Join Natalie Boberg and the Magari Ensemble on Friday April 19th in San Francisco Conservatory’s Hume Concert Hall to experience Olivier Messiaen’s masterpiece: Quartet for the End of Time 🎶 This performance is presented amongst anecdotal and stunning visuals that capture Messiaen’s experience with synesthesia.
The Masterwork was written from 1940 - 1941 after Messiaen was captured during WWII and taken to a prisoner of war camp. There, Messiaen met a violinist, cellist, clarinetist, and pianist and it was for these fellow inmates that the piece was written. This work, his most ambitious one to date, had its premiere by these musicians for a large audience of inmates in Görlitz, Germany. Messiaen was a deeply religious man and this work is presented in 8 movements that speak to a passage from the New Testament Book of Revelation. It reads: “I saw a mighty angel descend from heaven, clad in mist; and a rainbow was upon his head. His face was like the sun, his feet like pillars of fire. He set his right foot on the sea, his left foot on the earth, and standing thus on sea and earth he lifted his hand to heaven and swore by Him who liveth for ever and ever, saying: There shall be time no longer; but on the day of the trumpet of the seventh angel, the mystery of God shall be finished.”
More from Natalie about the experience: “Messiaen had a condition called Synethesia, which is essentially when one perception triggers another. His ability to vividly associate colors with sounds certainly influenced all of his musical works, but it is in the score for the second movement of this Quartet where he first references colors: noting the cascading “blue - orange” chords in the piano part.
In an attempt to step into Messiaen’s shoes and his musical language, I sat with a recording, pencil, and notebook one night, and wrote down every color that came to mind for me as I listened. The result is what you will see tonight - how Messiaen’s music comes to life for me as I play the work.”
You won’t want to miss this!
🗓️ Friday April 19th, 2024
⏰ 7:30pm
📍Caroline Hume Concert Hall at San Francisco Conservatory
50 Oak St, San Francisco, CA 94102
🌎Livestream Link: https://vimeo.com/event/1718470/8c981de8f2
Program
Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time
Natalie Boberg, Violin
Liam Cameron, Clarinet
Calvin Kung, Cello
Lior David, Piano