Olivier Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time; Theme and Variations

Naxos have been probably the most succesful and enterprising classical label of recent years, with wonderful, critically aclaimed performances for the budget level. Their great advantage is the width of their reportoire and professional standard, which has payed dividends. They pay attention to modern as well as 'easier' works, including a wide range of pieces by Messiaen, the Turangalila Symphony, and the Catalog de Oiseaux as well as this new disc, which came out in the past few months.

The 'Quatuor pour la fin du temps/ Quartet for the end of time' is the composer's most frequently performed and popular work, because of it's accessibility and instantly memorable melodies. During World War 2, Messiaen was interned in the POW camp in Silesia, and, as he had managed to keep some music paper with him, composed to keep his mind at rest. He was limited in his resources by the number of instruments and musicians available- a clarinettist, violinist and cellist. Completed in 1941, the premiere took place in Stalag VII A, Messiaen joining the trio on a battered piano with not all the keys working. The audience consisted of 5000 prisoners and their guards, who sat in the freezing weather listening intently. As well as the instrumentation, the construction is also unusual, consisting of 8 movements titled imaginatively and expressivly:'Crystal liturgy; Voclise for the angel who announces the end of time; Abyss of Birds; Interlude; Praise to the eternity of Jesus; Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets; Tangle of rainbows for the angel who announces the end of time; Praise to the immortality of Jesus'. The first evokes the 'silence of heavan', with birdsong, the second the power and gloy of the angel; the third, a clarinet solo depicting the despair of human existence without God and the desire to be free; the fourth is a short scherzo providing light relief; next, a beautiful, slowly unfolding melody on the cello, with piano accompanient showing Jesus as God the word; then the most catchy tune of the whole piece, the dance of fury; the beauty of the rainbows on the angel' head; and finaly, a second movement with Jesus as the Son of man.

So how do the musicians deal with the challenges of virtuosity and extreme, fervent emotion? The Amici Ensemble consists of Joaquin Valdepenas, David Hetherington, Patricia Parr and Scott St John, and they rise to the difficulties superbly. Their performance is somehow down to earth while containing the essential other-worldly quality neccessary to evoke the Heavanly events of the Apocalypse from the book of Revelation that Messiaen chose as his subject. The intensity and intimacy of the chamber medium is preserved too, so, put all these ingredients into the musical melting pot, stir, and you get a wonderful listening experience. The extremely difficult clarinet part of 'Abyss of Birds' comes out brilliantly in J.Valdepenas's evocation, making his dark canyon and soaring birds joyously singing in flight utterly believable and compelling, and the cello/piano duet of the 5th movement is here given just the right balance to bring tears to the eyes. That beauty is also found in the 'Vocalise', 'Liturgy', 'Rainboe tangle' and 8th parts. Where the music demmands a driving pace, the ensemble provide it- the 'Interlude', 'dance of fury' and first part of the 'Vocalise'.

And what about the other work featured here, the 'Theme & variations', written for Messiaen's first wife, a violinist, and pianist? A tender, beautifuly melodic tune is developed in 5 variations, producing a lovely effect. It was, apparantly, the piece that inspired Pierre Boulez to become his pupil, and provides an attractive filler.

OK, so the running time could be longer, at 56'48", but who cares with such a great performance. Go ahead, buy it!