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Decennium, meaning 10 years, is not only an overture in sonata form but also music with a programme. It traces the inception and development of one man`s idea and how he created a new music publishing house devoted to producing music for the three main types of wind band prevalent in the western world today, namely Harmonie, (or wind band) Fanfare and Brass Band. The music opens with a fanfare representing the birth of something new. This is followed by a busy allegro theme which illustrates the activity and atmosphere of planning, producing and marketing which gradually build up to the opening of the new music publishing firm of HAFABRA Music, the word Hafabra being formed from the first letters of the names of the three types of band. The theme is presented, repeated with changed accompaniment and finally played in canon before a modulation passage leads to a new and more lyrical theme. This is the main theme of the piece and is constructed from the word HAFABRA, using the letters as musical notes. For English speaking people it is here necessary to explain that in central Europe and Scandinavia the letter H is used for the note B and the letter B for the note Bb. It will be noticed that one of the letter (R) is not a musical note and in this case I have used the second degree of the tonic sol-fa, (Re), in the basic key of C to represent this letter. Otherwise I have changed the F to an F# and thus the complete theme is:
H (B) – A – F# - A – Bb – D (R) – A. The theme is played mainly by Bb instruments and it is then that the notes match the name HAFABRA. When first introduced (one beat before measure 47) it is played by the oboe, the notes being a whole tone lower because the oboe is a C instrument. The Hafabra theme is repeated tutti after a bridge passage and is now decorated by arpeggios and syncopated chord. The two main themes are developed and eventually played together in counterpoint and this is a reflection of the busy period in which the firm becomes established. The recapitulation, from measure 100, now illustrates the further development of Hafabra as an international publishing company. Many new exciting projects occur:

Quality commercial CDs with top professional bands, a subscription system, marketing with demo CDs, and an expanding international market etc. This leads up to a grand finale where the main theme is slightly changed both rhythmically and decoratively and accompanied by a fanfare, arpeggios and syncopation to a triumphant conclusion.

The grand finale is an appropriate musical salute to the dedication and vision of a remarkable man who has created a first class international publishing house in central Europe single-handed and against the close competition of some of the world`s biggest publishers of wind music.

When I asked Louis Martinus for a march for both fanfare and windband and drumband all together (for the final of the annual taptoe), he told me that that was the only thing he didn’t have in his large and varied catalogue. So I knew what to write for the tenth anniversary of “HAFABRA Music". I called the march “Building up" because I admire the way Louis Martinus build up his publishing house and goes on with building and growing, “sorely but surely”, with great attention for music with quality, for all levels.

The thing Louis likes most, besides music and his son Max, is…..ice cream! You can wake him up in the middle of the night for a good home made ice cream. So the theme is inspired on “Louis die houdt van ijs", “Louis, il aime la glace", “Louis, the ice cream man". It’s a jolly happy march, you can hear Louis walking happily around with his ice cream.

So have a-n-ice cream with this jolly HAFABRA Music theme