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“Appel interstellaire“ (Interstellar Call) was the first part of Des Canyons aux étoiles... (From the canyons to the stars...) that Messiaen composed. The title is followed by quotes: C'est Lui qui guérit les cœurs brisés, et soigne leurs blessures; c'est Lui qui sait le nombre des étoiles, appelant chacune par son nom. — (Psaume 146, v. 3 et 4) [Psalm 146] Ô terre, ne couvre pas mon sang, et que mon cri ne trouve pas où se cacher!... — (livre de Job, ch. 16, v. 18) [Book of Job] It was originally composed for an entirely different purpose. In March 1971, the young French composer Jean-Pierre Guézec died, and his composer-friends contributed a collection of short pieces for solo instruments in his memory. For that collection, Messiaen wrote a brief movement for solo horn. He liked the piece well enough that when he began work on Des Canyons aux étoiles..., he adapted it for inclusion in the larger piece. “Appel interstellaire“ begins with a strident call that might reach out across the universe, and between the various calls and extended techniques (and several long silences), the horn sings two lyric passages. Along the way we hear the calls of two birds—the Chinese thrush and the canyon wren—and at the end the music fades into silence on a recall of the faint oscillations. It is increasingly performed as a solo, stand-alone piece by horn players in recitals although Messiaen himself did not wish it to be played separately.
