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.
Featured
2020 - Centenary of the publication of W.B. Yeats's famous poem "The Second Coming" Listen to my musical setting of this poem here.
Coming up in 2020:
a work for soprano Channa Malkin with guitarist Izhar Elias and
a work for the Leeuwarder Madrigaalkoor with guitarist Klaas de Jong. Text: Lorca's poem "La guitarra".
Guitarist Klaas de Jong has recorded "El alma dormida - in memoriam Guido Topper."
Great playing!
Listen on YouTube here.
The dancer (2019) A new work for trumpet, marimba, violin & viola.
Blodeuwedd (2018) a dance poem for narrator, singer/reciter, dancers and ensemble. The poem is by the Welsh writer and poet Tony Conran.
Time to fly (2018) written for the Bron Saxophone Quartet.
Ritual text for the afterlife for female voice and vibraphone.
(2019)
Ancient Greek goldplates with texts - recently found in graves - that were carried by the dead on their journey to afterlife.
Draaf, Foekje. Draaf!
Watch the television interview. (You need to understand Frisian, though).
Calendar
March 21, 2020 Time to Fly for saxophone quartet
the Bron saxophone quartet
De Kopermolen, Vaals
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
May 26, 2019 Time to Fly for saxophone quartet
Cultuurcentrum de Ogtent, Duiven
Piz Amalia Music Festival 2019
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
2020 - Centenary of the publication of W.B. Yeats's famous poem "The Second Coming" Listen to my musical setting of this poem 
Draaf, Foekje. Draaf!