21ST CENTURY VOICES

London Sinfonietta demonstrates the commissioning boldness for which it is known in this unflinching critique of modern society. Contrasting movements from Hans Werner Henze’s “brilliantly colorful” song cycle Voices, originally commissioned by the London Sinfonietta in 1973, with contemporary responses illustrating the frustrations and injustices of life 50 years on. 

Henze’s seminal work sets a range of poems from across the globe with a common theme of oppression and resistance and still sound as provocatively relevant today as they did in the London Sinfonietta’s early days. Taking this as a starting point, composers living and working today will compare and contrast societal issues around the world in their own original protest songs.

Part of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2023.

Hans Werner Henze  Song 1: Los poetas cubanos ya no sueñan from Voices 
Anna Korsun  Haamu
Hans Werner Henze  Song 4: Electric Cop from Voices
Charles Uzor  Parmenides Prooimion 
Hans Werner Henze  Song 6: 42 Schulkinder from Voices
Riikka Talvitie  Green Tress
Hans Werner Henze  Song 13: Das wirkliche Messer from Voices
Tyshawn Sorey  Requiem for a Plague: Coda 
Hans Werner Henze  Song 14: Recht und billig from Voices
Auclair  In Solidarity with Striking Workers 
Hans Werner Henze  Song 16: Screams from Voices
Mariam Rezaei  Azadi/Freedom 
Hans Werner Henze  Song 19: Roses from Voices

Christian Karlsen  conductor
Carina Vinke  mezzo-soprano
Anna Korsun  contralto
Peter Tantsits  tenor
Mariam Rezaei  turntables
Jonathan Green  sound projection
London Sinfonietta