Every year on 3^rd October, the city of Leiden, the Netherlands, celebrates her liberation from hostile forces in 1574. The traditions include community singing at dawn, shared food, a parade of local orchestras, a remembrance ceremony, and a fun fair.

This year marked 450 years of liberation, and to mark this the 3 October Vereeniging commissioned new community songs. I was delighted to be asked to composed a song about Magdalena Moens. Moens was the lover of the captain of the opposing army, and she managed to negotiate with him that his troops would not attack Leiden, and even to bring food to the starving citizens of Leiden. She is Leiden’s heroine, and sadly until recently she has not had the attention she deserved.

My song was published together with two other new songs in a new song book, and I presented the song to the public during their community rehearsal.