“Historically, the variation has been seen as one of the most basic techniques in the composition of music. Usually such a piece begins with a complete theme followed by several more or less recognizable variations on that theme. However, this is not the case in my Orchestral Variations. There is no theme. The variations are based on four different sequences of chords. In the baroque period, this compositional technique resulted in forms such as the passacaglia, chaconne and passamezzo. In the twentieth century, it’s more reminiscent of improvisational music and jazz standards. The larger form of Orchestral Variations is based on the numerical relationship between the four movements with proportional lengths of 3:6:4:7. The four movements are played without interruption, and flow seamlessly into one another. An important aspect of the sound of the piece is the percussion group which consists of two vibraphones and two marimbas: this quartet forms the rhythmic basis of the piece and plays overlapping rhythmic patterns which function like cogs of various sizes in a complex timepiece. Woodwinds, brass, and strings form the second ‘layer’. They play music that develops in an arc of tension using recurring melodic ideas. Orchestral Variations was composed in the second half of 2009 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of The Brabants Orchestra, in a commission supported by the Performing Arts Fund NL (Fonds Podiumkunsten).”

– Theo Verbey