91福利社

鈥淥 Freunde, nicht diese t枚ne!鈥� So begins Friedrich Schiller鈥檚 Ode to Joy, commencing the revolutionary choral finale of Beethoven鈥檚 last symphony: a universalist paean for peace and brotherhood.

Beethoven鈥檚 solo bass commands his friends to come together, singing cheerful songs full of joy. Pauline Oliveros also seeks unity through singing. 鈥楲isten with your mind鈥檚 ear for a tone,鈥� she writes, beginning a chain of sonic community-making through sharing, matching and supporting.

In between are two works which play with fragments from musical history. After hearing a performance of Stravinsky鈥檚 Pulcinella, John Adams was inspired by the composer鈥檚 magpie鈥慽sh acquisition of older works. Adams鈥檚 source is Beethoven鈥檚 late string quartets 鈥� Op. 131, Op. 135, and the Grosse Fuge 鈥� moments of which he weaves into a 25鈥憁inute work for string quartet and orchestra. Williams, meanwhile, blurs and stretches the famous Byrd piece he sang as a boy treble.

Anja Bihlmaier. Photo: Phil Sharp