For the beginning of eternity : theology in Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the end of time

Composed during World War II in a German prison camp, Olivier Messiaen's Quartet/or the End a/Time is one of his most well-known works. Because of the circumstances under which it was written, the composer's use of innovative compositional techniques, and his inclusion of theology in the piece, it provides fertile ground for musicological research. In this paper, I discuss the history of the work and its first performance, Messiaen's philosophy regarding the concept of time versus eternity, and how his philosophy is manifested in the piece.