It is difficult to imagine the circumstances in which Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) was premiered. Written by the Messiaen while incarcerated in a German prisoner of war camp, the work was first aired with the composer on an old upright piano and three friends playing battered instruments to an audience of 5,000 fellow prisoners at Stalag VIII in 1941. The quartet was not meant as a commentary on his captivity, but rather a musical extension of the biblical Book or Revelations and the beginning of eternity. In its most recent outing at The Sage Gateshead, a quartet of Northern Sinfonia players conveyed the timeless spirit of the score in a recital of searing intensity. In the opening Liturgy of Crystal, the awakening of birds was emulated with scintillating trills. Jessica Lee’s clarinet solo in movement entitled Abyss of the Birds was breathtaking in every sense; displaying an astonishing control and range of colour, while cellist Gabriele Waite’s eloquent singing phrases in Praise to the Eternity of Jesus were accompanied by sensitively- modulated playing from pianist Kate Thompson. The Dance of Fury for Seven trumpets saw razor-sharp synchronism between the players. Violinist Kyra Humphrey’s rendition of the closing Praise to the Immortality of Jesus was heavenly, with the last ethereal note signifying man’s ascension to God floating away like strand of silk. Making its debut on the evening was Helen Papaioannau’s Lachrimae. Based on John Dowland’s Lachrimae pavane, it was written for the Northern Sinfonia’s "old meets new" project in collaboration with Newcastle University composition students in February 2010. Dissecting and transforming the original into many variations resulted in a thought-provoking piece.
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