Taiwan Fantasia

Taiwan Fantasia About the Taiwan Fantasia, composer Dr. John van Deursen states: "After having lived in Taipei for a number of years, I learned many of the local folk and popular songs. Some of the melodies are exceptionally beautiful, and my idea was to somehow combine all the elements that have made up my musical experiences over these years - Chinese melodies, western orchestral music and jazz; I wanted to see if these songs could "survive" with a totally different harmonic structure and concept. My original goal was to write a simple arrangement of the two songs, but quickly I discovered more melodies building upon the original ones and thus the Variations were born." Composed in 1995, this work of about 10 minutes in length is in one continuous movement, but is divided into seven short sections of contrasting moods including two cadenzas, for Trumpet and Trombone. The music is appropriate for advanced performers. Parts in C and B-flat are supplied for the Trumpets. A recording of Taiwan Fantasia can be purchased on iTunes on the album "Yeh Shu Han Brass Quintet". Below is a short sample of this fine work from their album.