Designing Voices for Our Lives: Where Music Becomes Dialogue

The Programme –  A Tapestry of Voices and Stories

• Sweden, Karin Rehnqvist– “Var inte rädd för mörkret”  (Swedish)
  A simple yet poignant Swedish song exploring the interplay of light and darkness, capturing the delicate dialectic between fear and reassurance.
• Italy, Giuseppe di Bianco – “Aetherium” (Italian)
  Inspired by Dante’s Divina Commedia, this 2022 composition follows the soul’s ascent from purgatory to paradise—a profound meditation on transformation and transcendence.
• Japan, Traditional / Arr. Winton Yuichiro White – “Zui Zui” (Japanese)
  A virtuosic arrangement of a playful children’s song, this lively piece spins a whimsical riddle about a broken tea urn, evoking the joyful curiosity of youth.
• India, Roxana Panufkin – “Child of Heaven” (English)
  An English-language hymn infused with Indian modal traditions, celebrating light and divinity through an East–West musical dialogue.
• Austria, W.A. Mozart – ”O Isis und Osiris” (German)
  A stately hymn invoking the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris, portraying the sun’s triumph over night—a spiritual metaphor for enlightenment.
• England, Benjamin Britten – “Hymn to St. Cecilia Op. 27” (English)
  A multifaceted tribute to the Patron Saint of Music, this work explores the intimate relationship between musician and muse through rich harmonic textures.
• Israel / Italy, Salamone Rossi – “Yitgadal Veyitkadash (Full Kaddish)” (Hebrew) Composed in 17th-century Venice, this polyphonic Hebrew setting of the Kaddish prayer is a rare and powerful bridge between Jewish liturgy and European Baroque polyphony, reflecting deep intercultural and interfaith resonance.
• Poland, Roman Maciejewski – “Niemój ogródusek” (Polish)
  A traditional Polish folk song, evoking the gentle melancholy of rural life and memory through simple, lyrical phrasing.
• Austria, Michael Haydn – “Christus Factus Est” (Latin)
  A motet from Salzburg’s most important composer after Mozart, this reverent piece honours the sacred name of Christ with solemnity and grace.
• Portugal, Fernando Lopes Graça – “Acordai!” (Portuguese)
  “Acordai” means, ‘Wake Up!’ in Portuguese. A bold musical call to action, this 20th-century protest ballad urges awakening and resistance against tyranny, embodying the spirit of courage and defiance.
• Turkey, Necil Kazim Akses – “Çoruh” (Turkish)
  A haunting song of longing and loss, where the river Çoruh becomes a symbol of bloodshed and grief, flowing with deep emotional undercurrents.
• France, Maurice Ravel – “Trois Chansons No. 2 : Trois beaux yeux” (French)
  A tender elegy for fallen soldiers, where birds of many colours carry messages of farewell, at once sorrowful and serene.
  
• Finland, Einojohannu Rautavaara – “Erste Elegie” (German)
  A complex, polytonal setting of Rainer Maria Rilke’s First Elegy, this piece contemplates life, death, and the ambiguity of existence through striking harmonic language.
• Austria, Traditional – “I tua was i will” (Austrian dialect)
  A cheerful folk song from Salzburg, celebrating the fierce independence and spirit of mountain people who live by their own rules.
  
• USA, Eric Whitacre – “Leonardo dreams of his flying machine” (English)
  This atmospheric piece reimagines da Vinci’s visionary sketches in sound, capturing humanity’s eternal longing to fly, to dream, and to defy gravity.
• Austria, W.A. Mozart – “Ave Verum Corpus” (Latin)
  One of Mozart’s most revered works, this Eucharistic hymn offers a serene meditation on sacredness and compassion, a fitting conclusion to a programme rich in spiritual reflection.