Review Summary: Grandiose to hectic to melodic to Batman to jaunty, Arcana is really a mixed bag.
Having different styling’s of wind band composition throughout one piece of music can sometimes be an overload or to hectic for the listener as the drastic change in time signatures and speed levels can confuse, and hell, as a musician in a band the sudden to and forth of everything really destroy ones intonation and momentum. Yet Kevin Houben must have been drinking some damn good tea the day he composed a 12 minute wind band epic in
Arcana.
Arcana derives from the Latin word, “Arcanum” meaning; a supposed great secret of nature. And this describes the journey of
Arcanato perfection as Houben create a jumble of music that ultimately fits together perfectly.
As the opening dissonant chords are played by the tuba and wispy flutes float over the top, one may think that this piece will be more of a lyrical ballad, not the case. More and more textures are created as woodwinds come from in each and every direction to become in unison with the lower brass. This all ultimately joins into a huge sound that climaxes into an interesting 10/8 percussion dominated, thinking, driving yet thick in colour section, though just as you think you have gotten your head around this, things shift as quickly as they came, and you are greeted with a phrase that is almost identical to the Batman theme (latest movies), which are very heavily based on French horns and trombone. But as quickly as that change occurs, Houben takes off the accelerator completely and slams on the brakes as the piece once again takes a complete and different path.
As things slow down from the rushing and dashing of before, the middle parts of
Arcana are the works highlights with dainty sounding woodwinds that sing out and rich murmuring horns that bind together to create some of the most beautiful melodies you will hear a wind band conceive. At this stage you think Houben has really found his element, though the texture just keeps getting thicker as more and more instruments are added until finally the whole band is concocting one of the most enticing and delightfully gorgeous climaxes in symphonic music. Trumpets roar, percussion resonates, the lower brass blow wonderfully long notes that contextualise the intricate woodwind playing on top. But just as Houben is giving the wind band listeners ears an orgasm,
surprise surprise, things change once more.
Coming out of the almost perfection – as aforementioned above – build, a ritardando is formed until released from the conductors baton and you are let lose into an almost jaunty pirate-y -esque world. The same melodies as before are there, yet are transformed once more into a sizzling fast paced and adventurous tune. It is almost like you are sailing through high seas on the Black Pearl. Then everything ends in a grandiose cadence that you didn’t see coming from anywhere ending
Arcana in a frightfully quick ending.
This may sound like a mixed bag of wind band tricks thrown together, being made to try and stick end on end even though this shouldn’t work as it would resemble a rag tag composition. Yet this is where Kevin Houben has worked his magic touch. Everything flows and flourished perfectly, the timing of changes and dynamical shifts work perfectly and the sound is just epic.
Arcana is everything that makes wind band great as it challenges the musicians skills and pleases the listeners ears.
