Impresiones de Estepona

Impresiones de Estepona

InstrumentationWind Band
Grade3
Duration15 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

Impresiones de Estepona (Full Midi)

Awarded composition of the 3rd International Composition Competition for Symphonic Band “Estepona, Jardín de la Costa del Sol”

“Impressions de Estepona” is a continuous suite for symphonic band based on the cultural and musical heritage of Estepona.

In the first part, after a short majestic opening, the center of the city is musically expressed in the form of a colorful rondo with some free references to the Andalusian Cadenza. My inspiration was the colorful streets of Estepona, linked to the rich history of the city, where the Moorish influences can be seen, felt and heard.

The second part tells us about the beautiful monuments in the old city, starting from the church of “los Remedios”, walking along the various interesting sights, ending with the great panorama at “Punta Doncella”.

The last part of this suite is all about “Ferias y Fiestas”. Also here I used the traditional ceremonies as inspiration combined with some free references to flamenco, taking us from “San Isidro Labrador” to the “Ferias y Fiestas mayores” along all the cheerful, exciting and ecstatic celebrations. The work ends euphorically with the opening motif.

The work has numerous educational elements for wind orchestras, such as counterpoint, rhythmic variation and timbre variations. The work is therefore more than just a beautiful story about a beautiful city in Spain and hopefully inspire many musicians and orchestra to get the best out of themselves.


Score and parts are available from May 2024!


Le Penseur – (the Thinker)

Le Penseur – (the Thinker)

InstrumentationWind Band
Grade6
Duration13 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

Le Penseur (Full Midi)

→ contact us for hiring possibilities…

When The Thinker was conceived in its original size (approx. 70 cm) in 1880 as the crowning achievement of The Gates of Hell, seated on the tympanum, it was given the title The Poet. He represented Dante, author of the Divine Comedy who had inspired The Gates, bent over to observe the circles of hell, meditating on his work. The Thinker was therefore initially both a being with a tortured body, almost a damned soul, and a free-thinking man, determined to transcend his suffering through poetry. The pose of this figure owes much to Carpeaux’s Ugolino (1861) and to the seated portrait of Lorenzo de’ Medici carved by Michelangelo (1526-31).

Remaining in place on the monumental Gates of Hell, The Thinker was exhibited individually in 1888, becoming an independent work. The colossal version, enlarged in 1904, proved even more popular: this sculpture of a man lost in thought, but whose powerful body suggests a great capacity for action, has become one of the most celebrated sculptures ever. There are numerous casts worldwide, including the one now in the gardens of the Musée Rodin, a gift to the City of Paris installed outside the Panthéon in 1906, and another in the gardens of Rodin’s house in Meudon, on the sculptor’s tomb and his wife.

A challenging composition for wind orchestra based on several “leidmotifs”, written from the perspective of the thinker, who ponders the different emotions and characters of the leitmotifs before coming to a conclusion, but with an open ending, because after all, the thoughts go on again…



Choral Intermezzo

Choral Intermezzo

InstrumentationWind Band
Fanfare Band
Grade4
Duration5 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score (Wind Band)→ Download
Demo Score (Fanfare Band)→ Download

A colorful intermezzo for wind or fanfare band commissioned by the Band of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.

After a short opening the horn solo plays the main theme. After the first theme follows a solemn choral which develops into a fusion between the main theme and the choral, with a smooth and connecting 3rd theme.

Useful as an intermezzo during a concert.

Wind band version




REVIVED

REVIVED

InstrumentationWind Band
Ensemble(s)
Grade3 – 5
Duration4 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download
(grade 4½)
→ Download
(grade 3)

“Revived” was commissioned by “Royal Military Wind Band Johan Willem Friso” (NL) in cooperation with “WMC Kerkrade” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of “Muziekcentrale Adams” in Thorn (NL). 

The aim was to give the various orchestras around the world affected by the Covid19 pandemic new hope, élan and perspective in the form of a composition that could also be performed by smaller subensembles. In this way, despite the Covid19 restrictions, the orchestras can make music together again. 

“Revived” can be performed separately by;

  • Clarinet choir
  • Flutes, oboe(s), bassoon(s), saxes & contrabass
  • Brass & percussion
  • Wind band (All ensemble versions combined)

Also, the overture is available in two different levels of difficulty:

  • Grade 3
  • Grade 4/5

A short but vibrant overture that hopefully will give pleasure to many sub-ensembles and orchestras all over the world.




