Description:
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 wit
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
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Manufacturer: Naxos
Release date: 19 June 2001
EAN: 0636943482421 UPC: 636943482421
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