Le Jardin (1993) for female voice, alto flute, harpsichord and soundtracks

Le Jardin evokes memories of an Impressionist painting: a landscape at twilight with crickets chirping in the background; high, thin sounds drift past like white hazes; drops from an approaching thunderstorm and a passing shower. In this sound decor, the poem which Bert Schierbeek wrote for Bruynèl (and which serves as inspiration for this piece) reflects the impressions, coloured by associations, that ‘the garden’ makes on the visitor.

(from the sleeve notes of the CD Contemporary Harpsichord Music, NM Classics 92308)

Le Jardin was composed as a farewell to Pedraza de la Sierra in the province of Segovia in central Spain. The song of the crickets and my longing for lush green landscapes, Monet's gardens and a poem Bert Schierbeek wrote for me, describing my life in Spain, all provided inspiration for this piece. I completed Le Jardin in desolate surroundings in Drente (The Netherlands), where life and nature are kept on a short rein. I consoled myself with wild flowers I planted. The piece is like an impressionistic painting with a new palette, an ode to Monet. Le Jardin and what it represented for me led me eventually to find a house in the southern part of the Bourgogne.

(from the Music Information Centre Donemus MuziekGroep Nederland)