Got only 10 days to stay at home, preparing the next concert as well as finishing my new choir piece, commissioned by the Seven Chorale and its highly (pro-)active director, Rizal Tandrio. This choir consists of mainly teenagers. They are based in Jakarta, and they are going to participate in the next Asian Choir Games in November where Jakarta has the honour to host it.
I have long been wishing to set to music Sapardi Djoko Damono's exquisite sonnet, freely translated would be like "Hey ! Don't break the stem of that flower ...". He then continues in describing the flower's beauty and life. Basically, there is a moral behind the poem, which is to love nature. I always thought of doing it for a youth choir, so when Rizal offered the commission I gladly accepted it. It will be for SSAA, and during my trips in England and Portugal I sketched a lot of the piece. It's 2' 45" long, with a funky beginning and a quiet & lyrical ending .The title in Indonesian is "Hei ! Jangan Kaupatahkan" . Today I sent Rizal the last section of the piece, while I am letting a few days go by to visit the first 2 sections, because somehow I feel I would change something from the original idea. There are some difficult harmonies in the first section, but I am sure the Seven Chorale could do it very well. The first line of the poem triggered a rhythm which is not unlike a folksong from the island of Papua, "Yamko Rambe Yamko" .
