Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This all-star chamber ensemble was specifically formed to play Messiaen's masterpiece. Two decades after this recording was made, it still shows the effects of their intense identification with the music. Some listeners find Messiaen's music longwinded and difficult, and my own opinion varies depending on the work and my mood. But this piece, written in a German concentration camp during the early years of World War II, is truly one of the greatest works of music of the 20th century. Although it lasts nearly an hour, its variety of color and its powerful expressiveness will engross any responsive listener, especially in this performance. --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Quartet For The End Of Time: Liturgy of Crystal
Quartet For The End Of Time: Vocalise, for the Angel who announces the end of Time
Quartet For The End Of Time: Abyss of the birds
Quartet For The End Of Time: Interlude
Quartet For The End Of Time: Praise to the Eternity of Jesus
Quartet For The End Of Time: Danse of Fury, for the seven trumpets
Quartet For The End Of Time: Cluster of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the end of Time
Quartet For The End Of Time: Praise to the Immortality of Jesus

Amazon.com

This all-star chamber ensemble was specifically formed to play Messiaen's masterpiece. Two decades after this recording was made, it still shows the effects of their intense identification with the music. Some listeners find Messiaen's music longwinded and difficult, and my own opinion varies depending on the work and my mood. But this piece, written in a German concentration camp during the early years of World War II, is truly one of the greatest works of music of the 20th century. Although it lasts nearly an hour, its variety of color and its powerful expressiveness will engross any responsive listener, especially in this performance. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Fin.......2007-07-18

I gave my copy of this (favorite) album to my favorite music professor -- now I have to replace it! Other reviewers have stressed the history behind the composition and its premiere in a Nazi POW camp, so I won't go into that, interesting and pertinent as it may be. Other reviewers have focussed on the fact that Messiaen was a devout Catholic mystic, implying that the listener must share the composer's religious convictions in order to fully appreciate his artistic expression. However, because this is a work of art, listeners will hear in it beauties unique to their own sensibilities. The listener can be a complete atheist and respond emotionally to Messiaen's passionate, idiosyncratic, and heart-wrenching composition. This is a piece that brings tears to my eyes and makes me intellectually curious too; I want to get the score so I can see how Messiaen works his magic. It's emotional, odd, intense, riveting, and harmonically sophisticated, right up there with the best of the 20th Century composers' works.

A great work, a Catholic work.......2007-02-17

This recording of the "Quartet for the End of Time," one of the greatest musical works of the 20th century, is precious to me. Performers Peter Serkin (piano), Ida Kavafian (violin), Fred Sherry (cello), and Richard Stoltzman (clarinet) offer a stunning, heartfelt performance. Olivier Messiaen, a Frenchman born in 1908 who demonstrated an early gift for music as a pianist, composed the piece in a Nazi prison camp for the few instruments he had available, including an out-of-tune piano on which he performed, a violin, a cello, and a clarinet. Imagine. World War II was obviously a dark time, and Messiaen went into the army with some rations and a few musical scores that he kept in his backpack. Not to diminish his suffering, but he was not treated as poorly as Jewish prisoners were in the death camps. He was not made to work in total starvation, nor was he deprived of all contact with the outside world (he was able to write home and have supplies sent to him). However, being a Catholic mystic, Messiaen sensed that the rise of the Third Reich signified the Apocalypse as prophesied in Revelations. Germans being Germans (they do love their music, after all), the camp guards allowed him to perform this piece in the camp with the group of musicians he assembled. His astonishing music captures not only that desperation and discord of the earth's final days, but also the redemption that can only be found through Our Lord Jesus Christ. However, you do not have to be a Christian to feel or understand the power in this music. Christianity has inspired the best music in Western culture (those "scientists" and "mathematicians" and "philosophers" who misguidely try to secularize J.S. Bach are wrong), and while Messiaen's music speaks for itself, his explanation for the final passage of this quartet is eternal: "Why this second glorification? It addresses itself more specifically to the second aspect of Jesus -- to Jesus the man, to the Word made flesh, raised up immortal from the dead so as to communicate His life to us. It is total love. Its slow rising to a supreme point is the ascension of man toward his God, of the son of God toward his Father, of the mortal newly made divine toward paradise." Amen to that, son, which is an important message for today's youth.

