Crossing Roads

Crossing Roads was written for De Xaverianen, a wind orchestra from the municipality of Aartselaar that celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2023. The title Crossing Roads refers to the specific geographical location of Aartselaar, as it is cut in two by the A12 motorway. At the same time, a community wind orchestra like De Xaverianen is a place where the lives of many different people intersect and interact with each other. As an extra playful element, the letter X, which is so characteristic of the band's name, is a cross in itself. At some point in the music, the musical notes visually form an X spread across the entire page. Musically, the entire piece is based on the notes A – B – A. In Dutch solmization these are pronounced La-Si-La, which can be heard (with some imagination) in the word Aart-Se-Laar. Naturally, these notes are also transposed several times, but the major second is always recognizable as a distinguishing feature.