Tell it to the Sky

Tell it to the Sky is a new composition cycle of six songs by Maarten Ornstein for baritone, piano, and cello, set to texts by poets currently living — or struggling to live — in Gaza: Mohammed Mousa, Adel al Ramadi, Samar al Ghussein, and Hala Salah. Their poignant poetry expresses both hope and despair — the hope to survive, to reunite with a loved one, to see rain and flowers; and the despair over lost friends and family amidst destruction, hunger, and chaos.

Maarten has set six of these poems to music, performed by Mattijs van de Woerd (baritone), Nuala McKenna (cello), and Antonii Baryshevskyi (piano). The premiere will take place on 15 January at 20:00, at the Uilenburgersjoel in Amsterdam.

Tell it to the Sky was realised with the support of the Gaza Poets Society, Musicians without Borders, and the Amarte Fund.