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Is based on a quotation from John Irving:

“Our dreams escape us however vividly we imagine them. There’s only one thing you can do, keep passing the open windows.” ‐ John Irving

John Irving (1943) an American novelist, famous for his well turned phrases and apt pronouncements e.g. “Your memory is a monster, you forget – it doesn’t. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you – and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory;  but it has you!”

In “Passing the Open Windows” I have attempted to catch the atmosphere of this quotation. Having dreams (which escape us) and trying to visualize a dream. Also I have portrayed “passing” by a sort of processional march, which passes by. The use of this can be interpreted  figuratively in the sense of “Don’t choose the most obvious route to your dream.” It ends simply but effectively with the portrayal of the vanishing dream.

Demo Score:  → Passing the open windows

Publisher: → Bronsheim Music

Gaia is a figure from the Greek mythology. 

She is the mother goddess, the Earth, which arose from the chaos at the beginning of things. Chaos contains all the basic ingredients, the four elements of earth, air, fire and water. From there came Gaia, nature goddess, often depicted as a plump woman. Emerging from the ground and always attached.

This composition is based on the story of Gaia.

Recording: (live) by Fanfare Orkest “De Hoop” Stellendam (NL) – conducted by Arie Stolk.

Demo Score: ➞ Gaia 

Publisher: → Bronsheim Music

Is based on a poem by Friedrich von Schiller: “Der Kampf mit dem Drachen.”

In this poem he describes the battle with his own ego. He wins,  but as it wasn’t a fair fight, he won by trickery and cunning, he has to account for his deeds. “judge not until you have evaluated”  is an adage that is appropriate to this work. 

The main theme “der Ritter, hoch zu Ross” the anti-hero, the ego, is played by the trombone section. The music follows the general drift of the story. Firstly the fact that the knight is fighting against the dragon (his own ego), later on his accounting to his conscience, and then the story of how he rediscovers his true self, in the form of a romantic melody, which takes the form of a flashback.

The work ends with reconciliation, begging for grace and forgiveness, and then the embracing of the one who was cast out. His ego has been defeated. An appropriate saying to describe this would be “He is no longer too big for his boots”.

The title “Episode” refers to the fact that more episodes from the poem are used to tell the musical story.

Recording: (first performance) by Fanfare “Brass-aux-Saxes” Westerlo (B) – conducted by Christiaan Janssen.

Demo Score: ➞ Episode for Fanfare 

Publisher: → Bronsheim Music

This work consists of 22 fragments each of 8 bars (spacings).  These dances are separated by a chorale-like theme and end with a sparkling  coda.

The ten different themes portray the different events in space. And so form an exceptional (extraterrestrial) sparkling tableau.(outing)

A very spectacular work in an unusual genre for Fanfare Band.

Full Recording: CD ➞ “Dangerous Liaisons”.

Demo Score: ➞ Dance in outer Spacing (1) 

Publisher: → Bronsheim Music