Reviewed by John Irvine

Originally from the former Soviet Union, Sofia Gubaidulina now lives and works in Germany. 'Seiben Worte' was written in 1982 for an unusual selection of instruments - a solo cello, a bayan (a Russian push-button accordion) and a string orchestra. It was first performed in Moscow in that same year, but under a different title, to disguise its Christian content. Like Haydn's famous setting, there is no attempt to "set" the texts to music. Instead the music seeks to reflect Gubaidulina's own understanding of the Biblical account. The result is something which because of the instruments involved sounds somewhat bizarre. However, upon closer inspection something strange and wonderful emerges which acts upon both the mind and the heart provoking both an imaginative and an empathic response. "Seiben Worte" is accompanied by two other works for cello and bayan, "Silenzio" and "In Croce", another meditation upon the Cross. Outstanding.

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