The work opens with a chaotic and atonal rendition of the Dies Irae depicting fear, panic and pain; fear of the unknown, pain and panic for the relatives left behind. The first movement concludes with a cornet cadenza reflecting the mystery of death, with solos for trombone and tenorhorn reminiscing about life.
After this, the music progresses into a fast movement in which a shortened version of the theme can be heard alternately in different instrument groups. The music becomes increasingly nervous and culminates in the full version of the Dies Irae, as also used by Hector Berlioz in his witches' sabbath of the 'Symphonie Fantastique'.
This is followed by a slow middle section focusing on life with a inversion of the Dies Irae, played first by the flugelhorn. Hopes of a wonderful afterlife and fond memories of a life full of love and friendship take over but are abruptly interrupted by the return of the chaos from the beginning, after which the trombones introduce the finale.
Towards the end, various forms of the main theme pile up to a climax in which the themes from the previous movements are repeated in the background. An accelerando and crescendo culminate in a solid finale in which the Dies Irae sounds one last time prior to the final note.
The work is a joint commission by the 'Stichting NBK' and 'VLAMO' for the 2023 Dutch and Belgian Brass Band Championships in the first division.
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