In their extraordinary and multifaceted song program "The Power and the Glory", the British-Singaporean mezzo-soprano FLEUR BARRON and the American-Indian pianist KUNAL LAHIRY examine their colonial history from different perspectives through music and poetry of the last 150 years. The songs in this program are about the search for identity at the height of the British Empire. Artists of dual Asian and Western heritage, Fleur Barron and Kunal Lahiry feel a personal connection to many of these works and hope that the beauty and complexity of these pieces will make it possible to explore uncomfortable themes of our past and present with sensitivity and understanding.
Some songs are about a dominant force imposing an identity where it doesn't belong, while other works reflect the struggles of suppressed voices. Other songs are about home and fatherland, belonging and freedom - and these days are becoming depressingly topical. In cooperation with the »Momentum: our future, now« initiative launched by Barbara Hannigan, a new song composition was commissioned from a Uyghur composer for this concert.
