In February 2015, a group of young student musicians came together to perform a programme of Olivier Messiaen works for voice and piano in the Byre Theatre, St Andrews. The concert formed part of a day dedicated to Messiaen, organised by the University of St Andrews Music Centre and showcasing some of his most magical pieces, including 'La Nativité du Seigneur' and the 'Quatour pour le fin du temps'.

The vocal concert was met with great acclaim, so much so that a recording was proposed! Olivia Clark, Mairi Grewar, Jakub Gutkowski, Chris Huggon, Maebh Martin, Jenny Stewart and Caroline Taylor now form Mad about Messiaen: a project to record the works performed in the 2015 concert and to promote and celebrate the music of this brilliant composer. Our CD recording will feature the following repertoire:

- "Vocalise" for soprano and piano
- 'La Mort du Nombre' for soprano, tenor, violin and piano
- 'Thème et variations' for violin and piano
- 'Chants de Terre et de Ciel' for soprano and piano

In July 2016, Mad about Messiaen met in the Byre to record the first half of the programme. We are now delighted to announce that recording of the second half, 'Chants de Terre et de Ciel' will take place in summer 2017.

We couldn't be more excited to complete our recording this summer and then to distribute our Mad about Messiaen CD - but we need your help! In order to finance distribution, we need to raise a total of £7000 by March 2018. Our plans for fund-raising include a series of recitals and galas over the coming months, in addition to grant and fund applications, however we would also love to hear from those who might be interested in making individual donations.

We all feel a personal connection to the music we've recorded and feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to make this CD. Many thanks for visiting our site; please spread the word about our project, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and find us under the hashtag #madaboutmessiaen!