Inxaxheba

In 2010 I wrote the song “Tell Me, What is Happiness?” for the 10th show of my a cappella group LaLeLu. From the very beginning I wanted to use the melody as a theme for my new African suite for recorders. Five years later I put this idea into realisation, but sadly my father had just passed away after a long period of suffering, and so the first movement, that expresses happiness, is followed by a second movement, that conveys about deep sadness, but also consoles. My father - he was an author - has always been a role model for me with his incredible creativity, productivity and boldness. The last movement Phaphazela (start to fly) illustrates his bubbling energy and also the unrestrained joy, that is so often inherent in African music.

Inxaxheba is Xhosa and means opportunity, chance, possibility. Sören Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher and founder of existentialism, to whom I owe my name, talked about the passion of opportunity. The possibility to design and project our existence into the future, and live and realize this projection, is the real object of our passion. The opportunity gives us hope, and hope is the currency of happiness.