Aside from Ives, Grainger, and notably Holst, there have been few serious or interesting works originally written for wind ensemble, even by recognized masters (though some—Schoenberg, for example—did try). The dearth has predictably led to the rise of two phenomena: (1) lots of awful music written for wind ensembles, and (2) lots of arrangements of great music made quite unpalatable by said rendering for wind ensemble. It is heartening, therefore, to come across Messiaen's works for wind ensemble on this recording. The first, 1987's La Ville d'en haut includes piano with its winds, brass and percussion; the second, 1964's Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum dispenses with the piano. Both are engrossing works which showcase Messiaen's remarkable ability to find new timbres, new sonorities, and new combinations to great advantage, without ever seeming insincere or gimmicky. Here is a rather straightforward excerpt from the first movement of Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum (And I wait for the resurrection of the dead). It is almost entirely homophonic here, which is an excellent demonstration of the atypical (read "better") control of sonority Messiaen has over the forces at play.