Quatuor pour la fin du temps, a chamber work for violin, clarinet, cello and piano by the French composer Olivier Messiaen, composed in 1940 and 1941 while Messiaen was a prisoner of war at Stalag VIII-A in Gorlitz, Germany. He wrote it for himself and three fellow prisoners who were professional musicians, violinist Jean Le Boulaire, cellist Etienne Pasquier and clarinetist Henri Akoka, and it premiered before other prisoners and camp guards on 15 January 1941 on damaged instruments. A devout Catholic, Messiaen dedicated the work in homage to the Angel of the Apocalypse of the Book of Revelation, who raises a hand toward Heaven and swears that there shall be no more time, and drew each of its eight movement titles from that same text.
Facts
Subject Matter
Religious Subject MatterSourced to the subject's own accountDedicated in homage to the Angel of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, who proclaims there shall be no more time; each of the eight movement titles is drawn from that same biblical text, and Messiaen, a devout Catholic, described the work in his own preface as inspired by it. 1 Scholarly ReceptionWidely regarded by musicologists as one of the most significant chamber works of the twentieth century; its prisoner-of-war premiere before an audience including camp guards is one of the most frequently retold episodes in modern classical music history. 2 Production
Release YearSourced to the subject's own account Primary Artist / ComposerSourced to the subject's own account Place of OriginStalag VIII-A prisoner-of-war camp, Gorlitz, Germany 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Dedicated to and structured around the Angel of the Apocalypse passage of Revelation; each movement title is drawn from that text.
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