Tasmania
Tasmania is a new work for fanfare band. The composition depicts the voyage of discovery of Abel Tasman, the famous explorer from Lutjegast. The work follows his journey from the discovery of the island of Tasmania, later named after him, to the dramatic other side of history. It offers an emotional balance between the spirit of adventure and the tragic consequences for the Indigenous population of Tasmania.
Tasmania is the compulsory piece for the 4th Division of the 2027 Open Dutch Fanfare Championships. Jacob de Haan composed this work on commission from the Christian Music Association De Bazuin of Lutjegast, the Netherlands, to mark it’s 100th anniversary.
More about Tasmania
Measure 1: The introduction reveals the unsurpassed splendor of the island of Tasmania in lyrical sounds, within a theme inspired by the traditional English sea shanty “Blow the Wind Southerly”.
Measure 17: Then the music shifts to Abel Tasman, born in Lutjegast. You hear the wind blowing through the sails of the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen, the ships with which Tasman made his voyage of discovery.
Measure 33: Then, in a faster, rhythmic, and powerful movement, we hear how he adventurously discovered an island later named after him on November 24, 1642,south of the mainland now called Australia. Tasmania!
Measure 57: Here you hear the English sea shanty in its original form. This is to sketch the atmosphere among the crew of the ships of Tasman’s voyage of discovery.
Measure 99: Then the carefree music slowly changes into drama, for the discovery of Tasmania is also the beginning of a new development of the island, in which innocence disappears more and more.
Measure 120: Once more we hear the lyrical theme of the pristine beauty of Tasmania, as a harbinger of the approaching disaster.
Measure 129: Then the sorrow resonates over the original Tasmanians, the Aboriginals, who were almost completely wiped out by the English in the early 18th century.
Measure 169: There is flash back at the adventurous past, in which explorers sailed the world with their ships to discover all kinds of lands.
Measure 235: Finally, we hear the other side of this adventurous past, in a gripping conclusion with an emotional theme, based on the opening motif of the shanty in a minor key. The question resonates in the music as to what sacrifices the island has had to endure since the discovery by Tasman, up to the very day: exploitation, genocide, and the impending loss of the unique nature and culture of this island, which is, mind you, on the World Heritage List.