Various Artists - Peter Eötvös: Halleluja & Alle vittime senza nome (2019)

Halleluja – Oratorium balbulum' is a portrait of the times in which we live, says Peter Eötvös. It is a sarcastic work with postmodern medley passages across music history. The plot takes place on several levels: among the performers as well as with the audience in the concert situation. The language is frighteningly clear, as is the rest of the situation we encounter: We experience Eötvös’s polyglot vision not so much in the language as in the music. There are numerous more or less recognizable quotations from Gregorian chant, Monteverdi and Schein; from Bach and Handel, as well as from Mussorgsky and Gospel music. Alle vittime senza nome [To the Nameless Victims], a purely instrumental work, makes no use of language and nevertheless succeeds in conveying the images and experiences of our time. In three movements, the journey of those seeking protection is illustrated by music in a free narrative style, with delicate solo passages as well as broad waves of sound in the orchestra.