Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Cambridge Music Handbooks)

This book is about one musical work, the popular Quartet for the End of Time by the great French composer Olivier Messiaen. Like virtually all of his works, the Quartet combines the striking technical achievement of Messiaen's rich and attractive musical style with a deeply felt theological inspiration. 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 while Messiaen was a prisoner-of-war and premiered under extraordinary conditions in Stalag VIIIA in 1941. He gives an in-depth assessment of each of its eight movements. 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 This book is about one musical work, the popular Quartet for the End of Time by the great French composer Olivier Messiaen. Like virtually all of his works, the Quartet combines the striking technical achievement of Messiaen's rich and attractive musical style with a deeply felt theological inspiration. 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 while Messiaen was a prisoner-of-war and premiered under extraordinary conditions in Stalag Villa in 1941. He gives an in-depth assessment of each of its eight movements. Frontmatter Acknowledgements (page ix) Introduction (page 1) 1 'Liturgie de cristal' (page 17) 2 'Vocalise, pour l'Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps' (page 28) 3 'Abîme des oiseaux' (page 40) 4 'Intermède' (page 47) 5 'Louange à l'Éternité de Jésus' (page 53) 6 'Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes' (page 64) 7 'Fouillis d'arcs-en-ciel, pour l'Ange qui annonce (page 72) 8 'Louange à l'Immortalité de Jésus' (page 81) 9 Contexts (page 88) Appendix: Messiaen's modes à transpositions limitées (page 96) Notes (page 100) Select bibliography (page 112) Index (page 113) Anthony Pople. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.