Orchestra/Large Ensemble

“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

“No Comment was written as a Ringtone for Orchestra on the occasion of the 2008 Dutch Classical Music Week (Week van de Klassieke Muziek). The piece is exceptionally short, even for a ringtone: between 16 and 20 seconds.

Within this time frame, three different musical elements are performed simultaneously: one in the high woodwinds (flute, oboe, clarinet), one in the brass and one in the strings. The three come together just before the end. It is possible to play the piece with so-called natural trumpets and natural horns, which are trumpets and horns without valves that can only play the natural tones.”

– Theo Verbey

Le Retour à la Raison – a film by Man Ray.

“My original idea was to make the music completely independent of the film. On second thought, I that would have been a missed opportunity. By following the film closely, I could acquire a new experience in composition, so that is what I did. The short film by Man Ray consists of a chain of abstract fragments with—for our time—a rather naive character. I have tried to maintain that innocence as an aspect of my film music by referring to early American minimalism, a style in which I found the same combination of naivety and optimism. The title, Le Retour à la Raison (the Return to Reason(ability)) is one I strongly associate with American music from the 1970s. My film score also has the same static use of a very limited number of motifs and a reference to tonality. The harmonic rhythm is either very slow or very fast and can never be completely pinned down. In the instrumentation, I used nothing but primary colors by not blending the four different groups (6 woodwinds, 5 brass, 2 percussion and 2 pianos and 6 strings) for most of the time.”

– Theo Verbey

“The title of my orchestral work Lumen ad Finem Cuniculi means: Light at the end of the tunnel. It is a one-movement piece for orchestra, composed in 2015. For some time I had been intending to compose a sequel to my 2009 orchestral work, Orchestral Variations. I wanted to again use the set-up in which a quartet consisting of two marimbas and two vibraphones forms a prominent rhythm section within the orchestra. The orchestra’s remaining instrumental groups would then be placed both above and below the music of the percussion quartet. The work is characterized by a balance between a clear structure and appealing sound. The structure of the piece consists of an alternation between two fast and two slow movements: ABA’ B’. The four movements are played without interruption. The reason for writing the piece is the proclamation of 2015 as the Dutch Year of the Mines. Fifty years ago, the mines in South Limburg, the Netherlands, were closed. The parties involved look back on that decision with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was clear that coal extraction in that area would never again be profitable. In that regard, the closing of the mines was a completely correct decision. On the other hand, the promise to create other employment on a large scale has never fulfilled, resulting in a certain deterioration of the region.”

– Theo Verbey

“Vladimir Nabokov had this to say about his 1938 novel: ‘Invitation to a Beheading is a violin in a void.’ The main character is Cincinnatus C., a political prisoner, who has been condemned to death because of a “lack of transparency.” No one seems willing – or able – to tell hem when he will be executed. A restrained, somewhat stark tone dominates the short orchestral work I wrote after reading Nabokov’s novel. In a slow tempo, a melody is laid to rest. Shadowy percussion attempts to interrupt the procession, but to no avail. After a few orchestral outpourings, we find ourselves back where we began.”

– Theo Verbey

“Inquietus (Latin: restlessness, restless) was born in the course of 2008 from an idea I had been working on for some time. I had wanted to write a short orchestral piece in which the texture, i.e. “the sound” of the piece was the main subject. In the end I decided to use a very large orchestral line-up: 16 woodwinds, 12 brass, 8 percussionists, harp and piano, as well as 60 strings (96 musicians in total). Swelling and fading chords alternate with very soft passages with a static character. Halfway through, a short acceleration takes place, in which the ideas from the beginning return, but in reverse order. The piece is both the counterpart and the mirror of Invitation to a Beheading. Inquietus has the same slow tempo, but the music has a completely different character. If Invitation to a Beheading is a kind of funeral march, then Inquietus can be seen as a sort of calm before the storm.
Inquietus was written at the request of the Residentieorkest The Hague on behalf of the Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten.”

– Theo Verbey