Musica Helvetica

Every year a competition for wind orchestras and brass bands takes place in Wallberg, Switzerland. Apart from a hymn and a solo piece, all orchestras also have a compulsory piece to play. The commission to create a compulsory piece for the 2012competition fell to Jan de Haan. The composition is entitled Musica Helvetica. It takes the form of a three-part concert work, in which the last two parts flow directly from one to the other. The first part, Musica Prima, is a briskvirtuoso opening with jazz flavours woven in. The following section, Musica Sacra, offers a contrast with an extraordinarily colourful instrumentation for the gorgeous main theme. Thefinal part, Musica Alpina, is inspired by the greatvariety of scenery in Switzerland. With its witty humour it makes a worthy conclusion to this beautiful tryptich.