Imagining the end..........2007-02-07

I wonder how many other masterpieces were in fact lost in prisoner or war camps. We shouldn't be listening to this work today. It should not have survived. Perhaps Messiaen should not have either. But he did, and it did, and we are lucky because of it.

The quartet, composed for violin, clarinet, cello and piano because those were the instruments Messiaen's fellow inmates played, is in, oddly, eight movements instead of the Biblical seven. It is prefaced by a quotation from the Apocalypse of St. John Chapter 10: "I saw a mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire." That moment is depicted on the cover of this CD. The eight movements describe the harmonious "silence" of the heavens (including the awakening of birds--birds fascinated Messiaen all his life), Vocalise for the angel who announces the end of Time,* the Abyss of the birds, with a very technically-demanding clarinet solo (as an amateur clarinetist myself I find it hard to just play it all in tune, never mind the extreme dynamics), a bouncy scherzo interlude, which is the brightest part of the work, Praise to the Eternity of Jesus, which is deeply moving and spiritual if pulled off right, Dance of Fury for the Seven Trumpets, which is a real rhythmic tour-de-force (try to figure out the time signatures), Cluster of Rainbows, for the angel who announces the end of time (supremely haunting) and finally Praise to the Immortality of Jesus, which is supposed to represent the man Jesus more than the divine Son of God.

In terms of time, the work is extraordinarily complex, even in this post-Stravinsky universe. In fact, I couldn't begin to tell you I understand all that's going on, and would love to get my hands on a score. But the sonorities of this unusual combination of instruments makes you really pay closer attention--the unusual message is heard in an unusual voice. Use of dissonance is extremely intelligent--compared to so many "modern" compositions I hear today that claim to be profound (the Fourth Concerto for Orchestra by Robert Holloway, which I just heard premiered the other night in San Francisco, comes to mind), this score uses dissonance and consonance for a very high purpose, very judiciously, and not just because it can. Oh, and the ending pages of this work are a stunner, one of the most chilling finishes I've ever heard in a work. It's like the end of Mahler's 9th without the sentimental comfort--and yes, next to this, Mahler's 9th sounds sentimental and comforting.

This is all-around the best performance I've ever heard of the Quartet, though a Philips recording with Vera Beths, George Pieterson, Anner Bijlsma and Reinbert de Leeuw is better-recorded. They don't quite reach the heights and depths that these four musicians do, however, particularly in the Abyss of the Birds and the Praise to the Immortality. Despite some intonation issues by Stoltzman, he's more soulful in his lengthy solo than the more-in-control Pieterson.

The rest of the forces here are magnificent too. Ida Kavafian has always struck me as an underrated violinist. For a while she played with the Beaux Arts Quartet, but recently I have not seen her with them--what happened?

The Quartet was premiered to an audience of fellow prisoners and prison guards in Stalag VIII-A in Görlitz, Germany on January 15, 1941. "Never have I been heard with as much attention and understanding," Messiaen later said. Considering the effect this music has on us, as we arrive warm and fed at the concert hall after the attendant parks our Mercedes or Lexus, how this work must have felt to the starving cold war prisoners of 1941 surely cannot be imagined.

*The "end of time" is not purely an allusion to the Apocalypse, the work's ostensible subject, but also refers to the way in which, through rhythm and harmony, Messiaen used time in a way that was completely different from the music of his predecessors or contemporaries.

Unique Spiritual Expression.......2006-12-22

The Quartet for the End of Time and The Turangalila Symphony are great pieces by Messaien. If you're looking at this version by Tashi, you are looking at a legendary performance. Similarly, Antoni Wit on the Naxos label does wonders in the Turangalila Symphony, a very lively work. Let's not skirt the issue: both are strange pieces, lovable for their insanity. Here, however, you have a piece with an amazing history and an intimate depth of soul.

I think the titles of some of the movements say a lot about the work, like "Cluster of Rainbows, for the Angel Who Announces the End of Time." As a person who is awe-inspired by symbols, alchemical art work, and out of the ordinary things, titles like these bring tears to my eyes. The cover art for this album is a striking representation of this rare kind of beauty.

The music expresses itself on its own terms. You are receiving the language of another dimension. It is that bizarre, and you must be prepared. Put down all conceptions of what Western music is. Do not compare this to any other work. Extraterrestrial visitors will guide you to the mothership. Take the ride. And remember that for Messaien God is at the center of all things. You will feel this presence as the music wends its way through the final moments.

