BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo review: A Catholic journey into the wild at the Proms

“From the canyons to the stars” could describe the experience of live music in the Albert Hall. Whether you’re in the hall’s upper reaches, or at ground level, vast sonic landscapes, part physical, part psychic, seem to open as the music takes hold.

Or so it seemed during the 100 minutes or so of Olivier Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux etoiles, given a commanding performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo. Des Canyons is Messiaen’s musical response to the polychromatic grandeur of Bryce Canyon in Utah, which Messiaen visited in 1970.

As with all of Messiaen’s music, Canyons gives voice to his Catholic faith, while also drawing on his lifelong preoccupation with birdsong. You don’t have to share either of his obsessions to find his work enchanting, perhaps even daft, but always singular.

The very opening moments created a sense that the music was coming from a different place, somewhere high above the platform where horn soloist Martin Owen was playing. But it was pianist Nicolas Hodges — all the right notes, in the right order — who defined the work’s temper: often wild, sometimes ethereal, always lyrical. Oramo and his players provided supporting shudders, shimmers and whispers.

BBC Proms continue until Sep 1