Climate change has opened our eyes. We are destroying our own habitat. How can we arrive at a new balance between the nature that surrounds us and our inner nature? In Songs of Nature, Muziektheater Transparant and B’Rock Orchestra look back at centuries of enjoying nature, via Handel’s extraordinary but rarely heard songs as well as new narrative music by Wim Henderickx.

Händel’s Nine German Arias are remarkable for the poetry of Barthold Brockes, in which God and nature are identical. An original combination of instruments as the mood switches between cheerfulness and melancholy. The Arias were a source of inspiration for composer Wim Henderickx, whose contemporary but accessible work touches the hearts of his listeners. Shuang Zou, the artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival, has translated Handel’s musings into images for our times.