Unique and Interesting.......2006-07-19

Oliver Messiaen's music takes some getting used to. It's not unlike some of Stravinsky's works, but doesn't quite fit into any particular category. This particular work was written in a German prison camp and first performed there in 1941. Some people might want to buy it just for the historical significance, but I encourage you to buy it because it is downright interesting and enjoyable music. This might not be the best first album to buy as an introduction to Messiaen, as it's not his best work. It is somewhat subdued music; not particularly upbeat or awesome. It's not meant to be. Still well worthy of 5-stars.

Oliver Messiaen: Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (Quartet for the End of Time) (1940)

Average customer rating:

One of the most impressive compositions of the past Century!
Do not use this CD as a basis for judging the Quartet !
Music fans
Not so bad!
Sounds unrehearsed!

Oliver Messiaen: Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (Quartet for the End of Time) (1940)

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
ASIN: B000001G8W
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Quartet For The End Of Time: 1. Liturgie de cristal
Quartet For The End Of Time: 2. Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: 3. Abime des oiseaux
Quartet For The End Of Time: 4. Intermede
Quartet For The End Of Time: 5. Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus
Quartet For The End Of Time: 6. Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Quartet For The End Of Time: 7. Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: 8. Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus

Customer Reviews:

One of the most impressive compositions of the past Century!.......2007-02-22

"I saw a mighty angel descending from heaven, clad in mist, having around his head a rainbow. His face was like the sun, his feet like pillars of fire. He placed his right foot on the sea, his left on the earth, and standing thus one the sea and the art he lifted his hand toward heaven and swore by Him who liveth for ever and ever, saying: "there shall be time no longer, but at the day of the trumpet of the seventh angel the mystery of God shall be consummated ."
Revelation X

Oliver Messiaen conceived and wrote this ethereal and emblematic mystic symbol of the resistance and the untamed human will during the course of his captivity. Performed for the first time in Stalag 8-A on January 1941, by Jean Le Boulaire, violinist, Henri Aroka, clarinetist; Étienne Pasquier, cellist and the composer at the piano. It is directly by this excerpt from "The revelation of St. John. "Its musical language is essentially, transcendental, spiritual and catholic. The whole score would seem to convey the listener into a sense of eternity of space or time. Its particular rhythms existing outside the measure contribute importantly toward the banishment of temporalities.

One of the most powerful and expressive versions ever made. Contemplative, reflexive and remarkably mystic.

Do not use this CD as a basis for judging the Quartet !.......2003-06-04

Complaints about tempi cannot always be written off as simple matters of taste. Those who love and have studied Messiaen's entire output, not just the Quartet, develop a sense of appropriate tempi based on the compositional elements, symbolic references, position of the movement within the framework of the entire composition, etc.

There are times when "lent" or "extremement lent" is appropriate and magnificent (I think of "Desseins Eternels" from the organ work "La Nativite"), but I cannot think of any Messiaen composition in which a birdsong passage is to be played slowly. Why should the opening movement of the Quartet be an exception ? Hangovers indeed !

I agree with the reviewer who complained that the Quartet sounds unrehearsed. To me it sounds as though I'm hearing the coincidental occurrence of 4 disparate instruments, not a cohesive quartet (which might explain the awkward tempi). This performance is so uninspiring, I'm quite certain if I'd heard it before I had heard any others I would have written off the Quartet as one of the very few Messiaen compositions that I don't like. What a collossal shame that would have been !

Music fans.......2003-01-21

In defense of the CD and the artists who created it, don't be too harsh on the CD's tempi. Judge tempi in their original acoustic environment.
Enjoy the CD as a reference or resource since it is endorsed by the composer, and go to concerts too!

Not so bad!.......2000-08-27

This recording was done "in the presence of the composer and given his authorization". This is positively not the best recording I have heard of the "Quatuor..." but the severe criticism of the other reviewers is probably a matter of taste. I really appreciate the (not too) slow tempos, and I think that the sixth movement could have been performed even slower. This piece is not a virtuosistic exercise. It expresses religious contemplation. Nevertheless, my personal preference is the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi recording with Aloys Kontarsky on the piano (as far as I know not available on CD).

