While Delbos was pregnant, she put music to his deceased sailors poem cycle.

Messiaen also composed the song cycle Poemes pour Mi. Mi was his nickname for his spouse Claire.