Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps (Quartet For the End of Time)

Composer: MESSIAEN, Olivier
  • Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps (Quartet For the End of Time) is an eight-movement work for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano and has a fascinating origin story:
    • The piece was written between 1940-41 while Messiaen was a prisoner of war in Silesia during WWII. The composer wrote the piece for musicians who were among his fellow inmates – a violinist, a clarinetist, and a cellist. Messiaen wrote the piano part for himself.
    • The first performance occurred at the prison camp in the winter of 1941, with a substantial audience of prisoners.
    • Messiaen was released a few months later, in the spring of 1941.1
  • The four instruments scored for the piece were the product of the composer’s circumstances and presented challenges in the ensemble blend. To help alleviate this, Messiaen created various combinations of instruments for each movement. For example, the fifth movement, “Louange à l’éternité de Jésus,” was written for cello and piano.
  • The overall message of the work was inspired by the apocalyptic Book of Revelation.2
  • Titles and instrumentation for each movement:
    1. Liturgie de cristal (Crystal liturgy) – full quartet
    2. Vocalise pour l’ange qui annonce la fin du temps (Vocalist for the angel who announces the end of time) – full quartet
    3. Abîme des oiseaux (Abyss of birds) – clarinet solo
    4. Intermède (Interlude) – violin, cello, and clarinet trio
    5. Louange à l’éternité de Jésus (Praise to the eternity of Jesus) – cello and piano duet
    6. Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes (Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets) – full quartet
    7. Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour l’ange qui annonce la fin du temps (Tangle of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the end of time) – full quartet
    8. Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus (Praise to the immortality of Jesus) – violin and piano duet

Sources

  1. Paul Griffiths, “Messiaen, Olivier,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 1, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000018497.
  2. “Five Things to Know About Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time,” Carnegie Hall, accessed February 1, 2023, https://www.carnegiehall.org/Explore/Articles/2021/03/11/Five-Things-to-Know-About-Messiaens-Quartet-for-the-End-of-Time.

Cut IDs

24722 10123 45996 20770