BALKAN AFFAIRS

The fragile art of living together

A project by Neue Vocalsolisten

In an experiential artistic process, seven composers from the former Yugoslavian states reflect on the period of the Balkan Wars and the different perspectives from which the people of the Western Balkans interpret their shared history today.

Sober, ironic or sarcastic, the seven works speak of existential experiences in the clash of religions and ethnicities, of nationalism, ex-Yu nostalgia and EU hype, hyperinflation, physical and psychological violence, and the radical optimism of a post-war generation. A concert of great media and aesthetic diversity and utmost urgency.

Petra Strahovnik: SCREAdoM
for five voices, sound installation and electronics (2023)

SCREAdoM focuses on the suffering of innocent victims of war – women who have been raped. The text is based on the testimony of Victim No. 87, given before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The work focuses on the experience of a traumatic event and its long-lasting psychological consequences, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In SCREAdoM, I combine elements of performance and extreme vocal techniques derived from the world of metal vocal aesthetics, while maintaining operatic projection and intonation. In doing so, I create a distinctly intense and physically perceptible sound space that dissects moments of attack and stretches them into a visceral sonic experience – a scream that comes from the depths of pain, horror and despair.