Sounds unrehearsed!.......2000-02-03

This is probably the worst recording I have heard of this piece! The tempos are too slow, the ensemble is unbalanced, and the recording quality, particularly in the sixth movement is mediocre. In general, it sounds as if the group never rehearsed together. The clarinettist is particularly inept. Listen to the slow section of the sixth movement, when either bad recording technique, or a lack of finesse in the ensemble results in the clarinet suddenly jutting out of the homophonic texture. In the opening movement, the rhythm is far too flexible to maintain any cohesion between the players. Other movements similarly suffer from a lack of consistent tempo and rhythm. Again, the sixth movement contains distortions of the rhythms that, to my ear, destroy much of the charm. The Tashi recording also suffers from several misinterpretations of the music. It is generally too fast, though I'll admit their ensemble playing is amazing (how much time did they spend editing and re-editing! ) I do, however, love the last movement violin solo. I recommend the Erato recording, another Messiaen-was-there venture.

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Average customer rating:

Definitive Performance
A Treasure among 20th Century Works
The best I know.
Good, Evil, Ruin, and Trancendence on the western front
The Zenith of Virtuosity

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Olivier Messiaen: TurangalÃ®la Symphonie
Des Canyons Aux Etoiles
Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time
Olivier Messiaen: Éclairs sur l'au-delà (Illuminations of the Beyond)
Varèse - The Complete Works / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra · Asko Ensemble · Chailly

ASIN: B00004TL2R
Release Date: 2001-01-09

Tracks:

I. Liturgie De Cristal
II. Vocalise, Pour L'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps
III. Abime Des Oiseaux
IV. Intermede
V. Louange A L'Eternite De Jesus
VI. Danse De La Fureur
VII. Fouillis D'arcs-en-ciel, Pour I'Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps
VIII. Louange A L'lmmortalite De Jesus

Amazon.com

Despite being composed in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, Messiaen's masterpiece teems with music of ethereal beauty. Inspired by the Book of Revelations, it features many of his unique stylistic fingerprints--unison homophonic passages, birdcalls, and surprising rhythmic displacements among them. Even with only four instruments (a choice dictated by those available in the camp), Messiaen achieves striking coloristic effects. Virtually any performance by four musicians capable of meeting the piece's technical and stylistic demands will make a telling effect, and this one certainly does. It's one of the slower available performances, primarily because fast movements tend to be faster and slower ones slower than such rivals as the classic Tashi reading on RCA and the vibrant Russian one led by Oleg Kagan on Live Classics. At times, slow movements lack the note-to-note tension that would make them even more powerful, but Messiaen fans will want to hear Shaham, Chung, & Co. in his greatest chamber work. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Definitive Performance.......2007-02-25

This Messiaen masterpiece was composed and first performed in a Nazi prison camp. The program for this piece is the revelation of St. John the Divine. It is scored for violin, clarinet, cello, and piano. You would expect a piece composed in a prison camp and based on biblical text to be powerful, and this one certainly is.

This extraordinary piece of music lives or dies on the strength of the musicians; both as ensemble musicians and as soloists. Virtuosity is a must. Ensemble work is critical in the first and second movements. The second movement (Vocalise for the Angel who announces the end of Time) has an extended passage for violin and cello, accompanied by simple chords on the piano. The violin and cello are in unison octaves for much of this movement. Shaham and Wang played this movement very well in tune. Messiaen calls this middle section of the movement "impalpable harmonies of heaven" where the violin and cello are engaged in "quasi-plainsong chanting".

The third movement (Abyss of the birds) introduces the soloistic aspects of this piece. This is an extended clarinet solo, expertly played by Paul Meyer. Technical difficulty abounds..the clarinet has to play in all the registers, at all the dynamics, and with varying coloration. Long sostenutos, difficult runs, it's everything a clarinettist might have nightmares about. In Meyer's hands, it sounded like a walk in the park.

The opening of the fourth movement (Interlude) contains some minor intonation issues between the violinist and cellist, mainly when they are on open strings. Octaves are dangerous, as any musician will tell you. The ensemble intonation is perfect in the sixth movement (Dance of frenzy, for the seven trumpets).

The fifth movement is a gorgeous extended cello solo (Eulogy to the Eternity of Jesus), played with tremendous sensitivity by Jian Wang. It is achingly beautiful, and requires tremendous musicianship. While it contains no firework runs, the lines are very long, and the writing takes the cellist well up in thumb position. Wang made every single note sing. The complementary movement to this is the extended violin solo eighth and final movement (Eulogy to the immortality of Jesus), played by the incomparable Gil Shaham. It is just amazing, and Shaham is brilliant as usual. Let's just let Messiaen (through translator Anthony Pople) explain it: "It is all love. Its slow ascent towards the extreme high register is the ascent of man towards his God, of the Child of God towards his Father, of the deified Being toward Paradise." No one could have said it better.

