Students (and four guests from a Dillenburg school) wrote poems or short texts after listening to pieces of music. They were not told the composer or source of the music until after they had finished writing. The pupils often "read" the music very differently from the (somewhat older) students!

 I. Music from the sound track of Oprah Winfrey's film "Beloved"
II. Beethoven: short texts

The voice of freedom searching for love and happiness. A woman in the desert Desperately trying to find her own way. Calling for respect. I can see her dancing. Bare feet. Dark skin. Warm eyes. She's reaching for the sky With all her might With her arms, her whole body Searching for love and happiness. The voice of freedom. The voice of freedom. Andrea

A piece of music, a melody which somehow expresses harmony, but at the same mment evokes emotions of sadness. Contrasting feeling arise when listening to the sound of these tones. Harmony, peace and love on the one hand, sadness and an atmosphere of deep depression on the other. Thus, the song reminds me of the film Braveheart. Experiencing the bond of everlasting, eternal love, William Wallace has to endure a time of mourning after the loss of his wife. Tragedy and sadness replace harmony and warmth.

Chased by an image, a vision deep inside. Not figuring out what it is. Dreams without sense. Only this slight image, not figuring out what it is.
                                                            Break
Riding on an old train, hot, sticky, dirty, listening to the noises, Surrounded by foreign people with a different culture, different colour and a different language. The sun is burning, the whole body is covered with sweat. But not from the unbearable sun. It's lying deeper - a feeling inside is coming to the surface, a feeling that something has changed. Chased by an image.
                                                            Break
Leaving the train. The tourists around you talk, take pictures, start. Can't they hear it? Turning around. Focussing, nervous. Please keep on going.
On the bus. The body is nearly exploding, the head hurts. The fingers shiver. Can't they hear it. Going up the hill, higher and higher and higher. Wanting to get out and run. Fast and faster and faster.
The bus stops. Jumping out, running. Suddenly stopping, frozen. Not able to move. Turning, turning around. It's here somewhere. Can't they hear it. Leaving the group far behind. A sun clock leading the way.
                                                            Break
Finding yourself in the place of your hidden dreams. Ruins, stones, tradition, blood, enormous pictures arising in your mind. Hurting, but freeing your soul. The sound of Persian flutes, with tones of ancient sufferings build vision. Here's where it happened. On a hill, protected from the Spanish emperors, but filled with ancient everlasting fears. It strikes you like a flash.

A clear melody of a flute -
calming mood, not swinging, even tardy
but nevertheless spirited.
Waves of feeling floating, touching the mind,
freeing the soul.
Then a female voice continues the melody
softly, delicate, lovely
Thoughts expand, feelings of being absent-minded
-- sentimental me
Sonja S.

A somehow ancient-sounding harmonious melody. While the flute is playing I can see a vast landscape coming into existence: mountains and rocks, forests with huge dark trees on the slopes, green but also rough valleys. Still peaceful but wild scenery.
Then then a voice starts singing no words. Only a sad melody, and when I hear that, I immediately think of freedom but also war and pain - I think of the film Braveheart.

"Indian Spirit"

Father, o father, why did you leave me? Thee are so many things between us left unsaid. I shouldn't have been so stubborn. That quarrel was my fault alone.
O father, why did you leave me? Leave me alone between two worlds, neither really mine. Where do I belong? Only now do I realize that I need your guidance.
But now your voice is forever silenced, choked by clay and dust.
O son, don't be afraid. I speak to you through the voice of the wind. Just listen with your heart and body. Pray to the ground beneath your feel and to the air above your head. We will hear you. You. Me. Our fathers. The Great Spirit.

Dawn
Blackbluegreenbrown world
A distant shore
Calm waters, soft light
Feelings of eternal harmony
A glowing cloud in the sky announces the new day
Awakening
The heavens send their wisdom down to earth
A gleaming light descends from the floods
I cannot take my eyes off this immaculate beauty
Let me be part of it
My soul fills with satisfaction
Nothing can harm me now, I am safe
Mother nature embraces me -
Sunrise above the peaceful ocean
I am at home.
Kristina

When I hear this music, I'm thinking of a place where it's quiet. Perhaps the sun is rising and nobody, not even the animals are awake. I'm sitting on a rock in the middle of a desert. At the moment, it is cold, but in a few hours it will be hot and dry. I will watch how the desert awakes. Snakes start crawling through the sand. The wind plays with the dunes. The air is hazy. Nothing disturbs this silence. Nothing.

