Bidspirit auction | MESSIAEN OLIVIER: (1908-1992)

MESSIAEN OLIVIER: (1908-1992) - MESSIAEN OLIVIER: (1908-1992) French Composer and Organist. Messiaen was made prisoner of war on the fall of France in 1940 during which time he composed his Quatuor Pour la Fin du Temps ('' Quartet for the End of Time' '). Messiaen incorporated birdsong transcriptions into his music. A very fine A.L.S., ` Olivier Messiaen´, one page, 8vo, Paris, 9th June 1939, in French. Messiaen thanks his correspondent for having mediated in his favour and obtained satisfactory response, stating ` Je suis très touché d´apprendre que vous avez parlé de moi à Monsieur Petrassi. Je serai aussi très heureux de vous revoir. A quelle adressepeut-on vous rencontrer à Paris? (Monsieur Petrassi m´a, en effet, écrit pour me demander de participer au festival de la SIMC à Venise: je lui réponds par le même courirer)´ (Translation: ” I am very touched to learn that you mentioned me to Mr. Petrassi. I will also be very happy to see you again. At what address can I meet you in Paris? (Mr. Petrassi has, in fact, written to me to ask me to participate in the SIMC festival in Venice: I am replying to him immediately.) Less than a year later Messiaen would be arrested by the nazis and imprisoned. VG Messiaen was captured in 1940 at the fall of France, at Verdun, where he was enlisted as a medical auxiliary because of his poor eyesight. He was taken to Görlitz in May 1940, and imprisoned at the Stalag VIII-A prisoners camp.