Messiaen’s Visions de l’amen

BACKGROUND TO…

Messiaen’s time spent as a POW in Stalag VIII-A during World War Two was hugely inspiring to the composer. Quartet for the End of Time was written and premiered inside the camp, and the first piece he composed after his release in 1942 was Visions de l’amen. The seven-movement work, for two pianos, was written for the 1943 Concerts de la Pléiade which took place in occupied Paris. A celebratory work, it is really an affirmation of the composer’s own faith and a mark of gratitude for life itself. It was first performed by Messiaen himself, who was joined by his then student (later wife), Yvonne Loriod.