A Man’s Destiny
Composed in 2016/2017, commissioned by ‘CMV Harmonie Sneek’ on the occasion of their 95th anniversary.
A Man’s Destiny has the Frisian line ‘Yn Ieren en Sinen’ (with much conviction) as its subtitle.
The work was commissioned by CMV Harmonie Sneek (based in Friesland, The Netherlands) to acknowledge their 95th anniversary. As requested by the commissioning party, the composer based this work on the life of a former member of the band, who played flugelhorn in the ensemble until the age of 86.
Music was very important in the eventful life of the man in question. As a passionate musician, he had a great love for chorale melodies. Thus, his favourite piece, ‘Canon’ by the English composer Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) was the source of inspiration for this composition. Its theme as a whole cannot be found in the work, but during the introduction, the flugelhorn solo clearly refers to the original melody. The march-like passages in the composition represent his striking personality. The slow middle movement begins sombrely, symbolising the sorrow that this man had experienced in his life. His great love for lyrical melodies is represented in the subsequent romantic and sensitive passage. The striking march theme then returns, to indicate the fact that the main character always persevered after the low points in his life, with much conviction (yn ieren en sinen), thanks to his love of wind music.