Winning submission announced!
The winning submission for an arrangement of Dutch folk songs is by Rolf Straver, a Dutch amateur composer – congratulations Rolf!
Rolf made a cello duet titled “All’ombra del Tiglio Verde” (“Under the Green Linden Tree“), using the melodies of two of the songs that I previously posted on this blog:
“En er waren d’r twee zoetelieffies” (And there once were two sweethearts“),
and “En daar reed eens een ruiter al door de straat” (“A horseman once rode there down his street“).
He finishes the piece by weaving together these two melodies – a neat touch that makes for a celebratory ending.
For those interested in looking at the winning composition, here is a link to the score:
I have had the pleasure of spending a day in the recording studio to record this piece with Fred Edelen, assistant principal cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Fred is not only a fellow American cellist in the orchestra, but is also a fellow resident of the small medieval town of Weesp, a short car ride but a world away from Amsterdam.
We both found the piece to be both charming and neatly-written for the cello. So cellists, don’t be daunted – give this tuneful piece a whirl, and let’s help audiences around the world get acquainted with some Dutch folk songs!
The entire CD is due to come out in early 2019. I plan to pre-release some individual tracks in the runup to the final CD release, so stay tuned!