Tijdens de dodenherdenkingsplechtigheid op 4 mei 2011 speelde en zong het RJOA o.l.v. Otto de Jong in de Sint Laurenskerk te Alkmaar de volgende stukken: Alexander Comitas: Prelude to the Parable of Search for the Soul. M.m.v. Pieter van Dijk, orgel William Byrd: Non nobis domine J.S. Bach, arr. O. de Jong: Air uit de Derde Suite A version of Comitas' Prelude for piano four hands can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-lLvUx9yh4. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzCIJ1oQQQM

Fine performance by Vocal Ensemble CoQu conducted by Marc Versteeg of La Fuite de la Lune and Le Réveillon from my a capella choral cycle Dawn, composed in my student days (1983). Poems by Oscar Wilde. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nopYe3_9J7M

For more background information, see https://www.eduarddeboer.org/toward-freedom-symphonic-poem-in-twelve-stanzas-op-100-version-for-orchestra-without-choir/. This is an abridged version for a composition with the same title for orchestra and and choir. It has been inspired by the Freedom Convoy in Canada, early 2022, and this versionconsists of eight movements that flow into one another without breaks. Here follows a description of each of these movements: 00:00 I. Introduction: Under the Yoke A depiction of a bleak atmosphere of suppression, under the guise of ‘prioritizing the health and safety of citizens’. Central theme is a melody derived from ‘O, Canada’, Canada’s national anthem. 01:59 II. Growing Protest Next to the O Canada motive, bits of Beethoven’s Alle Menschen werden Brüder theme start to appear. 05:21 III. Framing and Shaming The Alle Menschen werden Brüder theme is ridiculed, while the O Canada motive is wrapped in a cloak of cheap seduction. 06:45 IV. Charity A merging of Beethoven’s melody with the O Canada motive symbolizes the people’s willingness to help by donating. Halfway this ‘stanza’ the Vita Aeterna motive, symbolizing positive karma, appears for the first time. 13:00 V. March with Empty Jerry Cans When the government had descended to the level of making things like carrying jerry cans filled with fuel punishable by law, people started walking the streets with empty jerry cans, thereby making use of one of the mightiest weapons that humanity has at its disposal: humor. Beethoven’s theme, in the shape that he used in the scherzo from the finale of his ninth symphony, is now in counterpoint with the O Canada motive, now reshaped into the global anthem melody that will conclude the composition. 14:49 VI. Brute Force Time and time again, history has shown that the one thing that totalitarian systems can’t stand is humor. So, now the government descends to the level of brute force and it violently crushes the Freedom Convoy movement. It doing so, the noble O Canada motive is besmirched. 16:48 VII. Despondency This ‘stanza’ can be subdivided into three parts: a depiction of a desolate battlefield after a battle, an expression of grief, and finally a return to the somber atmosphere of the opening stanza. 20:26 VIII. Finale: Ode an die Freiheit (Ode to Freedom) To keep a tyrannical system in place, people must be convinced that the system is there for their own good. This means that by descending to a level of brute violence, a totalitarian regime in fact signs its own death warrant, in the long run. Time and again, history has shown this, and the globalists know it. This stanza starts off with a lonely fugue theme, getting stronger and more lively as time goes by, and then being joined by the Vita Aeterna, the O Canada and the Alle Menschen werden Brüder themes respectively. The movement culminates first into a jubilant merging of the Alle Menschen werden Brüder and the O Canada themes, and finally into the global anthem, the melody of which had already appeared in the ninth movement. 10:04 Encore ad libitum. ‘Material Aid’ The Vita Aeterna, the O Canada and the Alle Menschen werden Brüder motives, all together in a tender triple counterpoint. It is my firm belief that the actual reason why the Canadian government was hell-bent on thwarting the Freedom Convoy uprising had nothing to do with protecting the economy and everything to do with the growing fraternization of the Canadian population. In order to push an agenda as destructive as the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset agenda, it is vital to ‘divide and conquer’, as the saying goes, and the type of fraternization that the Freedom Convoy brought about, went against this. In my view, this was the actual reason why the global policymakers felt so strongly that something had to do done about it. In doing so, by framing and shaming, and by issuing ever more absurd legislations, they eventually felt compelled to resort to brutal violence, whereby the last remnants of their masks of friendliness and care for ‘their’ citizens fell off. Indeed it is also my firm belief that in fraternization lies the way out of the problems that we, ordinary citizens of the world, are confronted with in this crucially important phase of the history of humankind. As a composer, I feel called to contribute to this, and it is for this reason that I wrote this composition, inspired by the Canadian Freedom Convoy protest and by the events that unfolded as a result, and entitled it Toward Freedom. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BanrHz_uJwo

I made this arrangement for my dear friend Christoph Bouthillier, who, many years ago, played this song for me and explained what it is about. It is sung by the wonderful Icelandic tenor Jón Þorsteinsson, accompanied by me. Here follows first a translation of the text and then the original Icelandic text: Across the Sprengisandur (Ride, ride) Ride, ride, ride over the sand, the sun is setting behind Arnarfell ('Eagle's mountain'). There are many troubled spirits all around here, now that it's getting dark on the glacier. Lord, lead my horse, for the last part of the way will be hard. (2x) Sssh sssh, sssh sssh. A fox is hiding behind the hills, She wants to moisten her mouth with blood; or perhaps someone was calling with a strangely dark male voice. Outcasts in Ódáðahraun (a lava field in the north) are maybe secretly rounding up some sheep. (2x) Ride, ride, ride over the sand, it's getting dark on Herðubreið (large mountain in the north). The elf queen is saddling her horse. It's not a good thing to be in her way. My best horse I would give to safely reach Kiðagil (At the time the first farm one reached after having crossed the inland). (2x) The Sprengisandur is a part of the Icelandic highlands in between the glaciers Hofsjökull and Vatnajökull. It is a sandy area, that had to be crossed by 'jumping', i.e. riding very fast, because it contained a lot a quicksand. Its name refers to this 'jumping' of the horses. Already in earliest times, this area was inhabited, even though it was feared because of its sudden weather changes and its drought. On top of this, trolls, bad spirits and outcasts were believed to commit evil here. Á Sprengisandi (Ríðum, ríðum) Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn, rennur sól á bak við Arnarfell. Hér á reiki' er margur óhreinn andinn, úr því fer að skyggja á jökulsvell. Drottinn leiði drösulinn minn, drjúgur verður síðasti áfanginn. Þei þei, þei þei. Þaut í holt-i tófa, Þurran vill hún blóði væta góm, eða líka einhver var að hóa undarlega digrum karlaróm. Útilegumenn í Ódáðahraun eru kannski' að smala fé á laun. Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn, rökkrið er að síga' á Herðubreið. Álfadrotting er að beisla gandinn, ekki' er gott að verða' á hennar leið. Vænsta klárinn vildi' ég gefa til að vera kominn ofan í Kiðagil. Text: Grímur Thomsen; melody: Sigivald Kaldalóns ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOPvwxwtc1s