Newly commissioned piece of mine on a text by Hildegard von Bingen:

Wishful Singing was founded in 2004. A group of friends, all members of the National Youth Choir, decided to go sailing together that summer. With no wind to carry them, they drifted, sang a few songs, and spent the evenings listening to the two CDs they had brought along: one by the King’s Singers and one by Brigitte Kaandorp. Their first earnings came from a street performance in Sneek, and on a terrace in Terherne and aboard Uncle Age’s skûtsje, they sang in exchange for a free meal and a generous bowl of ice cream. And so, Wishful Singing was born.

The program for this concert reflects the music that stirs their hearts: a rich palette of the finest a cappella works centered around the theme caritas et amor (compassion and love). Intimate and vibrant, solemn and playful. At the core of the program lies the music of 12th-century Hildegard of Bingen, whose work has inspired them for years with its enchanting simplicity. Beyond her roles as a mystic, theologian, composer, natural scientist, writer, and Benedictine abbess, Hildegard was also deeply involved in charitable work, caring for the sick and needy in her community.

Especially for this program, Diederik van der Laag composed a new piece for Wishful Singing based on one of Hildegard’s texts: Caritas habundat in omnia (compassion abounds in all things). They will also perform works by contemporary composers such as Ola Gjeilo and Caroline Shaw.