Der Arme Poet

Der Arme Poet

“Winner of The Valley Winds International Composition Competition, 2021 – Brian Messier, Director”

InstrumentationWind Band
Grade5
Duration10 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download
Score and Parts are not available before June 2022

Der Arme Poet (the poor poet) (FULL MIDI)

“Der Arme Poet” (painted 1839) in is the most popular painting by the German Painter Carl Spitzweg.

In 1839, Spitzweg was a beginning artist who in the 1830s lived for a long time on the top floor of a house in old Munich, from which he wrote in one of his letters: “The view is great, the roofs resemble a large mountain range, with the chimneys and attic windows like ruins and castles”.

The influence of the Biedermeier style is easily recognizable in the painting. The typical pursuit of a bourgeois bohemian existence is reflected in the various attributes. In combination with the poor environment the whole gives a parodical appearance.

The poems that were once thought to have eternal value are sacrificed to the stove as soon as they can provide some warmth.

Characteristic of the painting is the quill that holds the poet clamped between his teeth, indicating that he continues his work unrelentingly.

Above his bed you can see a hexameter scheme, which indicates the meter of verse. Next to his bed is a stack of classical books with inscriptions such as “Gradus ad Parnassum”, which represent the high ideals of the artist.

Between his fingers he seems to crush a flea, which expresses the banality of the situation.



Night Watch Rhapsody

Night Watch Rhapsody

InstrumentationEb Clarinet & Wind Band
Eb Clarinet & Orchestra
Grade5
Duration11 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score (score)→ Download
Eb solo part→ Download

Night Watch Rhapsody (Full Midi)

Rembrandt’s Night Watch has already moved many people.

Whether it is the beautiful “clair-obscure” or simply the “moving” scene of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq and his men, the fact remains that the painting continues to attract you.

In this Night Watch Rhapsody I tried to translate the scene, as well as the many hues, as if the painting were being painted on the spot.

An important role is therefore reserved for the soloist on E-flat clarinet, who takes on the role of Rembrandt and, together with the orchestra – in which the orchestra does not merely take on the accompaniment – tries to bring the Night Watch to life.

This work was composed and dedicated to the E-flat clarinet soloist of the wind orchestra of the Royal Belgian Guides (Belgium), David van Maele


Version for Wind Band:


Version for Orchestra:


Ein Winzer Spiel

Ein Winzer Spiel

InstrumentationWind Band
Grade4
Duration12 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

Ein Winzer Spiel (Full Midi)

“Ein Winzer Spiel” (a winery piece for windband) was commissioned by the Family Fritz Keller (Kaiserstuhl, Germany) for the 200 year anniversary of the Winzerkapelle Oberbergen im Kaiserstuhl, in which a number of characteristic elements of the “Kaiserstuhl” wine region and the Oberbergen district are highlighted.

This suite consists of 3 contrasting parts.

1. The Kaiserstuhl

An impression of the beautiful landscape with its rich history. In the middle of this part a specific part from “Kaiserstuhl” is highlighted, namely “Die Oberbergener Bassgeige” an area around the village Oberbergen in the form of a double bass (hence the name) in which high-quality vine culture takes place.

2. The St. Mauritius Kirche

The St. Mauritius Church is an inseparable part of Oberbergen, a beacon of peace and reflection.

3. The Winzerspiele

A playful final part of this suite in which the cozy and competitive wine festivals are illustrated in the form of a Waltz. The “Oberbergener Weinlied” is added here as an additional illustrative element to the uplifting nature of this part.



75 Jaor Vreej

75 Jaor Vreej

InstrumentationWindband & Choir
Fanfare Band & Choir
Brass Band & Choir
Orchestra & Choir
Piano & Choir
Grade3
Duration11 minutes
PublisherJanssen Music
Demo Score→ Download

75 Years of Liberation.

Based on the beautiful text (in Limburgian language) by lyricist Frans Pollux “75 Jaor Vreej”, I wrote a composition with the same title (of approx. 11 minutes) in several versions and combinations and perfomable in all possible local dialects of Limburg.

This wonderful assignment was given to me by a joint initiative of Limburgse Bond Van Muziekgezelschappen, VNK Limburg, Limburgse Bond van Tamboerkorpsen i.s.m. House for the Arts Limburg.

A very great way to contribute to the Limburg language and musical culture.



“75 Jaor Vreej” – Windband version (Full Midi Demo)