Canciones del Alma (Songs of the Soul) is a song cycle for coloratura soprano and chamber orchestra. The premiere took place at the NTR ZaterdagMatinee series at the Concertgebouw performed by Asko| Schoenberg ensemble and Katrien Baerts conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw in 2012.
Zuidam finds his inspiration in the poems of the Spanish mystic San Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591). This Carmelite prior experienced the cruelties of the inquisition during his prison in Toledo. The ecstatic, hymn like verses full of dark, erotic metaphors describe the journey of the human soul towards the spiritual unification with God.