Highly recommended.

A Treasure among 20th Century Works.......2006-01-20

I still may have much to learn about Olivier Messiaen's music if I was to focus at a scholarly/doctorate level, yet I feel incredibly lucky at a relatively young age to understand and fall in love with his music since I heard it for the first time. He was a devout man, and his music represents " the truth".

To a casual audience, Scheonberg and Messiaen might as well sound the same, but unlike Scheonberg, Messiaen seems to take us at a whole new dimension of "Art Music" in general, and his religious fervor (he was a devout Catholic) and obsession for this "truth" reflects that. That's why I rank Messiaen as one of my favorite composrs, along with Anton Bruckner and Gustav Mahler, two more composers I deeply admire whose music seems to go beyond this world.

He wrote different works at different scales; some are written for a large orchestra, such as the "Turangalila Symphony", and some only utlize a single piano player, such as "Catalogue of Birds" and "Gazes at the Infant Jesus".

Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" is written for a quartet, but the instrumentation is beyond normal; the work requires a violin, a clarinet, a cello, and a piano. He wrote it during his imprisonment at a German camp, the instruments the only ones available. The work musically describes the Revalation of St. John the Divine, an angel announcing the end of time.

Of the eight movements, I especially like the dazzling "Dance of Frenzy", when the four instruments play in unison to give a unique color, imitating trumpets and gongs, and the two hauntingly beautiful "Eulogies", innocent and beautiful as the words of God itself.

There are different performances of the Quartet and I did listen to some, but I decided to own this version, because of its recent release (with the most advanced recording technology available), the "Yellow" label every one loves (Who Doesn't?), and the roster of internationally-combined soloists - the American violinist Gil Shaham, the French clarinetist Paul Meyer, the Chinise cellist Gian Wang, and last be certainly not least, the Korean pianist Myung-Whun Chung, also a conductor and superb interpreter of other Messiaen works. I don't necessarily agree with the Amazon reviwer about the preference of tempi. Fast segments seems more frantic, while slower segments seems much more meditative.

With all that being said, I consider Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time", a treasure among 20th century works, music that should be cherished forever as long as music lives. And I recommend to buy this album if you want to own this beautiful work.

The best I know........2005-12-13

Quatuor pour la fin du Temps is one of my favourite Messiaen's works, together with his Turangalila Symphonie, the Vingt Regards and his opera Saint Françoise. In all that pieces you can feel together with a great development of musical technique a great faith in the work, something that is specially present in this Quatuor, composed in the concentration camp in which Olivier Messiaen was captured.

With a curious and not very common instrumentation, Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, is the result of what Messiaen found in that camp and what he really needed in that moment, a mixture of anxiety for freedom and an incredible faith in the powerful of a presence that we can easily identify with God, the Christian God, as Messiaen was a pity and devout Christian, like we listen in many of his pieces. I'm not really in that way, but I understand something about that feelings and about what is musical techniques, and it really helps to love this wonderful, rare and particular quartet.

I've listened versions played by Barenboim, Tetard... (DG), Kontarsky, Palm... (EMI), De Leeuw, Bylsma... (Philips) and between all of them this is really the one I love much more. I have to mention Palm, Kontarsky, Gawriloff and Deinzer in a wonderful recording that was together with the Turangalila conducted by Simon Rattle, but now deleted. I hope EMI will release again this performance, because it's very, very good too. But the best I know nowadays is this one full of virtuosity and compromise with Messiaen language, very well known by Chung, who have conducted lot of very good CDs of the French composer, apart from being during many years a close assistant to Messiaen in his last period. The other players are really outstanding, specially a terrific Gil Shaham, who is, in my opinion, one of the best young violin players from our time.

The recording is, too, the best I know for this piece, amazing!. Everything is clear and well balanced. The sound is very present and you can even listen the touch of the fingers with the different parts of the instruments. An amazing experience to listen the soloists in this recording.

In sum, one of the best Messiaen's work in the top performance. A must have for all those interested on XXth Century Classic Music.

