By Andreas Sträter
Anton van Doornmalen's concert evenings are like visiting friends.
The concert in Bad Sassendorf was overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. "Everyone would like to live in peace and freedom," said Anton. In this mood, Anton started the concert in front of more than 200 people with John Lennon's peace song "Imagine". Van Doornmalen also welcomed four Ukrainian women to the conference center, who are currently staying at the Rijk Zwaan guesthouse in Welver.
Then the singer took the fans on a musical journey, which began in the car. The first song "My Car and Me" is very swinging, full of ease and very enjoyable.
For two duets, the singer, who is well-known in the region, asked his daughter Anke to come on stage. The teacher sang together with her father the songs "You Are" and "Talent". "Talents are in all of us," the singer said.
Almost a document of the current pandemic is the ballad "Breathe." The song about the Corona pandemic is very direct and confronting, intended to highlight the importance of having air to breathe - oxygen.
Finally, the singer took his fans to the real far away, to Lake Macquaire in Australia, more precisely, to "Dobell Drive" - that's the name of the song. This is the places, where Steven, a work colleague and music lover, lives. He emailed a Scottish violin solo to Anton, which the singersongwriter packed into a peppy song about the authenticity of nature.
The song "Glücklicher Vater (Happy Father)" was the emotional highlight of the evening. The song is about how quickly his daughters grew up and how his happiness was "multiplied a thousandfold" by many grandchildren.
The grand finale was followed by the evergreens: "Gute Nacht, Freunde," "Bye Bye Love" and "Marmor, Stein und Eisen bricht." The audience could forget the turmoil of the world for almost three hours.
Virtuosic and always suitably arranged, the singersongwriter was accompanied by five professional musicians: Joke de Jong, violin, Han Wouters, percussions, Co Vergouwen on keyboard and piano, Jorge Nieuwenhuis, guitar, as well as Laurens van Wessel on bass guitar and also the musical director.
All proceeds from the concert and the new CD "Journey" will go to the Büdericher Förderverein "Sibusiso", which supports a village project for handicapped children in Tanzania.