Composed in 2004/2005 on commission for the Dutch Brass Band Championships in 2005
On average, approximately eight thousand (mostly light) earthquakes occur worldwide each day. The stronger earthquakes often take place in the earth’s crust beneath the sea or in uninhabited areas. However, it is the heavy earthquakes in populated regions that draw the most attention due to the damage and loss of life they often cause.
I have always been fascinated by this natural phenomenon. When I was commissioned to write the test piece for the championship section of the Dutch Brass Band Championships in 2005, it was the perfect opportunity to take the earthquake phenomenon as the foundation for a composition.
While composing Earthquake, I envisioned a South-American peninsula, which I named ‘Isla Iberia’. This beautiful area, once under Spanish colonial rule, is surrounded by sea on three sides and separated on the landward side by towering mountains. Their vastness is reflected in the composition’s powerful opening chords.
The rhythmic pattern of these chords regularly returns as a leitmotif, illustrating the imposing presence of the mountain range ‘Sierra Madrugada’. After the introduction, which begins with a euphonium solo, the arduous journey through the mountains toward the capital – no more than a fishing village – is depicted.
The fast passages and playful themes that follow reflect the busy and relatively carefree life of the local people.However, nature does not let them forget that while their peninsula is beautiful, it is also perilous: suddenly, the earth moves for a moment – perhaps a precursor of events only known from oral history? After all, the village was once destroyed by a devastating earthquake. Although peace quickly returns and everyone resumes their daily routines, the mood after this warning from nature is less jubilant than before.
The peninsula’s scenic and varied landscape comes to life in the slow middle section. However, the earth remains restless. Combined with the awareness of living on a fault line, this makes the people anxious. Their simple buildings tremble to their foundations.
When the clock of the local monastery ‘Monasterio’ tolls ominously, a violent earthquake follows, leaving hardly any structure standing in the once-picturesque village.Once the earth has finally calmed, the population is in shock. This is poignantly expressed in a meditative section by the euphonium.
Overwhelmed with fear, conveyed through numerous chromatic passages, the people flee in panic. Gradually, however, determination begins to emerge in the powerful themes. The community ultimately finds strength in their faith, represented by a chorale-like section, and they energetically begin to rebuild their cherished homeland.
The composition concludes decisively and with vitality, reflecting the resilience and confidence of the industrious people of Isla Iberia.
While I was working on the final movement of this composition, an unprecedented disaster struck on December 26, 2004, in Asia and along the east coast of Africa. The effects of an undersea earthquake claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I dedicate this work to the memory of all the victims of this devastating tsunami.
