Olivier Messiaen - Quatour pour la fin du temps - III. Abime des oiseaux

Olivier Messiaen - Quartet for the End of Time - III. Abyss of the Birds (clarinet solo)

This is a movement for clarinet solo, from a quartet that was written during Messiaen's time in a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp. It was premiered in the camp for his fellow prisoners in 1941 by Messiaen himself as well as 3 other imprisoned musicians on clarinet, violin, and cello. I highly recommend looking up more of this history than my basic clif-notes! It is a fascinating piece, written under remarkable circumstances.

This recording is unusual for me, since I ended up putting together several takes into one video (I know... I cheated...). I unfortunately had to stop a few times for spit- and stamina-related reasons, which gave me no choice but to edit the video a bit more than usual. But, cheating aside, I hope you get something out of this! This is a serious piece for serious times, and I doubt there will ever be a time in my lifetime when this piece feels more relevant than 2020.

Recorded by Anna Bush on September 4, 2020
Mixed on December 7, 2020 (the anniversary of Pearl Harbor)