In april-mei 2018 was Hansko Visser “composer in residence” in Giampilieri, Messina, Sicilia. Hij schreef er A Leo, col’legno, voor viool en dans (voor Trasformatorio).

A Leo, Col’Legno; the violin piece with dance by Martina and samples of stone cutting by Ezio. For Leo, the wood worker, who was here 1 Oct ’09 when the mud slid. A dance for the living, touching the working clothes hanging to dry. Played by Cettina De Benedetto, in the street with the laundry, behind the butchers.

video credit: trasformatorio.net

a Leo col‘legno (for I don’t have a wooden heart)
 
I planned to climb Via Prima Ottobra
 to draw, up in an empty house.

 But I made it only to the bar
 where Leo, the woodworker, took me in 
 And Assesore – Elvis – Oliva
 And Angelo, the owner, 
 a good dancer, too.

And after standing tall
 - three bottles of beer,
 in minutes, before noon-
 singing blue suede shoes,
 which is not what I was made for
 
I carefully steered towards John Lennons Imagine
 and the Beatles’ Let it be
 to finally ask Leo
 was he born here?
 and if he was here in 2009?
 
And he was
 He dragged the dead from the mud
 Working hands
 Eru mu muti
 Then we talked on
 Impressionism, Heineken, Woodcarving, Caravaggio
 
I like Leo.
 I think he’s a good man.
 
Sobering up and working on now.
 It feels like Yugoslavia in the nineties
 Must be the beer
 is also the soul
 
grazie.