To all of good will
Martha Belinfante-Dekker (1900-1989) was a singing teacher, poetess and resistance fighter.
Among other things, Martha Belinfante-Dekker wrote the words and music for illegal songs disseminated and sung during the German occupation. The titles for choir music include: ‘Helpt the wereld bouwen!’ (‘Help the world build’) (1941), ‘Oranje Boven!’ (1944) (‘Up Orange’) and ‘Ze Komen!’ (1944) (‘They’re Coming!’).
I saw the following text in the score for this song cycle, in brackets above the piece ‘Helpt de wereld bouwen!’: “A simple song, dedicated to all who are of good will”. In the battle against evil the song was dedicated ‘to all of good will’.
‘Sung apart’ from the original libretto, the dedication as a figuration has a ‘timeless’ address, directed at everyone viewing the artwork on the Oranje Vrijstaatkade. The public artwork as ‘art for all’, dedicated ‘to all of good will’.
MS
Photo
‘To all of good will’, column, 80cm x 80cm x 40cm.
Biography
Martha Belinfante-Dekker (1900-1989) was a Dutch composer, writer and resistance fighter. She was a singing coach and inventor of a special teaching method (Zang-Declamatie) Singing Declamation. She was director of the Muziekschool Watergraafsmeer.
Artwork: You Are Here
Artist: Martijn Sandberg
Material: concrete
Measurements: (lxwxh) 80cm x 80cm x 40cm
Project: Legacy of the Twentieth Century
Realisation and completion: 2019
Location: Oranje Vrijstaatkade, Oostpoort, Amsterdam
Commissioned by: Amsterdam Municipality, District Oost