Messiaen quartet for the end of time program notes

Pauls in 2009 preparing to play abyss of the birds by olivier messiaen. Taking his title from a slight mistranslation of revelation 10. Olivier messiaens quartet for the end of time was written in, perhaps, the most. Music for the end of time by michael linton articles. Taking the trio he had composed to a priests hut, he expanded it into the quartet for the end of time with paper and pencils provided by a german officer, captain karlalbert brill. Olivier messiaen 19081992 quartet for the end of time.

As a composer he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal colour, and unique harmonic language. Artist susan silton, center, is staging olivier messiaen s quartet for the end of time with choreographer flora wiegmann, left, and pianist vicki ray. A remarkable film by moon, on messiaen s transcendental masterpiece quartet for the end of time. The extreme slowness of the outer sections plays with our perception of passing time. Quartet for the end of time 8th movement sheet music for. Born in avignon in 1908, he studied organ and composition in paris, and became a professor at the paris conservatoire in 1942. He writes in his own program notes about the blueorange chords associated with the angel. Messiaen composed the work in 1940, when he was a prisoner in a german stalag in silesia. Messiaens ultimate act of faith, his quartet for the end of time.

Olivier messiaen wrote music in a nazi prison camp. Messiaen wrote the quartet for the end of time while he was a german. The quartet s unique instrumentation of piano, clarinet, violin, and cello was written for, and premiered by messiaen and three fellow inmates while in detention. Olivier messiaen, horoscope for birth date 10 december. Olivier messiaens quartet for the end of time is an implacably beautiful work that stems. Messiaens quartet for the end of time library of congress. Recently ive noticed the call of a very loud bird i dont recall hearing outside my window in the morning. The british ensemble the fibonacci sequence tackles the quartet with expertise and musicality, and even if the. The event is a performance of olivier messiaen s 45minute masterpiece, the quartet for the end of time, one of the most storied works of the 20 th century. Messiaen wrote every note, certainly, but the music would never have existed. By incredible happenstance, a celebrated violinist, clarinetist, and cellist were prisoners in the same camp the first two had kept their instruments and the cellist found a cello, with a missing string.

The site is the meetingpoint music messiaen, a museumconcert hall by the woods on the outskirts of the town. The piece premiered on january 15, 1941, at the stalag viiia prisonerofwar camp, in gorlitz, germany, where the composer had been confined since his capture in may 1940. Olivier messiaen quartet for the end of time 2018, cd. The somewhat unusual instrumental combination was due to the musicians present in the camp. Sadly, even modern program annotators still perpetuate myths asserted by the. The first performance, given for an audience of about four hundred of his fellow prisoners of war and their prison guards in stalag viiia, resonates as poignant. Already in the first section, messiaen writes measures of unequal length, giving the music a free, floating quality that he would carry to great lengths in his quartet for the end of time and other later scores. Yet the reason is often overlooked, even though it lurks in plain sight right there in the title. Quartet for end of t classical artists cd at the best online prices at ebay.

Quartet for the end of time toledo symphony orchestra. Olivier messiaens quartet for the end of time, which cellist yoyo ma. Olivier messiaen quartet for the end of time lyrics. False obvi need to practice the premiere of the quartet for the end of time was a special event in stalag viia, not part of the normal saturday performance series. Olivier messiaen s quartet for the end of time premiered on 15 january 1941 in the prisonerofwar camp where the composer was interned during world war two. Quartet for the end of time, quartet in eight movements for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by french composer olivier messiaen. The folio had languished on a low, dusty shelf for years, never checked out, and i, a scavenger delighting in all things offbeat and obscure, pounced on the composition. The piece is scored for clarinet in bflat, violin, cello, and piano. Olivier messiaen s quartet for the end of time has sparked great analysis, since it was created under some of the most dire conditions known to man. The story behind messiaens quartet for the end of time. Especially striking to hear it played by the presidents own, as an inversion of power, expression amidst imprisonment vs. Messiaen s quartet for the end of time was once considered so difficult that it was rarely performed, but the technical competence and musical confidence of players has advanced so far in the half century since its composition that exceptionally fine recordings have become commonplace.

Using the violin, clarinet, cello and piano, he created a work that described the apocalypse, in both its terrifying and heavenly manifestations. That isnt the only story this quartet can tell, however. Messiaen, o quartet for the end of time theme and variations. Messiaen s quartet for the end of time todd palmer at st. The premiere took place in an unheated space in barrack 27. The composer was olivier messiaen, the work quartet for the end of time. Quartet for the end of time work by messiaen britannica. The quartet came out of, and was originally performed in, very particular circumstances. Olivier messiaen 190892 olivier messiaens quartet for the end of time was written in, perhaps, the most incongruous spot any great score has been composed in.

Messaien quartet for the end of time jonathan blumhofer. Messiaen wrote most of it after being captured as a french soldier during the german invasion of 1940. Thus remembered the french composer olivier messiaen. A fellowinmate drew up a program in art nouveau style, to which an official stamp.

Olivier messiaen was one of the most original and profound composers of the twentieth. The quartet for the end of time was performed for the first time in the prison camp, with the composer at a battered keyboardand the temperature at 22 degrees below. The french composer, who served as a nurse during world war ii, wrote the chamber work while imprisoned by the nazis. Just the violin part to the 8th movement of the quartet for the end of time by olivier messiaen. Messiaen wrote the piece while a prisoner of war in german captivity and it was first performed by his fellow prisoners. Messiaens most significant composition, the quartet for the end of time, received its premiere performance on january 15, 1941 under extraordinary and. The quartet for the end of time was written in its entirety while messiaen was a prisoner of war. I first encountered olivier messiaen s quartet for the end of time in 1971, in the basement of florida state universitys music library, where i was employed as a workstudy student. Messiaen was imprisoned in a silesian military camp in 1940. Olivier messiaen was one of the most original and profound composers of the twentieth century. The piece was first performed by messiaen and fellow prisoners for an audience of inmates and prison guards.

Faculty concert messiaens quartet for the end of time. Olivier messiaen s quartet for the end of time represents a triumph of faith and creativity in the face of an uncertain future. Messiaen s quartet for the end of time did not require extensive rehersal time. A genuinely fine recording of an essential 20th century work. To celebrate the 75th anniversary sinfini music commissioned me to create an animation around it.