Messiaen, Quatuor pour la fin du Temps

January 15th 1941: The premiere of Messiaen’s most performed work ‘Quatuor pour la fin du Temps’ in the theatre shed of Stelag VIIa, a German work camp near the Polish border. This work, which consists of 8 parts, centralizes the Apocalypse as it is portrayed in the Gospel of John. The musical language is essentially ‘immatériel, spirituel et catholique’. Messiaen dubbed himself a ‘compositeur- rythmicien’ and, alongside his preoccupation with harmonic development reflected in his wayward use of several modes, he was mainly concerned about the auditor’s listening experience. This concern was expressed , on the one hand, through added values and rhythmical palindromes, and on the other, through his often extremely low paces, always aiming to express the Christian mystical experience that results in eternity. The ‘Quator pour la fin du Timps’ by O. Messiaen with its unique formation, is the central work around which the young TetraGonist Ensemble has taken shape…Which music, however, could function alongside this masterpiece and maybe even shed a new light on it?