The sound of the music is like a sedative. It's very harmonious and it calms you. With this music you can relax very well. When I heard the melody, I had a vision of a peaceful and very nice place. But it also sounded like a strange place. Is there danger?

When I hear the music, I'm thinking of a wind which crosses a field. The sound of the music is very harmonious. On the surface, everything seems to be fine, but I think that something is wrong. Later on, a voice of a woman appears. She cries for freedom, but there is no escape. She wants help, but nobody helps her. She is alone, very alone.

II. Beethoven: short texts

The sun is shining and the weather is fine. Children are playing on the streets. Suddenly everything changes. Grey clouds cover the sky, the children turn back home. Something comes nearer and nearer. It seems to be dangerous. Everybody is afraid of it. They don't know what it is, but they are running away. There is no escape. It will get all of them/us.    DEATH

I tear off my bands and start the escape. For a moment I think that I can get away from my destiny. But this is very silly of me. Nobody can escape from his destiny.
Break
It comes nearer and nearer... BREAK
Derya

A couple is coming nearer and then they are beginning to dance. They are dancing to the beautiful melody. They love each other. And with the rhythm of the music that becomes faster, they are also dancing faster and faster - in a circle.
Then suddenly there comes a disturbing sound. It sounds like danger and violence. A man appears, a man who has cruel curiosity in his face. He seems like a violent person. He wants to separate this couple dancing on the floor...

It's the iceberg's fault. Our ship is damaged. We will sink. Panic is on my mind. I want to run, but where? This is a trap, a cold and icy one. I'm watching how the people despair. We all have the same destiny. Death.

Huge halls - red carpet - wooden floor
luxuriously dressed people
an orchestra placing on a balcony above the crowd
which is dancing according to strict rules.
a pretty girl in a dress which is in a very old-fashioned way
beautiful
Her eyes sad, caught in a golden cage
suppressed, tight rules, severe education

I wouldn't have wanted to be a princess back then.
Charlotte

A carriage is leaving for the fields. Gently it makes its way through he constant up and down of the hills. Trees ae full of birds singing happy melodies and flowers are visited by busily buzzing bees. The whole landscape seems to be beaming with a smile. The smile turns into a rejoicing laughter as the carriage stops in front of a little chapel and the guests are welcoming the bride.

The audience is watching the stage with greedy eyes, looking forward to swallowing everything they will see. A couple of dancers enter the scene. The grand opera is at its climax. And they just dance. Beautifully, exploding, melted together, expressing the realm of music with their elegant motions. The spectators are deeply impressed. And satisfaction expands.

Swans dancing on a lake, moving around in circles, leaving spirals in the water.
Harmony!
Birds dancing in the sky, surrounding wach other, fluttering up and down with the wind.
Harmony!
Squirrels running up and down a tree, jumping from branch to branch:
How hectic!
Ramona

What a wonderful day - rushing through the woods on horseback. The sunshine twinkles between the green leaves around us, throws bright sparks on our laughing faces while we pass high trees, bushes and wild meadows. In an instant, we find ourselves on vast wheat fields, glowing in the sun. The air is fresh, light, delicious. Let this moment never end; I capture it with my overflowing heart. I feel like shouting out my joy: What a wonderful day!

Resting. Not thinking about anything.
No worries, no thoughts, just peace.
Listening to the sound of violins makes
me feel happy, clam, peaceful and
open-minded.
It's almost like a battle of violins.
They are so eager to make everybody happy
that they can't wait to have their turn.
The little ones are impatient; the older ones
with their dark and low tunes are calm.
They have lived their lives and now share
their wisdom with the others.
But it's still harmonious. It's like the sound
of a family with young and lively voices
but also wise ones who lead the melody of life.
Andrea

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