The work of Mira Lobe has accompanied me since childhood, and especially since I began my career as a composer. When looking for suitable song texts, I quickly find what I need in her work. The song cycle Lob(e)lieder [Lobe’s Songs or Songs of Praise] is based on poems from ‘Zwei Elefanten, die sich gut kannten’ [Two elephants who knew each other well]. Each song tells an animal story in a concise form with virtuosic word play. These colourful poetic miniatures carry large musical potential; it is not only the humour of the stories that inspired me, but also their language quality. Elisabeth Naske