Good, Evil, Ruin, and Trancendence on the western front.......2004-05-21

The story goes like this. Olivier Messiaen - mystic, troubadour, lover - was minding his business one day, during World War 2, when the Nazis suddenly picked him up and threw him in a concentration camp. The world about Olivier was beset with darkness. Jews were being murdered, land was being stolen, lives were being cut to ribbons and blown to the wind and a great many decent, intelligent people were seriously worried that all of the good things in humanity and earth were going to be permanently destroyed. In this situation utter despair, imbecilic rage, or cold apathy were understandable responses. But not for that great frenchman Olivier Messiaen. Right in the middle of the citadel of darkness, using only a few instruments that came to hand, he composed the Quartet For The End of Time. And by doing so he destroyed the spirit of Naziism, vindicated humanity, and spoke a strange deep word to his God. The music is full of an alien loveliness. Its beauty is not burgeois. It is free and even terrifying. It wrestles with the powers of murder and despair and overcomes them in a way that is hard to describe. On one level the music almost ignores evil. It floats free from it and like a shaft of emerald fire it burns through cruel time into the heart of a calm but taut eternity. On another level the music could very well be called "The Transmutation of Unease". Pure distress is not abolished but siezed by a calm but powerful hand and pulled into a realm where it becomes something aureate. All of Olivier's music is a heroic endeavour but in a certain sense it begins with the Quartet. Stravinsky called Olivier's music "the slag heap of art" but Stravinsky did have his limits. Messiaen permanently takes us in all of his music to a place where the voices of birds are as terrifying as angels in a light that destroys evil by it transmutation.

The Zenith of Virtuosity.......2002-09-08

An incredible recording of a monumental work. This ensemble is made of four high caliber soloists. With the ominous timbre of Paul Meyer, the technical virtousity of Myung-Whun Chung, and the sorrowfull, tear jerking musicality of Gil Shaham and Jian Wang, this recording stands out as an icon of what true virtousity is. The blend of these four is precise, full, and pure, but most importantly, the music being made is unreserved and inspiring.

This is powerful music played by four powerhouse musicians. This recording is one of the best recordings I have in my library. There is no doubt in my mind that these musicians' interpretation of the Messiaen will be remembered as legendary.

Average customer rating:

Ongaku recording tops them all

Quartet for the End of Time

Manufacturer: Ongaku
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002Z9VDU
Release Date: 2004-08-01

Tracks:

Liturgie de cristal
Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Abime des oiseaux
Intermede
Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus
Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus
Theme et Variations - Theme: Modere
Variation 1: Modere (berceur)
Variation 2: Modere, un peu vif
Variation 3: Modere, avec eclat
Variation 4: Vif et passionne
Variation 5: Tres lent (legatissimo)

Album Description

This is a groundbreaking new recording Olivier Messiaen's seminal work "Quatuor pour la fin du Temps" (Quartet for the End of Time, 1941)), along with an earlier work (1932), "Thème et Varations" (Theme and Variations) for violin and piano, that foreshadows some of the harmonies and melodic style of the Quartet. This recording comes closest to the difficult tempo markings of the composer than any other to date (including Messian's own from 1957). It also adheres closely to the extremely demanding dynamic and phrase markings of the composer, while capturing the sound in a pristene 24-bit digital recording process at world-renowned Mechanics Hall of Worcester, Massachusetts. The CD includes a captivating 16-page article by clarinetist Jonathan Cohler that delves into the history of the work and its performance revealing many new facts that were only recently discovered. The article also contains an enlightening timing analysis of the movements comparing this recording with three of the most well known recordings of the work.

Customer Reviews:

Ongaku recording tops them all.......2004-10-06

Reviewer: Richard E. Cross "lisztian" (Tarrytown, NY) - See all my reviews

The recent release of Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time is spectacular both in performance and sound quality. Janice Weber's formidable playing is astounding, her subtle, nearly-inaudible pianissimos ethereal. The magical slow movements capture the mysticism of the work more than my previous recording . The solo violin, cello and clarinet moments are superb.

This is a five-star performance.

Richard E. Cross

Average customer rating:

Absolutely MUST be in every collection!

