Description
Covidium is a composition for various ensembles and was created during the time when the coronavirus crippled our lives. The title of the work is obviously a reference to the coronavirus Covid-19. As in so many sectors of our society, wind music became literally and figuratively silent. In mid-June 2020, rehearsals tentatively resumed. The one-and-a-half-meter distance between musicians necessitated rehearsing in small ensembles. Covidium was written for these ensembles in various lineups to play new music. The composition, with a length of 9.30 minutes, falls into four parts that express the different aspects of the corona crisis. The threat. In the work's introduction, one hears the threat of a new virus that still seems distant. One does not lose sleep over it yet because: “it will not get that far”. The infection. If the virus reaches Europe faster than expected, the number of infected people increases exponentially by the day. In music, this can be heard through an increase in the density of notes and, further on, an acceleration of the cadence and an increase in the strength of sound. The consequences. The Netherlands goes into an intelligent lockdown. We are thrown back on ourselves and lament the thousands of casualties. It is a crisis. The relaxations. Once the biggest spike in deaths, hospital, and ICU admissions is behind us, there are periodic relaxations of crisis measures. In short, life slowly resumes. This work is now available for the following line-ups; - clarinet quartet - brass sextet - saxophone quartet - woodwind ensemble (woodwind part of the concert band) - string quartet The individual voices can, of course, be doubled as long the balance is maintained.