While interred at Stalag 8A in Görlitz, Germany, in 1941, Olivier Messiaen penned arguably his greatest work, “Quartet for the End of Time,” which was the featured piece Sunday afternoon at Bargemusic in Brooklyn.

Messiaen was really the first European to think of inventing scales using musical elements besides notes. Thus, he designed orders of rhythms and dynamics as if they were sequences of tones, a technique that had an explosive impact on the music of the second half of the 20th century. This put the lie to the cherished Western concept of thematic and harmonic development in favor of the beauty of the individual sonic instant — to paraphrase William S. Burroughs, a naked lunch where you hear exactly what is on the end of your tuning fork.

The concert’s ardent ensemble (Karina Canellakis, violin, Nicholas Canellakis, cello, Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet, and Steven Beck, piano) produced an inspirationally febrile performance. Each of the eight sections was notable for its excellence of execution, but three deserve particular attention.

Praise to the Eternity of Jesus was ecstatically realized by Mr. Canellakis, who managed the extended solo part with eloquence and fire. It must have seemed to Messiaen that civilization was coming to an end, as he greets its demise with the most anticipatory of emotions, preparing himself for the transition to purely spiritual existence. The cello traverses a new landscape and redefinition of beauty, and Mr. Canellakis presented its raw elements with a great deal of throbbing vibrato and heartfelt elocution.

Mr. Fiterstein was equally impressive in his solo movement, Abyss of the Birds. This is an extended piece of poetry, an entire solo sonata in the midst of a chamber piece with not even piano as accompaniment. This Israeli clarinetist dazzled with a multifaceted palette of color and an unerring sense of dynamics. His confidence level allowed him to play at the highest of volumes with no degeneration of intonation, as well as to plumb the depths of quietude with breathy pianissimos of fragile loveliness. It wouldn’t be Messiaen without an exploration of birdcalls and this was a notably tasteful compendium.

Music depicting other music is always fascinating, and none is more inventive than Dance of the Fury, a masterful rhythmic palindrome (Messiaen dubs it “nonretrogradable” in his notes) that aims to stop time altogether. Here the unusual combination of instruments mimics the seven trumpets of the apocalypse, often at an ear-shattering volume. It was quite remarkable to note the cleanliness and discipline of this foursome, who never disintegrated into bleats or brays. Their discipline was particularly pleasing to someone who has heard this work realized by players with considerably larger reputations who were not able to pause together so consistently. This was truly thrilling music making.

Elsewhere, Messrs. Fiterstein and Beck traversed the “Premiere Rhapsody” of Claude Debussy quite beautifully, Mr. Beck was especially impressive with his strong but delicate touch, and Mr. Canellakis took the lead in Debussy’s rather bizarre cello Sonata, nailing particularly the idiosyncratic middle Serenade. Also on the program was “Soleil sur Mer,” a piece consisting of two barcaroles crafted by Alexandra du Bois and commissioned by Bargemusic in commemoration of its 30th anniversary.