Gareth Davis & Exaudi Vocal Ensemble - Yasuda: Ekecheiria for Voices and Bass Clarinet (2023) [Hi-Res]

For the opening of the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, Krzysztof Penderecki set to music the text of the Ekecheiria (Truce) Agreement, agreed in 884 BC to ensure the peaceful running of the Games.

In 2022, Munich celebrated and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the "cheerful" Games, which unfortunately ended in tragedy. In this context, Fumio Yasuda was commissioned to once again set Ekecheiria to music as a mirror of those events. The result is seven compositions for voices and bass clarinet based on IOC President Avery Brundage's controversial demand "The Games Must Go On", interspersed with sound bridges entitled "Ekecheiria" by Gareth Davis.

Gareth Davis, one of the most outstanding soloists in New Music, meets EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, one of the world's leading vocal ensembles of today. EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, based in London, is directed by James Weeks and draws its voices from the best vocal talent in the UK. Winter & Winter's recorded works with EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble range from Carlo Gesualdo to Michael Finnissy. Gareth Davis is featured on "The Ninth Wave - Ode to Nature," a composition by Fumio Yasuda based on Ludwig van Beethoven.

Gareth Davis, bass clarinet

EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble:
James Weeks, conductor
Cressida Sharp, soprano
Lotte Betts-Dean, mezzo soprano
Jessica Gillingwater, mezzo soprano
David de Winter, tenor
Ruairi Bowen, tenor
Michael Hickman, baritone