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There is no shortage of recordings for Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps, one of the undisputed masterpieces of 20th century music. The work, composed for the musicians and instruments Messiaen had at hand in a German concentration camp, is bold enough in its conception to stand up to less-than-ideal performances, but the small ensemble Het Collectief also shows what can be accomplished with a detailed, careful, and indeed, quite virtuosic one. The work's title might be heard two ways; one may take at face value Messiaen's references to the Apocalypse, but "the end of time" may also, in view of Messiaen's experiments with rhythm and timbre in the work, be given a musical meaning. It is not a particularly experimental piece harmonically, but its disruptive treatment of rhythm was profoundly influential. The critic Olivia Giovetti has written that the captures "at once the breadth of the end times as prophesied in the Book of Revelation and the intimate, miniature detail that Messiaen introduces into the composition." Het Collectief's performance is dispassionate, careful, and extremely detailed. Anyone looking for apocalyptic shivers can find them elsewhere, but there is much to ponder and consider here on repeated hearing. Het Collectief does well with its choice of introductory work, Stalag VIIIa (the title refers to the camp at Görlitz where Messiaen was held), by the spectral composer Tristan Murail, which primes the listener to listen for textural and rhythmic detail in Messiaen's work as much as to its harmonic surface. This is a major Messiaen release that should be heard by anyone engaged with the composer.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Tristan Murail, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Henry Lemoine, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Olivier Messiaen)
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Olivier Messiaen, Composer - Het Collectief, Ensemble, MainArtist - Durand Editions, MusicPublisher - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator - Yannick Willox, MasteringEngineer, RecordingEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Louise Burel, Producer - Amélie Boccon-Gibod, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
Album review
There is no shortage of recordings for Olivier Messiaen's Quatuor pour la fin du temps, one of the undisputed masterpieces of 20th century music. The work, composed for the musicians and instruments Messiaen had at hand in a German concentration camp, is bold enough in its conception to stand up to less-than-ideal performances, but the small ensemble Het Collectief also shows what can be accomplished with a detailed, careful, and indeed, quite virtuosic one. The work's title might be heard two ways; one may take at face value Messiaen's references to the Apocalypse, but "the end of time" may also, in view of Messiaen's experiments with rhythm and timbre in the work, be given a musical meaning. It is not a particularly experimental piece harmonically, but its disruptive treatment of rhythm was profoundly influential. The critic Olivia Giovetti has written that the captures "at once the breadth of the end times as prophesied in the Book of Revelation and the intimate, miniature detail that Messiaen introduces into the composition." Het Collectief's performance is dispassionate, careful, and extremely detailed. Anyone looking for apocalyptic shivers can find them elsewhere, but there is much to ponder and consider here on repeated hearing. Het Collectief does well with its choice of introductory work, Stalag VIIIa (the title refers to the camp at Görlitz where Messiaen was held), by the spectral composer Tristan Murail, which primes the listener to listen for textural and rhythmic detail in Messiaen's work as much as to its harmonic surface. This is a major Messiaen release that should be heard by anyone engaged with the composer.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 01:00:46
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Het Collectief
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Alpha Classics
- Genre: Classical
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France & Het Collectief
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