Lux Futura

From Wind Repertory Project
Kevin Houben

Kevin Houben


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General Info

Year: 2019
Duration: c. 17:10
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Scherzando Music Publ.
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Contrabass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II
Bass Trombone
Euphonium I-II
Tuba
String Bass
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III-IV

(percussion detail desired)


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Commissioned by the Royal Wind Orchestra Delft (Koninklijke Harmoniekapel Delft.)

- Program Note from score


Lux Futura, commissioned by the Royal Harmony Chapel Delft for the theme year Delft and The Golden Age, puts Delft on the map with a look back at the past and also a look at the future.

The musical theme with which the composition opens is inspired by the letters "D-E-L-F-T". This is called D-Es-A-F-Bes via the Béla Bartók letter system. Within this Delft cell a triton is present that not only refers to the tritonality that is present in the work, but also to Trinitas, the Bourdon bell of the Oude Kerk in Delft, which only refers to a funeral of the Dutch Royal House.

The Delft melody changes to the Agneta march. This march is a reference to the history of the association. It was written at the end of the 19th century as a tribute to the wife of the founder of the Royal Harmony Chapel Delft, Mr. Jacques van Marken, also director of the then Gist and Spiritusfabriek.

When the accordion of the Agneta march is answered by the basses with the Delft melody, the love theme appears for the first time. It concerns the love of the inhabitants for their city through the ages. This musical theme grows to a first high point in music that showcases the power of the city and the grandeur of its past.

Throughout the work there are clearly recognizable moments of tritonality, in particular the love standard F major (fourth note from Delft), Es major (the second note from Delft) and E major as a symbol for the Trinitas clock (triton Bes-E).

The beauty of the city is sung in the middle part in the English horn solo as an ode to the beautiful city of Delft.

The bridge between old and new, and the innovation that Delft University of Technology stands for, can also be found in the use of three authentic samples that can be added to the work. It concerns recordings of characteristic sounds of Delft, of sounds that refer to innovation, technology, innovation and research, and of sounds of the wind, the sound of glasses, the horse tram, the carillon, bicycle sound ... All samples are specially recorded in Delft and reworked by the composer, so that they form a whole with the harmony sounds. The work can also be performed without using these samples.

Lux Futura -- which means future light -- includes not only the Delft Masters of Light, the painters Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and Pieter de Hooch, but also the modern Masters of Light at the Technical University where solar cars and quantum computers are developed. Through these Masters of Light the love of the inhabitants for their city was interwoven. This love and beauty resounds in the final, in the love key F major.

Due to its versatility, this concert work is challenging for musicians, but musically recognizable and attractive for a diverse audience to listen to.

- Program Note by composer [machine translation]


Awards

  • World Association of Symphonic Band and Ensembles (WASBE) Composition Competition, Category Two, 2019, winner


Media

https://open.spotify.com/track/5I0D7wFXqFPdzUjPCOtTSq


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer


Resources