Ballad (Ballade)

This composition was written in 1996 on commission from deFilharmonie (Antwerp Symphony Orchestra). It is a work for children in which percussion plays a central role. A very extensive range of percussion instruments is used, i.e. both membrane, metal and wood instruments with or without a fixed pitch. The composer's aim was to create a composition that would appeal to a child's imagination. That is why a programmatic content was chosen. The work is based on a myth of the Aboriginals in Australia. The children are taken on an exciting and compelling journey. There are nine short scenes in which the leitmotifs are expressed by different percussion instruments. A narrator is integrated into the musical action. The music evolves from calm, dreamy passages to intense and rhythmic sections.