What is Quatour pour la fin du temps?
{{italictitle}} '''''Quatuor pour la fin du temps''''' is a piece of [[chamber music]] by the [[France|French]] [[composer]] [[Olivier Messiaen]]. In [[English language|English]] -speaking countries it is often called by the English title '''''Quartet for the End of Time'''''. The piece is written for an unusual combination of four instruments: [[Clarinet|clarinet (in B-flat)]], [[violin]], [[cello]], and [[piano]]. There are 8 movements. It takes about 50 minutes to perform. The work was first performed in unusual circumstances in [[1941]]. It is a very important work in the history of 20th century [[classical music]]. ==Composition and first performance== There was a special reason why Messiaen wrote this work for an unusual combination of instruments. In [[1940]], when [[World War II]] was being fought, [[Germany]] invaded [[France]]. Messiaen was captured by the German army and he was held as a [[prisoner of war]]. While being taken to the prisoner of war camp, Messiaen talked to another prisoner, Henri Akoka, who was a clarinettist. Messiaen showed him the sketches for a clarinet piece he was writing called ''Abîme des oiseaux''. Two other [[professional]] musicians were also among the prisoners: Jean le Boulaire, a [[violin]]ist and Étienne Pasquier, a [[cello|cellist]]. Messiaen composed the ''Quatuor'' for these three musicians with himself at the piano. The combination of these four instruments is unusual, although [[Paul Hindemith]] had written a work for the same combination in [[1938]]. The quartet was given its first performance in [[Görlitz]], Germany (now called Zgorzelec in [[Poland]]) on [[15 January]] [[1941]]. The audience consisted of about four hundred prisoners of war. There were German prison officers sitting in front. The music must have seemed strange to the audience, but they all listened politely. Shortly after this Messiaen was released from prison and went back to France. ==Inspiration== Messiaen was inspired by the words in the [[Bible]] where the angel says “T