One of French composer Olivier Messiaen’s most prominent works, Quartet for the End of Time was written while Messiaen was serving time as a prisoner of war in Poland during the Second World War. Written for the unusual combination of clarinet, violin, cello and piano, Messiaen wrote this piece for, and performed it with, three of his fellow inmates who also happened to be musicians. Clarinettist Beth Nichol, violinist Olivia Jago, cellist Rosie Spinks and pianist Joe Howson perform this haunting yet uplifting work, which serves as a testament to the beauty which can triumph over human brutality.

Just Festival is delighted to be welcoming Gordon Graham, Chair of the Edinburgh Sacred Arts Foundation and Professor of Philosophy and the Arts at Princeton Theological Seminary in the USA, to give a brief introduction to this seminal piece of twentieth century music.