Angel, six miniatures for peace

Angel, six miniatures for peace was commissioned by the bassoon player Theo Plath, to whom the composition is also dedicated. It forms part of a musical project of Plath's on the theme “Balkans”. This composition is therefore also inspired by the Balkans.

The Balkans are an important bridge between Asia and Europe, but have suffered repeatedly from conflicts, wars, and ethnic unrest, in which many people died or had to flee. The various religions of the Balkan peoples have a formative effect on culture and daily life. 

I feel the need to create musical constellations that have to do with the history of a place. Addressing certain, often forgotten historical topics through music is a chance to rethink the past, and to search for possible positive solutions for today.

With these thoughts in mind, I wanted to compose a musical poem that could act as a stimulus for further reflection on the history of the Balkans. Different compositional moods, shifts in tension, timbres, specific intervals and phrases, rhythms, and the melodies of all six pieces tell this story.

Angel, six miniatures for peace consists of six short pieces. They create a series of six 'steps’ in a vision: the energy of an angelic figure approaching from afar, with its "message" becoming more and more audible as the six miniatures progress.

The first three miniatures - far away, near, very close - are intended as a dramaturgical prologue to the fourth miniature - touching - in which a completely new musical element appears. The fifth - everywhere - is composed as an epilog to the fourth miniature. The work concludes with a poem, the sixth miniature.