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.
Blodeuwedd, a dance poem for narrator, singer/reciter, dancers and ensemble. The poem is by the Welsh writer and poet Tony Conran. 
Draaf, Foekje. Draaf!