“Batnu’n” takes its name from a novel by the well-known Chassidic author Y.L. Peretz. His central figure is a “klezmer”, one of the countless Jewish musicians who played on joyous occasions in the villages of Eastern Europe. Their music, also called klezmer, is also heard in the most intense moments of ecstatic Chassidic prayer. In classical klezmer, a musician would play either clarinet, violin or batnu’n (an ancient Hebrew name that refers to a large string instrument).

Although “Batnu’n” contains no actual quotations from klezmer, it is inspired by scales, modes, melismas and ornamentation of Jewish prayer. Olivero pursued no research into the subject; the material has been part of her entire life, and in any event much of it does not exist in written form. A detailed analysis would find a powerful, detailed relationship between her composition and the traditional melodies, but she has not attempted an “academic” presentation of that relationship. Olivero found especially intriguing the idea of making the batnu’n – that is the double-bass – a true soloist and exploring its expressive possibilities.