Karaindrou: Tous des oiseaux

Eleni Karaindrou’s soundtracks possess a deep, haunting beauty. The Greek composer achieves so much with such modest means—her textures are sparse and thin, her harmonies twisting and turning, and her rhythms gently insistent. The music for Tous des oiseaux, a play set against the Israel-Palestine conflict, gives prominence to a variety of instruments, each intoning its own meditative solo alongside a string orchestra. Savina Yannatou’s melismatic vocals on “Lament” are a poignant highlight. The film Bomb, a Love Story, which considers romance in the torment of the Iran-Iraq War, uses similar techniques to equally touching effect—here, however, simple piano solos played by the composer herself add a further layer of warmth.