Mario Bürki

Terra Pacem

TERRA PACEM - or peace on earth, describes the desire of mankind to achieve holistic peace among all the peoples of this earth. The beginning of the work symbolizes the heartbeat of the earth. This is followed by the melancholy main theme of the work, which represents the unattainability of the desire for peace. The theme, which is the central theme of the entire work, reaches its climax in the Grandioso, a chorale which, in its simplicity, represents the absolution that is necessary in a religious context in order to achieve inner peace. In addition to this wishful thinking for peace, the fact of discord between mankind reigns again and again in between: fast, rhythmically concise parts describe the aggression and anger. The work ends with a voluminous major chord, which is concluded by a final heartbeat, symbolizing the eternal spiral between peace and war that has prevailed on our earth for thousands of years.