It’s recital season and I have been going to a few in between stints of practicing for my own. At the end of last month, I played in a chamber concert hosted by Noam Faingold, where I played the Prokofiev Quintet. On the end of that concert was a group playing Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. I had the pleasure of being able to see them play again at one of the member’s recitals.
To say the least, movement’s five and eight are absolutely stunning. I had heard the work performed live only once before by members and colleagues of the Bergonzi String Quartet, and being at a young age with (admittedly) less refined tastes, I don’t remember appreciating the entire work as much. Now, with these new eyes, I see the entire work as profound, and in the right setting (cheerily lit rooms don’t exactly match the aesthetic of the music) it can floor listeners.
Messiaen said of the last movement that it should be just like “pure love,” but if I may engage in a bit of the intentional fallacy here, the fifth movement is more like “pure love”. I’ll go out on a limb and also say that I think love is the wrong word to use, the emotional color that Messiaen presents us is indescribable. The reason I like the fifth movement more is because of the tone color of the cello. The cello’s voice has more core and depth, yet can still get high enough to express stratospheric, heavenly floating (call me a lower voice lover, because I am).
It’s so placid and contemplative.
The players handled it wonderfully in both concerts, though I thought the first performance was more inspired, even if less prepared.