His music exudes an infinite yearning. In short, the whole caboodle of human longings that by definition can never be attained. And with that, Franssens sketches mankind in all his naked vulnerability, hovering between heaven and earth, denuded of all excess frills, returned to his essence, whose heart beats only thanks to its yearning to live. He posits this human longing in nearly all of his musical works, and in doing so appeals to the total person, which for some is an unbearable confrontation and for others is irrefutably recognizable and therefore irresistible. The fact is, his music does not leave one cold.
Audiences fall absolutely silent.
And like Bach, Franssens is intent on affirming life. It comes as no surprise, then, that his music has such a following in Eastern Europe, where spiritual life is still so richly developed. But the resonance with the audience does not materialize out of a vacuum. He considers this adage applicable to all human relationships, but also to the resonance between his music and the listener. A closed-off listener is like someone who phones you up without announcing himself and without saying anything.