It has already become clear from the foregoing: Messiaen's quartet is not war music, although it was written during the war and, moreover, in a camp under appalling conditions. Because of its religious character it rose above the camp reality. The other seven pieces by just as many composers on this CD are not so much a counterweight, but seem more intended as a response to Messiaen's usually contemplative quartet: "On the one hand, we wanted them to be a symbol of the different nationalities that made up the conflict at the time and who were therefore present in the camp, on the other hand we wanted to link that to the main styles that shaped the musical landscape in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century and which inevitably influenced Messiaen in finding his musical vocabulary.' The concluding, rather clumsily formulated sentence (I also found that elsewhere) makes the further intention of the foursome nevertheless clear: 'At last we were looking for works that would use the full range of possibilities of the instrumentation and the combinations that Messiaen had not used. would supplement in order to arrive at a unity here too.' By the way, if you think you recognize the slow middle movement of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G in Montfort's 'Éclat de nacre', you hit the nail on the head.

All in all, it has become an extremely successful production that stands out for its high level of performance and interpretation, as well as for the exquisite dialogues between symbiosis and contrast that make these performances a compelling event. Jos Boerland has captured it all eminently.