Max Richter: Voices

Musical space for human rights

»Voices« is a homage to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With his hopeful and optimistic work for »negative orchestra«, choir, electronics, soprano, violin and piano, Richter aimed to create a space in which musicians and the audience could engage with the »inspirational principles« of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The »negative orchestra« is Richter’s response to the world in 2020. Reflecting it, he turns the orchestra on its head: cellos and bass are predominant, generating a deep sound that is intermittently punctuated by the high solo voices of the violin and soprano. In addition to the music, the composer has recorded hundreds of voices from around the world reading out parts of the Human Rights Declaration in their native tongues – these are the »voices« of the work’s title.