The seasons as a metaphor for humanity in all its moods: many artists, poets, and composers, both past and present, have often been inspired by them. Decameron, too, is nothing alien to humanity, and we therefore warmly invite you to this wonderful program exploring themes such as transience, love, loneliness, and hope.

It’s also interesting to note that we found three contemporary Utrecht composers who have written works on this theme! William Knight is one of them; in “A Winter Night,” he presents an oppressive wintry image of depression, while “Over the Roofs” hints at the hope for love—and simultaneously, the desperate inability to truly open one’s heart.

In their autumn songs, Brahms and Carlos Micháns sing of melancholy and the awareness of transience. Poulenc’s Un soir de neige juxtaposes the tranquil beauty of nature with the threat of cold, darkness, and death, a subtle tension in which silence and emotion go hand in hand.

In contrast, the songs of Lindberg, Finzi, and Moeran celebrate love and spring, each with their own unique tone: lyrical, warm, or playful. Diederik van der Laag opens the program with his meditative “One,” and David Lang concludes with “Again,” a contemplative work that expresses the ever-repeating cycle of existence. Comforting, yet inescapable.

The sung texts are interwoven with beautiful miniatures by and for poet Pauline Pisa. This creates a program that shows the seasons as a mirror of the inner self—a poetic journey through the human soul!

Program:

Diederik van der Laag – One

Nils Lindberg – Shall I compare thee
Gerald Finzi – White-flowering days

Johannes Brahms – Fünf Gesänge, opus 104
– Nachtwache I
– Nachtwache II
– Letztes Glück
– Verlorene Jugend
– Im Herbst

Carlos Micháns – from: Herbstlieder
– Die Irren
– Herbst

Françis Poulenc – Un soir de neige
– De grande cuillers de neige
– La bonne neige
– Bois muertri
– La nuit le froid la solitude

William Knight – from: Four seasons through my window
– A winter night
– Over the roofs

Ernest John Moeran – from: Songs of Springtime
– Spring, the sweet spring
– The Rivers-God’s song
– Sigh no more, ladies

David Lang – Again