Messiaen: Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps

Anthony Pople

The Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) is among the best-known compositions by Olivier Messiaen (1908–92). Like virtually all of his works, it combines the striking technical achievement of Messiaen’s rich and attractive musical style with a deeply felt theological inspiration - in this case from the apocalyptic events described in the Book of Revelation, leading to the end of Time itself. Composed while Messiaen was a prisoner-of-war and premiered under extraordinary conditions in Stalag VIIIA in 1941, the work retains a powerful immediacy that has made it a favourite of performers and audiences alike. Anthony Pople’s book provides an introduction to Messiaen’s style through an examination of this great work, showing how it came to be composed and giving an in-depth assessment of each of its eight movements.

Bibliographic Details

2 tables 31 music examples

Contents

• Introduction
• 1. Liturgie de cristal
• 2. Vocalise, pour lAnge qui annonce la fin du temps
• 3. Abîme des oiseaux
• 4. Intermède
• 5. Louange à léternité de Jésus
• 6. Danse de la fureur, pour les septs trompettes
• 7. Fouillis darcs-en-ciel, pour lAnge qui annonce la fin du temps
• 8. Louange à lImmortalité de Jésus
• 9. Contexts.