Both in the concert hall and on record, Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum, Messiaen's 1964 memorial to the dead of two world wars, is heard far more than it used to be and now, apart from the Turangalîla Symphony, it might well be his most often performed orchestral work. Heard live, its huge dynamic range, with its apocalyptic gongs, can be genuinely intimidating, but though Jun Märkl's performance is well paced and carefully shaped and balanced, there's just not enough presence in the recorded sound to make it really effective. The disc's real interest comes with the pair of early pieces, both genuine rarities, that follow Et Exspecto here, and which shed a fascinating light on the origins of Messiaen's musical language. The fiercely combative Le Tombeau Resplendissant dates from 1931, though it was never heard again in Messiaen's lifetime after its first performance, while Hymne, composed the following year, had to be reconstructed entirely from memory by the composer in 1946, after the score was lost. All the early influences, from César Franck to Stravinsky can be detected, not yet synthesised into a unique, utterly distinctive style.