31 August 2026. notes on the forms love takes (2026) is a new music composition by Rozalie Hirs, based on her own poetry. The work was commissioned by Het Muziek (formerly: ASKO|Schönberg or ASKO & Schönberg Ensemble). It was written for the soprano Elisabeth Hetherington (see the photograph below) and Het Muziek.
contents
1. summary
2. listen
3. programme notes
4. details
5. performances
summary
notes on the forms love takes (2026) is a new music composition by Rozalie Hirs, based on five poems selected from her recent poetry book dagtekening van liefdesvormen (notes on the forms love takes; Querido Publishers, 2024), translated into English by Michele Hutchison, as well as four new poems. The new work was commissioned by Het Muziek (formerly: ASKO|Schönberg or ASKO Ensemble and Schönberg Ensemble). It was written for the soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and Het Muziek.
listen
We hope to provide a listening link after the premiere.
programme notes
To programme notes will follow on 7 September.
details
The work contains nine poems by Rozalie Hirs, four of which were newly written and five were selected from her recent poetry book dagtekening van liefdesvormen (English: notes on the forms love takes; Amsterdam: Querido, 2024). The English translations by Michele Hutchison of these poems ‘seed crystal’, ‘manifestations’, ‘notes on the forms love takes’, ‘as your presence’, and ‘paradise of a thousand dreams’ were devised for Rozalie Hirs’ upcoming English poetry book The magic of a possible present (2026) to appear with Copper Coin Press, Delhi, India.
The nine movements of notes on the forms love takes (2026) are to be performed in uninterrupted succession. The movements are:
1. seed crystal (Dutch poem: ‘entkristal’, translated into English by Michele Hutchison)
2. come, sun [on gravity]
3. manifestations (Dutch poem: ‘uitingen’, translated into English by Michele Hutchison)
4. water and salt
5. notes on the forms love takes (Dutch poem: ‘dagtekening van liefdesvormen’, translated into English by Michele Hutchison)
6. o, wind [on grace]
7. as your presence (Dutch poem: ‘als je aanwezigheid’, translated into English by Michele Hutchison)
8. … [ode to joy]
9. paradise of a thousand dreams (Dutch poem: ‘duizenddromenparadijs’, translated into English by Michele Hutchison)
commission
notes on the forms love takes (2026) was commissioned by Het Muziek (formerly: ASKO|Schönberg or ASKO Ensemble and Schönberg Ensemble). It was written for the soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and Het Muziek.
dedication
notes on the forms love takes (2026) is dedicated to the soprano Elisabeth Hetherington.
Rozalie Hirs’s new cycle was conceived in dialogue with Claude Vivier’s Bouchara, which forms part of the same premiere concert of notes on the forms love takes. Hirs’s work may consequently be understood as both a companion piece to Vivier’s composition and an In Memoriam, acknowledging the enduring significance of his work and the premature end of his life and compositional career.
instrumentation
flute/alto flute
oboe/ cor anglais
clarinet/ bass clarinet
bassoon
French horn
2 percussionists (woodblocks, crotales, vibraphone, celesta, tubular bells)
piano
soprano
2 violins
viola
cello
double bass
duration
20-25′ ca.
When performed according to the exact tempo indication preferred by the composer, the work has a duration of exactly 20 minutes. At the request of the musicians, the tempo may be slightly reduced, with a corresponding increase in duration.
publisher
The score notes on the forms love takes (2026) can be purchased through its publisher Deuss Music.
performances
13 May 2027, 20:15 CET, Donderdagavond series: Understanding (portrait concert of Elisabeth Hetherington), Het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ (Grote Zaal), Piet Heinkade 5, Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Elisabeth Hetherington (soprano), Het Muziek – world premiere
26 November 2026, 20:15 CET, Understanding (portrait concert of Elisabeth Hetherington), Nieuwe Kerk/Amare, Spui, The Hague, The Netherlands – Elisabeth Hetherington (soprano), Het Muziek – world premiere
