Van Marken Ensembles
Instruments: all registers and multiple ensembles.
Van Marken Ensembles download page.
Das Hirtenbüblein
Instruments: Marimba, Vibraphone, Flutes (one player: piccolo, flute, alt-flute), cymbal, triangle, claves.
Februari 2020 This composition was requested by Triomotion, a trio that comprises mallet-percussionists and a flute player for their chamber-concert in the Opern-foyer of the Staatstheater in Kassel.
The composition is based on a fairy-tale by the Grimm-brothers. Read more about the story and inspiration.
Voor Welmoet
Instruments: Trombone-choir, complete with alto- and contrabass-trombone.
‘Voor Welmoet’ is a ‘growing’ piece of music, starting with two musical DNA’s, and it will develop into a fully grown composition over coming the years.
Read more on about this special project: ‘Voor Welmoet’
Elijah
Instruments: Trombonechoir and church-organ
Premiere 12 januari 2020, Hoek van Holland. This composition was written for trombone choir ‘The Greenport Bones’, who wanted to play with the organ of their local church.
The story of Elijah inspired me to write a composition that combines the brute forces of the low brass, representing crashing mountains and destructing fires with the story of hope, represented by the higher pitched melody lines of the organ. You will find a comforting lullaby hidden in the bass-line.
Here you find the story of Elijah:
1 Kings 19
Then the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Behold, the Lord is about to pass by.”
And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a whisper.
Summersparkles
Instruments: 6 – 18 Viola’s
This composition was written for the viola’s of the ‘Delfts Symphony Orkest’, to celebrate their 100th year anniversary as an instrument-group. Summer-sparkles expresses the happy and kind spirit of the viola-group. I wrote 6 voices,o everybody can join in and play his/her part.
Summer-sparkles is a composition that explores the working of 2 forms: Traditional 4-bar melody-form extended by a natural form using the Fibonacci numbers. The DNA of this composition is a whole musical idea, different from the previous ‘Voor Welmoet’. Where a DNA was just 3 notes.
Read more about composing with DNA and Fibonacci
Last Rose of Summer
Instruments: Trombone choir, alt-trombone and contrabas-trombone.
The lyrics of the famous folk song were an inspiration for these variations of the original melody. The contrabas-trombone ends ‘This bleak world alone’, with a soft whispering solo.
Lyrics
‘Tis the last rose of summer left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are faded and gone
No flower of her kindred, no rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes and give sigh for sigh
I’ll not leave thee, thou lone one, to pine on the stem
Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them
Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o’er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead
So soon may I follow when friendships decay
And from love’s shining circle the gems drop away
When true hearts lie withered and fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit this bleak world alone?
This bleak world alone
Willem de Zwijger
Instruments: Trombone choir
In december 2018 I visited the Lätzch Trombone Festival. I brought my newest piece ‘Willem de Zwijger’ (William the Silent) and hoped for a recording of a trombone choir rehearsing the piece so I could learn. It turned out even better: The piece was played at the last concert of the festival.
The piece describes the life of William of Orange, a native hero mentioned in our anthem. Because of his diplomatic attitude he was called William the Silent.
Pubermeisjes (Puberty girls)
Instruments: 4 or more flutes, 2 piccolo
During my summerschool at the Musik Akademie Marktoberdorf 2018, I met a great group of flute players. (They performed a piece for piccolo’s, and we concluded after that, that the es-clarinet is not such a horrible instrument after all.) It seemed to me that there would be much more possible with flutes and piccolo’s, so I wrote ‘Pubermeisjes’ (Girls in puberty) . The giggling, gossiping and sadness of girls together in school-toilets, inspired me to write this piece.
Sleepy Trombones
Instruments: Trombone choir
The piece ‘Zerschmetterling’ for wind-orchestra ends with this passage. But during the rehearsal it didn’t work, I was wondering why. After the rehearsal the trombone players were so kind to play it again.
The difficulty of this piece is that various players hold the rhythm together, but when it works the effect is wonderful. Sleepy trombones proved that it can be done: a nice quiet lullaby for trombone choir.
“Bore out” Tango
Instruments: Saxopone ensemble, 1 clarinet and 1 percussionist
In the summer of 2018 I visited a composition summerschool at the Musikakademie of Marktoberdorf. During this week, there is also a wind orchestra rehearsing. I brought a tango and the saxophone section decided to play the piece during their musical party.
The piece is a test to hear how long you can go on with a no so interesting theme. Hence the name ‘Bore out’, as a opposed to the more common ‘Burned out’ in my other pieces, that are still full of abrupt changes and ideas.
