A songbook of rare feelings is a program with new poetry and compositions, written for VONK. For this project, composer Nicoline Soeter has invited poets Kayo Chingonyi (UK, Zambia), Nancy Campbell (UK), songwriter Lucky Fonz III and composers Kate Moore, Morris Kliphuis and Remy Alexander to write the program with her.

A songbook of rare feelings is inspired by The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, in which new words are invented, intended to fill a gap in everyday expression. The idea of creating a new poem and composition around an emotion instead of a newly invented word led to the project A songbook of rare feelings. In each song a different feeling is unraveled and together they form an imaginative collection of moods.

The colorful line-up of the ensemble and the permanent collaboration with a singer and a composer gives us the special opportunity to research this genre and to continue to grow artistically. 10 new songs are currently being composed for soprano, saxophones, clarinets and percussion.

A songbook of rare feelings is created with the support of the Performing Arts Fund NL, the Province of Noord-Brabant and the Municipality of Tilburg.