On the Road

The original version of this work was composed for trumpet and electronics, commissioned by Wim Van Hasselt in 2011 for his CD of the same title. Wim Henderickx later made versions of this work for saxophone, bass flute, tenor recorder, trombone, flugelhorn and traverso. The inspiration for this work was the world-famous book of travel stories “On the Road” by the American author Jack Kerouac. It is a largely autobiographical work based on the spontaneous travels of Kerouac and his friends through America in the 1950s. The electronics in this composition create a flowing drone, a soundscape over which the trumpet evokes an oriental melody. Eastern philosophy was also a source of inspiration for the composer, as it was for the Tantric Cycle, the seven-part series he wrote between 2004 and 2010. More info: From a melodic phrase that circles around the note C, a melody gradually develops that creates the illusion of evolving into two or even three voices. The idea is evoked that a single soloist is performing these three lines simultaneously. Glissandos gradually develop into repeated staccato notes, almost like Morse code. The second section begins in the deep register of the instrument, like a kind of mantra, with a high Morse-like melody in the second voice. In the third section, the glissandi are further elaborated. The suggestion of a main melody versus an echo forms the basis of this part. Finally, the fourth part starts back from the main note C (do), gradually fading away in the low register of the instrument, after which the electronics also slowly fade away. The electronics were developed with short sound elements from the soloist, such as staccato tones, glissando tones, etc., circling and fluctuating microtonally around the tone C. “On the Road” is a meditative work and at times evokes the idea of structured improvisation.