Coming Friday, my new piece Falling is premiered in the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam by the fabulous Trio Mediaeval, in a program with A Worchester Lady Mass (Anon/Gavin Bryars). Working on the assignment to create new work for the Trio I envisaged a piece that would be as clear and uncluttered as the mediaeval and early renaissance music that is the mainstay of the trio’s repertory. In my own way I have attempted to capture the freshness of such early polyphony in Falling. The intriguing text (Walking & Falling) by multimedia artist Laurie Anderson was an important compass. Her simple, repetitive description of a vain search for someone followed by an aphorism regarding walking (is equal to falling) steered my music precisely in the right direction. The Trio also encouraged me to incorporate the hand chimes (a type of portable vibraphone key with built-in mallet) they used during their last concert in the Netherlands. In Falling, these cascading pointed sounds form an additional layer alongside the vocal lines. (Translation: Moze Jacobs)