NEW CHORAL MUSIC FOR SOUTH AFRICA
“WEGGEWERP” (2019–2020)
Siklus van toonsettings van Afrikaanse poësie vir gemengde koor a cappella
Opdragswerk van VOX Cape Town en die SAMRO Musiekstigting
Weggewerp is the title of a cycle of settings of four Afrikaans poems by Hans Huyssen. It was initially inspired by a poem, scribbled on the walls of an abandoned Karoo cottage, that was discovered by Derek McKenzie. Delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the first live performance of this work will take place at Timeless Whispers, our Karoo-inspired concerts, on 14 October 2023. In the meantime, we invite you to enjoy our Virtual VOX project of the final movement of the work, Gebed, recorded during lockdown in 2020.
Opgedra aan Albrecht Hahne (1.8.1948–28.4.2015), ‘n leproselyer wie se hele lewe een groot stuwing was om uitgeworpenes in te nooi, deel te maak en hulle waardigheid te herstel. // Dedicated to Albrecht Hahne (1.8.1948–28.4.2015), a leprosy sufferer, whose whole life was one big surge to welcome and include the ostracised and to restore their dignity.
Tekste
1.
Wie sing?
Wie loop? Dis die haas, dis die hond, dis die wind,
dis die water bly en welgesind.
Wie sing? Dis die sysie, die riet, die sleutelgat,
en my hart wat sing en sing soos ‘n kind.
W. E. G. Louw
uit Bybels en Babels, 1956
2.
Te snel die vlug
O vlugtige lewe, ek gryp na jou,
en wil jou vasvang met my woord,
dat jy vir altyd klink in my
en sing tot aan die slotakkoord.
Maar jy’s soos dou, soos sneeukristalle,
soos mis wat sleep oor môrelande;
wanneer ek gryp, dan smelt jy weg,
en staan ek weer met leë hande.
Jy’s soos die weerklank in die berge,
soos wind en silwer waterkringe –
te snel, te snel, o woord, o hart,
die vlug van alle skone dinge.
W. E. G. Louw
uit Bybels en Babels, 1956
3.
Ek is slapeloos
en het geword soos
‘n eensame voël op die dak.
Die hele dag smaad my vyande my.
Die wat teen my raas
gebruik my naam as ‘n vloek
want ek eet as soos brood
en meng my drank met trane
vanwee U grimmigheid en U toorn.
Want U het weggewerp
maar U bly dieselfde
en U jare het geen einde
tot dood.
Uittreksel van Psalm 102, 8–11 & 28 (vertaling van 1933)
4.
Gebed
Gee vrede en rus vir ons almal wat lam is van swerwe,
Moed en geduld vir ons almal wat bang is vir sterwe;
Gee vir ons hart, soos in somer die sap vir die bome;
Gee vir ons krag vir die werk en verstand vir die drome;
Gee dat ons lag as die lewenslas druk op ons harte;
Gee vir ons hoop in die donkerste nagte en smarte;
Gee vrede en rus vir ons almal wat lewe en erwe
Smart en verdriet, met die reg om uiteind’lik te sterwe!
Gee vrede en rus! En ons vra nie iets anders, en luister
Stil na die wind wat so sag in ons ore kom fluister:
“Moed, mense, hou moed:
Die kwaad sal verander in goed –
Die môrelig kom uit die duister!”
C. Louis Leipoldt
XCIII uit Slampamperliedjies, 1944
Die toonsettings van Wie sing? en Te snel die vlug van W. E. G. Louw geskied met vriendelike toestemming van nb uitgewers.
1.
Who sings?
Who walks? It’s the hare, it’s the dog, it’s the wind,
it’s the water joyful and well-natured.
Who sings? It’s the waxbill, the reed, the keyhole,
and my heart that sings and sings like a child.
W. E. G. Louw
from Bybels en Babels, 1956
2.
Too swift the flight
O fleeting life, I grasp at you,
and want to capture you with my word,
so that you will always sound in me
and sing till the final chord.
But you are like dew, like snow crystals,
like mist that drags over morning lands;
when I reach (for you), then you melt away,
and again I stand with empty hands.
You are like the echo in the mountains,
like wind and silver water ripples –
too quick, too quick, o word, o heart,
the flight of all beautiful things.
W. E. G. Louw
from Bybels en Babels, 1956
3.
I lie awake
and have become like
a solitary bird on the roof.
The whole day my enemies reproach me.
Those that shout at me
use my name as a curse
because I eat ash like bread
and mix my drink with tears
because of Your anger and Your wrath.
Because You have cast me away
but You do not change
and Your years have no end
till death.
Extract from Psalm 102, 8–11 & 28 (translation from 1933)
4.
Prayer
No peace and rest for all of us who are lame of wandering,
Courage and patience for all of us who are afraid of wandering;
Give us heart, like the sap for the trees in summer;
Give us strength for the work and understanding for the dreams;
Give that we laugh when the burden of life pressures on our hearts;
Give us hope in the darkest nights and sorrows;
Give peace and rest to us all who live and inherit
Sorrow and sadness, with the right eventually to die!
Give peace and rest! And we don’t ask for anything else, and listen
Still to the wind that softly whispers in our ears:
“Courage, people, have courage:
The evil will change into good –
The morning light comes from the darkness!”
C. Louis Leipoldt
XCIII from Slampamperliedjies, 1944
English translation courtesy Dirk Binneman
Hans Huyssen
Hans Huyssen is a composer, cellist, conductor and music teacher with a special love for early European Baroque music, rare traditions of indigenous South African music, as well as contemporary music of the kind that compellingly responds to pertinent contexts. He was recipient of the Helgaard Steyn Award, South Africa’s most prestigious composition prize, in 2010, obtained an inter-disciplinary and practice-based PhD from the University of Stellenbosch applying complexity theory to music in 2015, and is an NRF-rated researcher and STIAS fellow.
As a performing artist, he is founder-member and director of two period instrument ensembles, the Munich-based Baroque Opera group così facciamo and the Cape Consort, a Cape Town-based association of musicians that has been pioneering historically-informed performances of Early Music locally.
Providing a niche for marginalised forms of musical expression in the domains of early, contemporary and indigenous South African music, Huyssen has published several recordings through his independent label mucavi records.