The present arrangement was created in autumn 2016, inspired by a project choir that performed this work in the vineyards. For many others it is the memory of the film 'Shrek' or of the composer himself.

Leonard Cohen knew how to create a melody that grabs everyone: it gets under your skin. It was clear to me that the soprano saxophone would play the leading role here, and it needs a soprano who leads with a soft tone and a lot of feeling, while his fellow players follow him gently and melodically. The arrangement is not difficult to play, it requires intensity and a certain subordination of the voices. Carry your soprano and offer him a carpet on which he can show what he's made of!

When I took the work in its current form out of the printer to test it with my fellow musicians during the rehearsal, I heard on the radio that Cohen had passed away. That was on November 7th, 2016. For me personally a 'sign' that it is finished; consequently only minor formal details have been changed.

Let me say to all quartets that will perform it: be prepared for unusual moments! Sometimes people sing along at once, sometimes it becomes very quiet in a room or outside as if on command, and the musicians often feel a shiver even while playing. The fact is: Cohen knew exactly how he touched all of us ... - let's just give it back to him in our own way.