Two impressive compositions

Two names are artistically closely associated with the dramatic final months of the Second World War in Arnhem. Jan Engelman composed his own Arnhem Psalm on the basis of Psalm 91 from the Bible against the background of the tragic events in September 1944. It was composer Herman Strategier who set this penetrating text to music at least as intensely on the occasion of 10 years of Liberation in Arnhem in 1955. This impressive composition – originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the corona pandemic – will now be performed in 2022.

A memorable performance was created in collaboration with the War Requiem – Bridge to the Future Foundation and the Herman Strategier Foundation.

Comforting Meditation

Big names participate in this special concert, in which the Brabant Choir also sings along. Soloists are soprano Nikkie Treurniet, baritone Drew Santini and declamator Peter Blok. The whole is led by the already acclaimed conductor Ed Spanjaard. The program also includes Strategiers Requiem, a work he composed in memory of his brother Jan Strategier, who died in the war. It is an understated, comforting meditation on the mystery of death.