27.04.2026

Malay proverb: "Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung" ("You should hold up the sky of the land where you live") 

It was an honour to contribute a little intermezzo "keeping company" for the concert of the Freiburger Kammerchor, in between the cantata "Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis" and the Osteroratorium of my colleague J. S. Bach. When I received the commission, I replied that I would try to compose the small piece of ginger between two sushis, give a little air between the two large Bach works. 

As a composer, my job is to serve the people, the musicians, the audience, isn't it? And not the other way around? When I bow, I thank the musicians and the audience for having entrusted me with their valuable time, time they will never get back. 

And so in this concert I felt that we all came together - the choir, the orchestra musicians, the conductor, the composer, the organisers - and wanted to make music together, and we did. The music felt so alive, perhaps because of the will of the people making the music. It was not about perfection, but about coming together, spending the time together.