Lamento for Violoncello and Piano, Op. 44

Composed in 2005 as music for mourning, it is dedicated to the memory of Dr Ursula Rummel  († 29th June 2004) and was premiered at a memorial  concert on the first anniversary of her death. The  melody of the choral “Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig” is the cantus firmus of the work. The theme emerges from a monotonous march and is  subsequently varied while increasingly  detaching itself from the initial grave characteristics and changing into the optimistic and light atmosphere  of major keys.