KLAUS HUBER (b.1924): Erniedrigt - Geknechtet - Verlassen - Verachtet ... for Solo Voices, Chorus, Orchestra and Tape.

Description: The oratorio "Abased – Fettered – Abandoned – Despised" is a complex amalgam of religious, political and sociological ideas and ideals, centered on the themes of oppression and deprivation and the struggle of humanity to break free from its bonds. T he texts add to writings of the Nicaraguan priest and politician Ernesto Cardenal similarly-themed material on poverty, racial oppression and exploitation, as well as passages of biblical text. The music, serially based and capable of suddenly breaking into distorted marches or shattered popular melody, is complex and multi-layered and in its all-inclusiveness somewhat reminiscent of B.A. Zimmermann. The texts frequently overlap, or are broken up into fragmentary sounds and sprechstimme, though soaring melodic lines briefly emerge at key moments in the narrative. The tape part is a strand of natural and human sounds subtly integrated into the texture. In its progression from despair and grinding negation of the individual to at least a vision or promise of a 'realm of peace that glows in the far distance' the work presents a compelling and dramatic narrative. Anne Haenen (mezzo), Theophil Maier (tenor), Paul Yoder (bass-baritone), Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, SWR Vokalensemble Stutgart, SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg; Matthias Bamert (conductor), Kenneth Jean, Burkhard Rempe, Arturo Tamayo (co-conductors).