Chameleon Arts Ensemble

Chameleon Arts Ensemble presents an evening of chamber music in Salem State’s intimate Recital Hall. The program includes: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for flute and piano - Claude Debussy Duo No. 1 in G major for violin and viola, K. 423 Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen for clarinet, violin, cello and piano. Messiaen’s epic masterpiece, composed while he was captive in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II, stands as one of history’s greatest musical achievements. The work transports the listener to a place between earthly suffering and the ecstasy of heaven, between measured time and boundless eternity, between sound and silence. Likewise, Debussy prolongs the exquisite moment between sleep and waking, and Mozart's effortless mastery shines through. Boston University professor of music Andrew Shenton will present a lecture about Messiaen's work on Wednesday, January 29 from 4:30-6 pm in the Berry Library titled, “Messiaen, Eschatology, and the End of Time.” The lecture will include music examples and an outline of the program of the Quartet, as well as a discussion of the holocaust and the eschatology of war. The lecture is free. Presented in association with Salem State's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.