Can music provide hope when freedom has been taken away? Ethel Smyth’s March of the Women rang out as a rallying cry for imprisoned suffragettes, its rhythms defiant and unifying. Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, composed and first performed in a Nazi POW camp in 1941, fused faith, birdsong, and dazzling visions of colour into music that offered hope and transcendence to prisoners and guards alike.

Gillian Moore and Linton Stephens explore how these works — and many others — testify to the resilience of creativity. Gillian also recalls her own encounters with music behind bars, where moments of song broke down walls both physical and emotional.

Episode highlights

00:00 Welcome to So Hear Me Out

02:03 Exploring music's role in prisons

03:42 Personal experiences with music in prisons

08:33 Introducing Ethel Smyth's March of the Women

11:33 The impact and legacy of March of the Women

21:12 More notable music behind bars

22:38 The iconic title and its significance

23:14 Introduction to Olivier Messiaen

24:24 The Quartet for the End of Time: background and composition

24:57 A unique orchestration and instrumentation

27:55 Messiaen's religious and natural inspirations

29:14 The First Movement: Abyss of the Birds

32:27 Synesthesia and Messiaen's colorful music

39:27 The first performance in the prison camp

40:56 The emotional heart of The Quartet…

44:46 Music as emancipation and resistance

46:23 Closing thoughts and farewell

Featured music:

• Quartet for the End of Time (1941) Olivier Messiaen

• March of the Women (1910) Ethel Smyth