Reading Our Times Can music redeem time? In conversation with Michael Symmons Roberts
Nov 18, 2025
In this engaging talk, Michael Symmons Roberts, an acclaimed poet and librettist, delves into his book about Olivier Messiaen's profound music. He explores how Messiaen's faith and love of birdsong shaped his wartime compositions. The discussion uncovers how art transcends time, transforming personal grief into universal themes. Michael also reflects on his journey from atheism to embracing Catholic culture, while asserting that music's power lies in its ability to evoke theological meaning and hope beyond despair.
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Messiaen's Camp Composition
- Michael Symmons Roberts recounts Messiaen composing and discussing music while being moved across Europe and then in a Silesian labour camp.
- Messiaen smuggled pocket scores and formed a quartet with prisoners, later performing the Quartet for the End of Time in camp conditions.
Myth Versus Messiaen's Intention
- The famous camp performance is partly mythologised and deserves nuance rather than romanticisation.
- For Messiaen the Quartet was primarily about meeting God and eschatological hope, not merely escape from suffering.
Certainty And Creative Form
- Messiaen's unwavering faith challenges the idea that great sacred art must arise from doubt and wrestling.
- Musical creativity may differ from literary practice in how belief and certainty shape work.
