Twelve songs, composed by Hans Kunneman with lyrics from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran.

The books of Kahlil Gibran retain their value; people all over the world love the beauty and depth of the words. Hans Kunneman has composed twelve songs based on 'The Prophet' for soprano, violin and guitar. In his music different styles are combined in a such a way that an attractive new concept arises, with a poetic atmosphere that perfectly fits the lyrics of Gibran. Liesbeth Houdijk - already a Gibran fan for years - gives the exact vocal interpretation for which the composer was searching. Her voice is warm and deep but always subtle, an approach she is used to from her experience in early music. Violinist Maaike Aarts has a strong natural charisma, and her lyrical playing gives a splendid counterpoint to the vocal melodies. The guitar - as played by Hans Kunneman - gives the music a transparent and open sound. Thomas Strengers officiates as teller; narrative parts and declamations are interwoven with the compositions in order to create a harmonic piece in which the beauty of the lyrics is perfectly revealed.

Examples of 'Gibran' 'Death' (755 KB) 'Marriage' (1,21 MB) 'Giving' (916 KB)

The soprano Liesbeth Houdijk graduated from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Since 1987 she has sung in the choir of the 'Dutch Bach Society'. She had the main female role in ' Your Servant Johann Sebastian Bach', a successful production of the ' Noord-Hollands Philharmonic Orchestra' . She also gives performances in Europe and abroad as a soloist with her own group ' dopo Emilio'. Liesbeth has recorded several CD's of early music.

Composer/guitarist Hans Kunneman teaches at the conservatories in Amsterdam and Alkmaar. He has composed several musicals and orchestral works. He also created 'Tarot Music', a 78 movement composition based on the famous Tarot cards. In the fall of 2000, Hans founded the Gaia ensemble, a chamber orchestra which mainly performs and records his works.

The violinist Maaike Aarts is a membre of the "Concertgebouworchestra' and has received various prizes at e.g. 'The Iordens Violin Days' and the 'Princess Christina Concours'. She studied with Lex Korff de Gidts, Isabelle van Keulen, Jaring Walta and Peter Brunt. In 1999 she graduated 'cum laude' from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. She has participated in masterclasses with Herman Krebbers, Philippe Hirschhorn, Ilan Gronich and Shmuel Ashkenasi.

Thomas Strengers studied Dutch linguistics and literature at Leiden University. For several years now he has been a teacher of Dutch and has published in the field of seventeenth-century Dutch literature. He has been affiliated with the NLBB (Dutch library for braille and "spoken books" in The Hague). On their behalf he has realized several recordings on tape. He performed a narrative role in a programme of the Dopo Emilio ensemble. Recently translating French literature has been one of his main occupations.

More information on 'Gibran'

All musical pieces are in .mp3 format. If after clicking a title playback doesn't start automatically, click with your right mouse button, select 'save target as...' and choose a location from where you can play the file.