Kristeligt Dagblad
Olivier Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps. Our Recordings 6.220679.

En kammermusikalsk juvel
En de mest markante cd-udgivelser i lang tid. Seks stjerner

Man har ofte oplevet, at komponister selv under de mest umulige forhold kan stor skabe musik. Den franske komponist Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) var i juni 1940 blevet taget til fange af nazisterne, men som det mærkeligt nok af og til skete, blev musikere behandlet med større agtelse end andre fanger.
Messiaen fik udleveret nodepapir af en tysk vagt, så han kunne komponere et nyt værk til sig selv og tre andre franske musikere i lejren. I januar 1941 blev værket for klaver, klarinet, violin og cello opført i lejren – med tyske soldater på forreste række. Messiaen spillede klaver. ”Aldrig er jeg blevet lyttet til med så stor opmærksomhed og forståelse”, huskede han tilbage.
Værket fik titlen ”Kvartet til tidens ende”, og det er usædvanligt i enhver henseende. De otte satser drejer sig om dommedag, apokalypsen, som den beskrives i Johannes’ Åbenbaring. Messiaens syner har et andet sprog end det velkendte. Musikkens love har han selv konstrueret i form af nye typer skalaer og rytmer. Fuglestemmers overjordiske klang spejler sig i satser som ”Krystal-liturgi” og den lange klarinetsolo ”Fuglenes afgrund”, mens katolsk mysticisme ligger til grund for kvartettens to lovsange (”louanges”) til Jesus.
Nu kan man få dette fascinerende værk i en indspilning med fire fremragende musikere fra DR Symfoniorkestret: Christina Åstrand, violin, Johnny Teyssier, klarinet, Henrik Dam Thomsen, cello, og Per Salo, klarinet. At det er en udgivelse fra Our Recordings er i sig selv en yderligere anbefaling – denne gang får man i teksthæftet et helt lille essay af forfatteren Jens Christian Grøndahl. Peter Dürrfeld May 1th 2022

Google Translation.

A chamber musical jewel, - One of the most significant CD releases in a long time. Six stars

It has often been experienced that composers, even under the most impossible conditions, can create great music. The French composer Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) had been captured by the Nazis in June 1940, but strangely enough, musicians were treated with greater respect than other prisoners.

Messiaen was given sheet music by a German guard so that he could compose a new work for himself and three other French musicians in the camp. In January 1941, the work for piano, clarinet, violin and cello was performed in the camp - with German soldiers in the front row. The Messiah played the piano. "I have never been listened to with such great attention and understanding," he recalled.

The work was entitled "The Quartet to the End of Time", and it is unusual in every respect. The eight movements are about doomsday, the apocalypse, as it is described in Revelation. The visions of the Messiaen have a language other than the familiar. He himself has constructed the laws of music in the form of new types of scales and rhythms. The supernatural sound of bird voices is reflected in movements such as "Crystal Liturgy" and the long clarinet solo "The Abyss of Birds", while Catholic mysticism is the basis for the quartet's two hymns ("louanges") to Jesus.
Now you can get this fascinating work in a recording with four excellent musicians from the DR Symphony Orchestra: Christina Åstrand, violin, Johnny Teyssier, clarinet, Henrik Dam Thomsen, cello, and Per Salo, clarinet. That it is a publication from Our Recordings is in itself a further recommendation - this time you get in the textbook a very small essay by the author Jens Christian Grøndahl. Peter Dürrfeld May 1th 2022

https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/kultur/en-af-de-mest-markante-cd-udgivelser-i-lang-tid