The Journey Writer

"A part of us does not return from the journey, and it is this part that obliges us to write." - Pour une littérature voyageuse

“In the evening the dove returned and carried an olive leaf in its beak.” Bach’s St. Matthew Passion

“In the evening the dove returnedAnd carried an olive leaf in its beak.O beautiful time! O evening hour!We now make our peace with GodFor Jesus’s sufferings are ended.” From St. Matthew Passion no. 64 (an excerpt) In this short text of the recitative “Am Abend, da es kühle war” from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, …

The Lord had sent me an organ and a spinett

At Easter 2022, I left my previous occupation as a church musician and started new life as a self-employed musician. Shortly before the Easter, I still have many vacation days available, so I travelled to Freiburg, Dresden, Postdam and Berlin for spinett shopping plus visiting my favourite concerts (Schubert’s Winterreise, Bach’s family). I remembered it …

My holiday read (Dec 2023) – The Hesitant Architect by M.K. Haka

“At what point did one’s youth become part of history?” Peter Hunter, the Cambridge alumnus revisit his university and felt he belonged to the past. But have he and Eleanor grew up since they left Cambridge? One becomes a best seller author, another one becomes a TV celebrity, both are Cambridge graduates, beyond dazzling and …

Ben sings – reading “Noem geen namen” by Astrid Sy

Hollandsche Schouwburg in Amsterdam, October 1942. The Jews were locked up in Hollandsche Schouwburg until they were deported to concentration and extermination camps. Their children were sent to the nursery opposite the Hollandsche Schouwburg. In the nursery, a secret rescue operation was happening, this book describes the underground rescue network. Sadly, out of 10 children, …