Het lied "dichtibij en ver" = So Near Yet So Far, 1967 - 1980

Huijbers was influenced strongly by his Gregorian tradition, and its various modes were always hovering beneath the surface of his imagination. He often quotes directly from this tradition, so as to keep those pieces alive and, in his own words, lest they be lost from memory. His final compositions for Amsterdam consisted of two collections of Gregorian fragments, setting biblical texts by Huub Oosterhuis, Image And Likeness and Dust Of The Earth, a total of 25 pieces.

So Near Yet So Far, marked peacefully, is in a Dorian mode and the tessitura is tightly controlled, which is characteristic of the mode. Although giving no indication in the score, recordings from Amsterdam of the assembly singing 'live' have the women's voice singing verse one, the men on two, and all three. He had no difficulty in dividing voices within the assembly in engaging the people in acclamatory dialogues, canons, the various textures of strophic song, psalms or tableprayers. The Interlude in this piece ensures a well-paced gentle flow throughout. -- Tony Barr