Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps Pople Hardback Cambridge University Press

Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du tempsAuthor(s): Anthony Pople\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521584975, 978-0521584975\nSynopsis\nThe Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) is among the best-known compositions by Olivier Messiaen [tel]. Like virtually all of his works, it combines the striking technical achievement of Messiaen's rich and attractive musical style with a deeply felt theological inspiration - in this case from the apocalyptic events described in the Book of Revelation, leading to the end of Time itself. Composed while Messiaen was a prisoner-of-war and premiered under extraordinary conditions in Stalag VIIIA in 1941, the work retains a powerful immediacy that has made it a favourite of performers and audiences alike. Anthony Pople's book provides an introduction to Messiaen's style through an examination of this great work, showing how it came to be composed.