Quartet For The End Of Time

Manufacturer: Koch Int'l Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000I9N2
Release Date: 1999-03-23

Tracks:

Litugie de Cristal
Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui announce la fin du Temps
Abime des oiseaux
Intermede
Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus
Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui announce la fin du Temps
Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus

Amazon.com essential recording

Famously, albeit sadly, conceived, Olivier Messiaen's finest chamber work is a dance with circumstance and a tremendous flowering in the face of adversity. Written while the composer was a wartime prisoner in 1941, Quartet for the End of Time sounds teetery, vulnerable, and brittle. But it also features shearing whips from the clarinet that make the creative turbulence unmistakable. Christoph Eschenbach's piano is astounding, playing quiet atmospheres in the second movement--and again in the final movement--that couple with the strings to set a diaphanous feel, one where light, scant though it is, enlivens the mood. Messiaen envisioned the colors, he recalled, as a partial result of limited food rations, and the shoddy instruments on which he and others gave the original performance (while still imprisoned) only accentuated how sensitively he shaped the piece's dynamics. Although it builds slowly, this is an inventively rhythmic piece, with the clarinet-led ensemble pelting quietude with motion. Note also that the quartet's first movement is Messiaen's first incursion into bird sounds, something which occupied him for the rest of his composing career. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely MUST be in every collection!.......2001-01-12

The ensemble's incredible musicianship and amazing precision prove that this the best recording of the Quartet for the End of Time available!

Average customer rating:

A great performance

Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
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Glass: Violin concerto

ASIN: B00005COXS
Release Date: 2001-06-19

Tracks:

Quartet For The End Of Time: Liturgie de cristal
Quartet For The End Of Time: Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: Abime des oiseaux
Quartet For The End Of Time: Intermede
Quartet For The End Of Time: Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus
Quartet For The End Of Time: Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Quartet For The End Of Time: Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: Louange a l'immortalite de Jesus
Theme And Variations

Amazon.com

A medical auxiliary during World War II, French composer Olivier Messiaen was captured at Nancy by the Germans in 1940. They sent him to a prison camp in Silesia, where he filled his hours by composing Quartet for the End of Time for the potluck ensemble of instrumentalists (clarinet, violin, cello, and piano) whom happenstance had placed with him. It is one of the most haunting and evocative pieces of 20th-century chamber music, and it inspires a fine performance on this Naxos disc by the Amici Ensemble of Canada. There is a forlorn, bleak quality to their sound, as you might expect from prisoners miles from home. They play with no rich, pampered vibrato. Clarinetist Joaquin Valdepenas pecks at the bird calls in the "Crystal Liturgy" and yearns for freedom in the aching "Abyss of Birds." There is throbbing excitement in the "Furious Dance for Seven Trumpets" and a singing lyricism in the short exquisite Intermezzo. The Quartet is complemented on the disc by Messiaen's Theme and Variations for violin and piano, composed in 1932. Scott St. John explores the composer's inventiveness with a burning bow on steely strings, while pianist Patricia Parr touches the steady chords as if pacing out time which, in this piece, seemingly has no end. --Rick Jones

Customer Reviews:

A great performance.......2007-06-05

..irrespective of price. Another winner for Naxos and collectors of great music!.

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time; Bartók: Contrasts

Average customer rating:

Way too short
Concert Favorites - Favorite Concert!

Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time; Bartók: Contrasts
Chamber Music Northwest , William Doppmann , Warren Lash , and David Shifrin
Manufacturer: Delos Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000006W3
Release Date: 1992-12-11

Tracks:

Quartet For The End Of Time: Liturgie de cristal
Quartet For The End Of Time: Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: Abime des oiseaux
Quartet For The End Of Time: Intermede
Quartet For The End Of Time: Louange a l'Eternite de Jesus
Quartet For The End Of Time: Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Quartet For The End Of Time: Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps
Quartet For The End Of Time: Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus
Contrasts: Verbunkos
Contrasts: Piheno
Contrasts: Sebes

Amazon.com

Oliver Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time (1940) and the outbreak of World War II essentially ended the dominance in French music of Les Six and the French Impressionists. Messiaen wrote the Quartet while he was in a German prison camp. He premiered the work in front of 5000 inmates. Bela Bartók, on the other hand, was forced into a heart-breaking exile in America for the war's duration. Bartók's Contrasts (1940) was his last commissioned work before he left Hungary, commissioned for Benny Goodman. It's a brilliant virtuoso role for the clarinetist, who recorded it that year. Both are classics. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Way too short.......2004-11-17

Three out of the eight movements feature a soloist. Movement three features the clarinet, movement five features the cello and movement eight is mostly a violin solo. These movements should be played slowly and be as long as possible. On this recording, movement three is great, and at 9 minutes it is about the longest clarinet solo available for this quartet. The other two movements, however, are way too short. Movement five is 4 mintes shorter than the EMI release and movement eight is 3 minutes shorter than the Haitnik rendition. It's not because repeats were not taken, it's because it's played way too fast which ruins the mood of this austere work. Get the RCA Victor recording with Serkin on piano or the Haitnik. Even the Naxos is better than this.

