Martin: In terra pax

Frank Martin’s oratorio In terra pax is a fervent appeal for peace, composed in the final months before the end of the Second World War and premiered the day after the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht was signed. His work is about liberation and hope, about forgiveness and love and about the vision of a new world that knows no more suffering and tears. Although it was commissioned for a specific occasion, the work’s message is still more relevant today than ever before: "The problems posed by war and peace are eternal" wrote the Swiss composer about his work, "and is peace not a constant longing of our souls?"

"Conductor Alain Altinoglu knew how to capture the horrors of war set to music just as vividly as the new hope slowly emerging in the score. [...] The most poignant moment, however, undoubtedly belonged to the Philharmonic Choir, which showed its best side in the soulfully intoned ‘Our Father’." (Münchner Merkur)