Horn in F (Im Felde)

In the field for baritone and small orchestra

By chance I came across a booklet with soldiers' songs from the 17th and 18th centuries, not songs that glorify war or praise heroic deeds, but songs that tell of the misery and suffering of the little soldiers, often recruited under duress, of their tribulations and theirs Trying to desert. The song Im Felde is about the great famine and the unfortunate help from the emperor. In 1848 the text had become known through Hoffmann von Fallersleben. The text version on which my song is based comes from Silesia and was not only widespread there. The historical background of the song is not clear, it could refer to the Seven Years War for Silesia and originate from Austrian soldiers around 1760. Or it refers to the terrible famine during the Thirty Years' War. The simple, harrowing story with the peculiarly melancholy melody makes it one of the most beautiful German soldier songs of all.

I took over the melody in places and changed it according to the course of the text, alienated and varied the musical war rhetoric (drum and piccolo). In my music, I particularly value the gesture in terms of an emotional and social attitude. That is why I focus on the human voice, also in a figurative sense in pure instrumental music. My music not only expresses moods, it lets voices speak. Seen in this way, the focus for me is on the melody, whether in open or fragmented form.