23 was composed for Brass Band Schoonhoven, and used as part of their programme for Brass in Concert in November 2016.
On the 13 th May 2000, the Netherlands was shocked by an explosion in Roombeek – a district of Enschede, near the German border – after a fire broke out at a local fireworks depot. 23 people lost their lives in the tragic events. This piece pays tribute to their memory.
The numbers 2 and 3 form the basis of the piece. The use of 5/4 allows the music to flow, alternating between 2 + 3 and 3 + 2; there are frequent passages where triplet quavers clash with straight quavers; and the tuned percussion make use of a scale composed of alternating intervals of 2 and 3 semitones.