Concert Favorites - Favorite Concert!.......2000-03-20

These performances of two favorite concert works, "The Quartet for the End of Time," and "Contrasts," by Oliver Messiaen and Bela Bartok, respectively, are by far the finest on record to date. As they will unlikely ever be surpassed, this is the only recording you will ever desire to hear and the only recording you'll need. As to be expected from clarinetist David Shifrin, his playing rises well above the workmanlike, and is artistic in every way. The colors he acheives does well to show why his instrument is the most important wind instrumet, and he takes advantage of its possibilities. Shifrin's collegues from Chamber Music Northwest also deserve special attention. Ik-hwan Bea's beautiful violin tone balances that of the clarinet. Pianist William Doppmann expertly captures the famous Messiaen chord-colors. Cellist Warren Lash shines in his solo movement in the Quartet. All performances are fresh, with an amazing sense of unity and rhythmic tightness and polish that few ensembles ever achieve.

Tracks:

Movement #1 - Liturgie de cristal
Movement #1 Improv
Movement #2 - Vocalise, pour l'ange qui annonce la fin du temps
Movement #2 Improv
Movement #3 - Abime des oisedux
Movement #4 - Intermede
Movement #4 Improv
Movement #5 - Louange a l'eternite de Jesus
Movement #6 - Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes
Movement #6 Improv
Movement #7 - Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'ange quiu annonce la fin du temps
Movement #7 Improv
Movement #8 - Louange a l'Immortalite de Jesus

Product Description

Spooky Actions (led by John Gunther and Bruce Arnold) is back with their unique take on the âÂ€ÂœQuartet for the End of TimeâÂ€Â (MSK 128) one of the most popular pieces of 20th century classical music. Noted for applying jazz improvisational and textural techniques to non-jazz repertoire, Spooky Actions has so far charted new territory with Early Music, Native American Music, the music of the 2nd Viennese School, and now, the work of Olivier Messiaen. In this recording the ensemble has been expanded to accommodate an arrangement for Jazz Quintet. The lineup is: John Gunther on soprano saxophone, Bruce Arnold on electric guitar, Tony Moreno on drums, David Phillips on upright bass, and Aaron Jackson on piano. The Quartet was started while Messiaen was in the French army, and completed while he was a prisoner of war in a German Stalag. It is his first and most famous work wherein he integrated his deep knowledge of bird song into his compositions. He was known to rise before dawn in order to hear the first calls and chattering of the local flocks, to steep himself in sounds that were endlessly fascinating to him, and he claimed to be able to identify fifty different patterns specific to European species. The songs, particularly those of nightingales and blackbirds, transported this devout Catholic, and enabled him to imbue the Quartet with grandeur, despair --and hope. The Quartet presented specific challenges to musicians then and now, written as it was for the specific virtuosos that Messiaen was interned with. The famous 3rd Movement âÂ€Âœ Abyss of the BirdsâÂ€Â calls for exceptional prowess on the part of any clarinet player (or in this case, soprano saxophone), and transferring cello parts to the upright bass calls for a musician with unusual mastery of that larger, less agile instrument. The addition of drums to the palette of the piece (which is not scored for any percussion) calls for a touch that is exceptionally subtle. As they have with other classical pieces, Spooky Actions states the original work as written, and then uses that as a jumping off point for improvisation (they have done this with Movements 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7). This requires unusual skill and theoretical understanding of the composition, and as always, Spooky Actions delivers thoughtful and insightful work. The name Spooky Actions derives from a quote by Albert Einstein describing the mysterious ability of two distant and seemingly unrelated objects to exert an effect on one another. In this CD, Spooky Actions, proves that the relationship between modern classical music and modern jazz is not as âÂ€ÂœspookyâÂ€Â as most people might think.

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Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time

Manufacturer: Live Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000003DKY
Release Date: 1995-10-24