Bleep

The 20th century was filled with horrors, many of which couldn’t help but find artistic reflection within classical music. French composer Olivier Messiaen first performed Quatour pour la fun du temps (Quartet for the End of Time) as a prisoner of war in Stalag VIII-A, Görlitz, Germany alongside other detained musicians. Lucy Railton lifts the moving fifth movement ‘Louange à l’Éternité’ for her rendition here, a striking arrangement for cello and piano. The original work found beauty and resilience through the power of music; Railton finds contemporary resonances in the Grenfell Tower fire and the Covid-19 crisis, donating the proceeds of this release to related causes.