Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time and George Crumb: Black Angels
May 12, 2023 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
War and Remembrance: George Crumb and Olivier Messiaen – Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time
MingHuan Xu, violin; Emily Boone, violin; Doyle Armbrust, viola; Nick Photinos, cello; John Bruce Yeh, clarinet; Winston Choi, piano
Tickets range from $20 – $30 based on seating assignment. UTRF members receive $5 off their tickets, use code MEMBERS at checkout, limited student seating is $10. A post-event reception will be available to all guests.
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PROGRAM:
George Crumb (1929-2022)
Black Angels “Thirteen Images from the Dark Land” for electric string quartet
I. Departure
Threnody I: Night of the Electric Insects (tutti)
Sounds of Bones and Flutes (trio)
Lost Bells (duo)
Devil-music (solo)
Danse Macabre (duo)
II. Absence
Pavana Lachrymae (trio)
Threnody II: Black Angels! (tutti)
Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura (trio)
Lost Bells (Echo) (duo)
III. Return
God-music (solo)
Ancient Voices (duo)
Ancient Voices (Echo) (trio)
Threnody III: Night of the Electric Insects (tutti)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992):
Quartet for the End of Time
- “Liturgie de cristal” (Crystal liturgy)
- Vocalise, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du temps” (Vocalise, for the Angel who announces the end of time)
- “Abîme des oiseaux” (Abyss of birds)
- “Intermède” (Interlude)
- “Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus” (Praise to the eternity of Jesus)
- “Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes” (Dance of fury, for the seven trumpets)
- “Fouillis d’arcs-en-ciel, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du temps” (Tangle of rainbows, for the Angel who announces the end of time)
- “Louange à l’Immortalité de Jésus” (Praise to the immortality of Jesus)
Olivier Messiaen wrote “Quartet for the End of Time” while imprisoned in a German prisoner-of-war camp.
Black Angels, a work for “electric string quartet” by American composer George Crumb (b. 1929), pulls us into a terrifying, nightmarish soundscape. Completed in March, 1970, the piece has been associated with the apocalyptic zeitgeist of the Vietnam era. Both pieces explore concepts of synesthesia.
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The Unity Chamber Music Series is supported in part by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and Alphawood Foundation.