It is always a precious moment when a composition sees the light of day for the first time. In the case of my «Hymn To Life», it is even more so because I not only composed the music, but also wrote the lyrics. It is a piece about the transcendence of nature, our lives as human beings on Earth and the presence of the world beyond. It represents an important part of my spirituality, which has accompanied me since a young age and has developed and deepened in recent years.
The subtitle of the piece is «Requiem aeternam». It thus refers to the centuries-old text of the Requiem, which has touched countless people over the course of time in compositions such as those by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi and many others. However, my «Hymn» is less a Requiem in the true sense of the word, but more a song about life and a hymn to the constant transformation of our existence. When new things are born, old things die. The hymn expresses that these old selves of ours may rest in peace. At the same time, it sings of the closeness of the great beyond which, depending on our spiritual background, we refer to as the afterlife, heaven, the spiritual world or other words.
Around 900 people attended the world premiere on Good Friday (April 3, 2026) in the church of St. Laurenzen in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The audience was open, calm and focused. The ensemble under the direction of Lukas Bolt was wholeheartedly involved and made the premiere an event that I will remember for a long time to come. I look back on this premiere with profound gratitude. I was extremely touched by the numerous responses I received immediately after the event or later via email or in letters.
vocal ensemble con passione
Melanie Veser, mezzo-soprano
Yuko Ishikawa and Iryna Gintova, violins
Inez Ellmann, percussion
Bernhard Ruchti, organ
Lukas Bolt, conductor
Cathrin Legler and Philipp Kamm, readings
