75 years ago this month, French composer, organist and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen premiered “Quartet for the End of Time” while held captive in a WWII prisoner-of-war camp.

In this playful yet impossibly complex animated music video, London animation director Simon Russell teams with Oxford professor of mathematics Marcus du Sautoy to explore Messiaen’s complex relationship with math, music and religion.

Simon Russell: “To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, Sinfini Music commissioned me to create an animation around it. I choose the first movement of the work, the Crystal Liturgy.

Commission: Emma Bharj of Sinifini Music
Animation/Direction: Simon Russell/Vicarage Studio
Sound Design: Red Horse Studio
With special thanks to Marcus du Sautoy

Quartet for the End of Time by Olivier Messiaen performed by:
Claude Desurmont (Clarinet)
Luben Yordanoff (Violin)
Albert Tétard (Cello)
Daniel Barenboim (Piano)

©2015 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin