Hans Christian Détlefsen - Of Love and Life (Various Artists)

Information

Composer: Hans Christian Détlefsen

• Hors du Temps
• Noches
• The dear Love of Comrades
• Of Love and Life
• Von anderen Zeiten

Vincent Kusters, baritone / Charlie Bo Meijering, piano

Anna Sophia Theil, soprano / Martijn Sas, piano

Zacharias Galaviz-Guerra, baritone / Clara Sophia Murnig, piano

Feride Büyükdenktas, alto / Hedayet Djeddikar, piano

Ulf Bästlein, bass-baritone / Hedayet Djeddikar, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Oehms Classics

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The vocal release Of Love and Life highlights selected songs and song cycles by composer Hans Christian Détlefsen, whose unique musical language merges European avant-garde traditions with non-European soundscapes. Influenced by encounters with Karlheinz Stockhausen, György Ligeti, Olivier Messiaen, and Javanese gamelan music, Détlefsen’s style features flexible rhythms and rich harmonic colors. The compilation spans diverse eras and regions, setting French, Spanish, and English poetry by historic literary figures. Performed by a new generation of dedicated contemporary lieder artists, the settings meticulously follow linguistic structures to craft a delicate balance of intimacy, expressiveness, and vibrant tonal color.

Born in northern Germany in 1951, composer Hans Christian Détlefsen began his contemporary music journey at the Darmstadt Summer Courses in 1969. Following music studies in Hamburg, he won the prestigious International Gaudeamus Composition Competition in 1974. A subsequent Fulbright scholarship took him to the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied under avant-garde figures Leonard Stein, Earle Brown, and Morton Subotnick. It was at CalArts that Détlefsen also began his profound study of Javanese gamelan music under Wasitodipuro. After further extensive research in Indonesia, he settled in Amsterdam in 1981, building a diverse oeuvre of vocal, chamber, and electroacoustic works.