Richter’s Voices to Sound for UN Human Rights Day

A special broadcast of Max Richter’s “Voices” is scheduled for UN Human Rights Day on Dec. 10. Intended to promote a message of unity through music, it will be the first radio broadcast of this work.

This performance was produced by BBC Radio 3 and co-conceived by Richter and his creative partner, Yulia Mahr. It will be broadcast by 37 EBU radio channels from 34 countries.

Voices is inspired by the opening statement of the historic 1948 Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” A decade in the making, the piece premiered in London in Feb. 2020, weeks before the pandemic brought unprecedented changes to the lives of citizens worldwide. With months of uncertainty still on the horizon, the recording’s uplifting messages of community and hope have particular resonance.

Global Message

“Thinking back now to the premiere of Voices in February feels like visiting another world. In these strange and anxious times, it is a great privilege to be able to mark Human Rights Day by presenting the work again, despite the pandemic,” commented Richter and Mahr. “In this challenging time in human history, the text of the Declaration is more important than ever.”

“Collaborating with Max Richter, BBC Radio 3 and the EBU on Human Rights Day was a natural way for the United Nations Human Rights Office to promote the global human rights message through high-quality music,” said Víctor Fernández, Communications Section chief in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

This is the second time that the EBU has collaborated with Richter. During Easter 2020, as the world was closing down, EBU radio channels across Europe presented the composer’s eight-hour work, “Sleep” to audiences in 20 countries as a moment of hope in unprecedented times. VOICES will continue that tradition.

“One of the strengths of public service media is that we are a community and our audiences come first. Through broadcasts like this, we can send a message of strength and reassure listeners that they are not alone,” said Jean Philip De Tender, director of media at EBU.

The BBC Radio 3 broadcast of Voices will be presented by Elizabeth Alker. It features soprano Grace Davidson, violinist Viktoria Mullova, British actor Sheila Atim as the narrator, the Tenebrae choir, the Max Richter ensemble, Richter himself on keyboards and electronics and conductor Robert Ziegler.