Horizons by Peter Louis Van Dijk

Horizons by Peter Louis van Dijk was commissioned for The King’s
Singers by the Foundation for the Creative Arts in South Africa. The
work, with music and words written by the composer, was premiered
in Cape Town in 1995. This piece is inspired by a San bushman cave
painting which dates back to the 1700s. This painting depicts in
incredible detail a European sailing boat arriving in the Western Cape
region of South Africa. The San had lived for many thousands of
years in harmony with their environment, but welcomed the new
arrivals in peace. However within a short period of time the San
bushman population had been decimated by new disease and
slaughter. Horizons celebrates the San’s humility and peacefulness,
and it laments their demise at the hands of so-called progress.
Max Foster, soloist