Chorus of Many
Every society hums with a chorus of voices – but not all are heard equally. Some stories find their way into parliaments, talk shows, and schoolbooks. Others remain at the margins: untold, or told but unheard. In the Chorus of Many programme line, we examine how our attention is distributed – and what happens when the less-heard voices manage to break through. We hope to lower the volume of the majority, so we can truly listen to stories that strike us as new – or newly resonant – music.
Take the idea of a united Europe, for instance: often presented as a resounding hymn of progress, freedom and equality. But not everyone feels represented by that song. Writers such as Safae el Khannoussi and Houria Bouteldja show what happens when we tilt our gaze – when we listen to voices that are rarely invited to sing along. Voices from marginalised communities, from people who feel estranged in the so-called free West. In their work, we hear a counter-chorus, one that exposes the blind spots of the European project.
Polyphony also extends to form. In literature, satire and parody are potent tools for chipping away at power. Because if you can laugh at power, it already starts to lose its grip. Open critique tends to provoke resistance – but as the court jester of democracy, the writer is free to topple sacred cows and unmask hypocrisy with impunity. Authors like Herman Koch and Natasha Brown hold up a mirror to their readers by turning their sharp gaze on the literary world itself. In their novels, too, we see not only whose voices we’re used to hearing – but more strikingly, what remains unsaid.
In Chorus of Many, you’ll also hear the vital “annoying” voices – the ones that disturb our peace and force us to pay attention to what we’d rather ignore. Like the screech of a pigeon disrupting our urban calm… except the pigeon isn’t just a pigeon. It’s a symbol of everything we’ve pushed to the edges. Sounds cryptic? All the more reason to come and listen.