Composer Ralf Yusuf Gawlick felt a strong compulsion to write Kinderkreuzzug because Brecht's children still suffer in our collective conscience, hoping his music can harbor their hopes for the extraordinary.
Composition History
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick's cantata, Kinderkreuzzug (Children's Crusade), sets Bertolt Brecht's anti-war poem about 55 war-orphaned children in 1939 Poland searching for peace.
Composer Biography
Ralf Yusuf Gawlick, born in Germany in 1969, is of Kurdish descent and has been educated in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Austria, Poland, and the United States.
Recording & Production
The recording of Kinderkreuzzug features children from three different choirs, two continents, and various ethnic backgrounds, representing a transatlantic cooperation.
Compositional Technique
Kinderkreuzzug is a dramatic cantata for children's voices and a small chamber ensemble, including clarinet, string trio, Sanctus bells, and organ.
Recording & Production
This recording of Kinderkreuzzug commemorates the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of WWII and is dedicated to contemporary 'crusades of innocent children' and those lost in a 2010 Polish airline crash.
Recording & Production
The premiere performance of Kinderkreuzzug occurred in the wake of a Polish airline crash in 2010, with representatives from the Polish and German governments attending.
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