BBC Music Magazine
Magical storytelling for any time of year: Delhi-born, London-based composer Param Vir was
commissioned by Hans Werner Henze to write two one-act operas for the 1992 Venice Biennale. Snatched by the Gods from Rabindranath Tagore’s narrative poem describes an emotional and physical pilgrimage to a Hindu festival, the tensions caused when a young widow joins them with her son, the storm that threatens their boat on the return journey and the terrible consequences of the communal panic that breaks out.
Broken Strings is an ancient Buddhist legend of mythical creatures and profound moral lessons. An old, poor musician’s playing becomes ever more extraordinary as the strings of his instrument break one-by-one. Param Vir’s music encompasses east and west in vividly spiky and shimmering sounds, and the performances from Almeida Opera and the London Sinfonietta, recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now and released for the first time, are as compelling as the soundscapes that frame them and the stories themselves.
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