World premiere, April 22, 2017, in the Oosterkerk in the Dutch town of Hoorn. Dima Bawab, soprano; Eduard de Boer, piano INTRODUCTION In 1976, I was 19 years old when I spent my summer holidays in Israel. I very much enjoyed those weeks and have many beautiful memories of them. However, contrary to the expectations I had at the time, my fondest memories today have to do with Palestinians rather than Israelis. For instance: I remember hitchhiking somewhere, when someone shouted at me, inviting me to come into his house; which I did. I was welcomed by a group of very friendly Palestinians, who offered me food and drink, and even showed me where the key to the house was hidden, so I could enter it at any time, whenever I wished. I had never encountered such hospitality before. These experiences formed a contrast to what I had learned at the Christian schools I had attended, where I had been told that Arabs were stupid heathens and that it was a good thing that God had finally returned the 'Holy Land' to his 'chosen people'. It was many years after my visit to this country, that I became aware of the plight of the Palestinians and the lack of attention by the mainstream media for their dire situation. Slowly the idea began to take shape in my mind 'to do something' with this, at some point in the future. Over the years, this idea developed to the point that I wished to compose a song cycle about Palestinian children in Gaza. I began to search the interner for poems having to do with this theme. In doing so, I came across the name of an American poet, Michael R. Burch. I found his e-mail address and decided to contact him about the idea of a song cycle. And then a miracle happened, or rather: a series of miracles. Michael not only gave me permission to use any of his poems I wanted, but also offered to write any additional poems I needed for the cycle. Furthermore, I could feel free to instruct him not only about the subject of each poem, but also about its length, its meter and form, and about certain melodies I would like to use. He turned out to be just the ideal collaborator to make the wish of composing a cycle like this come true! And it didn't stop there. I had proposed to Michael to make it a project extending over several years. But then, in February 2016, I received an e-mail from Nelly, the widow of Christoph, a dear friend of mine who had sadly died a few months earlier, informing me that in his will he had left me and my wife an amount of money. And on top of all this, against my expectation, I couldn't start with any of both composition commissions I had at this time, because I had to wait for vital information. So, suddenly and unexpectedly, I had the collaboration of an ideal poet, the money necessary to write the cycle, and also a ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoqYTxn6q-o

The Overture to the opera-in-progress 'A Wanderer in the Spirit Lands' is a musical depiction of the protagonist Franchezzo’s life on earth. Having been born with a refined taste, he is highly gifted as an artist, but, under the influence of someone whom he will later refer to as his ‘archenemy’, he becomes prone to superficial pleasure-seeking (Saltarello theme at for instance 0:40), promiscuity (sensuality motif at for instance 1:59 & 3:55) and bitter mockery (mockery motif at for instance 1:30 & 3:38), thus making a mess of his life. As an eyewink to the aspect of debauchery, there is (for instance at 1:02 & 3:04) a quote of the lines De' i mariti il geloso furore / degli amanti le smanie deride (I mock the jealous fury of husbands / and the wanderings of lovers) from the aria 'Questa o quella' (This woman or that one) from Verdi’s opera Rigoletto. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg7lNlbC9n8

Singspiel in einem Akt für Solisten, Kinderchor, Erwachsenenchor und Blasorchester Libretto: Rudolf Herfurnter Geschrieben in Auftrag von Audi, Ingolstadt, für die Audi Sommerkonzerte 2012 Aufnahme der Uraufführung, am 29. Juli 2012, Stadttheater Ingolstadt. Nachtigall: Beata Marti, Sopran Spatz: Katja Schild, Mezzosopran Fledermaus: Bernard Hirtreiter, Bariton Audi Bläserphilharmonie Chorklasse des Reuchlin-Gymnasiums (Einstudierung: Eva-Maria Atzerodt) Musikalische Leitung: Christian Lombardi ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qiQZ7RXQ0E

Wonderful premiere performance by the Machikaneyama Wind Orchestra, conducted by Akihiro Onogawa, in the Toyonaka Performing Arts Center, Osaka; Sunday March 10, 2019 00:02 Prelude. Adagio. Loosely based on the sheet music version of Kawachi Ondo, the song that dominates the Finale. 02:06 I. Yoshino Kobiki Uta (吉野木挽歌), a folksong from the Nara prefecture. Andante – Allegro. The Andante is based on the sound file version, the Allegro on the sheet music version that I received. 07:39 II. Kushimoto Bushi (串本節), a folksong from the Wakayama prefecture. Adagio – Allegro. 11:32 III. Dekansho Bushi (デカンショ節), a folksong from the Hyogo prefecture. Adagio. 14:54 IV. Finale: Kawachi Ondo (河内音頭), a folksong from the Osaka prefecture. Allegro vivace. Loosely based on sound file versions of the song. Here the themes from the previous movements reappear, often in counterpoint with the Kawachi Ondo melody or with each other. Illustration on cover: Bridge in the Rain, after Hiroshige, by Vincent van Gogh I didn't try to use the Japanese melodic material in a dogmatically 'authentic' way. I rather felt attracted to the idea of letting the beautiful Kansai folk melodies inspire my imagination, while leaving intact the typical 'Japanese' atmosphere that they emit; much like my fellow countryman Vincent van Gogh did when he made his famous paintings inspired by Japanese art. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnkbzN4ZpKM