A flashback is a psychological phenomenon. Events of the past existing in long-term memory come back to the mind. Most of the time, a flashback appears when one has an experience that unconsciously and suddenly evokes a previous experience.
This composition was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the Dutch National Youth Fanfare Orchestra. Once, in the sixties, the composer himself was a member of this orchestra of talented young musicians. As a prospective musician, he had much respect for the conductor at the time, Piebe Bakker (1929-2002), a very driven man with an inspiring style of conducting. Thinking about that period, forty years ago, the composer relived the then regular performances of Deep Harmony; in a way, the melody came to him in a flashback. Just as suddenly as that flashback, the beautiful English hymn tune, embellished by thematic material from the beginning of the work, comes to life in the conclusion of this composition.
