Music, when soft voices die - Percy Bysshe Shelley

for male voice and guitar. (2018)

In my twenties, I would play and sing nearly every song by Don McLean, Lennon & McCartney and Paul Simon. Approaching the age of thirty, I more or less stopped playing them because I didn't take any musical interest in them anymore. Now, some thirty-five years later I felt the urge to take up this musical pastime again, but now in the field that I am currently in. My goal was to compose it in such a way that, even in this so called modern classical stye, I myself would be able to perform it and although it is absolutely not in a popular style, I think it still has a touch of it, both in feeling and melody shaping. Of course, it is possible to have two performers.

Since writing lyrics is not my best, I decided to pick a poem which was direct in content and had a romantic flavour. I paged through my poetry books and found Shelley's 'Music, when soft voices die' to be suitable for my purpose.

I composed it as a stand-alone song - merely to please my own needs - but if I take enough pleasure in it, there will probably be more in the future. So far, it has been enjoyable.

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Calendar

January 26, 2019
Music, when soft voices die (Shelley) for voice and guitar. Izhar Elias & Channa Malkin. (guitar and soprano) MerkAz, Utrecht. Premiere

February 9, 2019
Time to fly for saxophone quartet. The Bron saxophone quartet. Concerten de Korenwinde, Rhenen. Premiere

April 11, 2019
Homenaje pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy (Manuel de Falla) - arranged for flute, viola & harp ONEIROS ensemble.
Grote Kerk, Epe.

April 14, 2019
Time to fly for saxophone quartet. The Bron saxophone quartet.
Tilburg, Kapel Mariengaarde. 13.30

April 25, 2019
Time to fly for saxophone quartet.
Eindhoven, Muziekgebouw.12:30

May 12, 2019
Time to Fly for saxophone quartet
Burchtzaal / Kapel van Mariaoord
Rosmalen

Piz Amalia Music Festival
The Dancer
for trumpet, marimba, violin & viola
18 September 2019, Konservatorium Winterthur
20 September 2019,
Bergkerk S-charl
21 September 2019, NAIRS Zentrum für Gegenwartskunst, Scuol
22 September 2019, Matineeconcert in Hotel Belvédère, Scuol
15 November 2019, Paleiskerk, Den Haag