Musica Sacra: Quartet for the End of Time

Olivier Messiaen: *Quatuor pour la fin du Temps* (1941).

Olivier Messiaen’s *Quatuor pour la fin du Temps* is one of the most significant chamber music works of the 20th century. The work was composed in 1941 while Messiaen was a prisoner of war in the German prisoner-of-war camp STALAG VIII A and was premiered there under extraordinary circumstances. In eight movements, it combines existential experience with deep spirituality and a fascinating musical language, characterized by birdsong, vibrant colors, and a vision of time and eternity.