for brass band

Jewish Wake was originally composed for a 10-piece brass ensemble in which composer Simon Van Hoecke played as a student at the Antwerp Conservatory. The solo at the beginning is an original Jewish lament and this is also the theme for the rest of the work.
The strange mix of styles that typifies the short but virtuoso composition has its origins in the cultural hodgepodge of Antwerp (with its famous Jewish diamond district) where the composer also lived at the time.