DE BELLO GALLICO was written for Jos Van der Cruys, who also commissioned the piece to celebrate his friendship with the composer. Van der Cruys was one of the first people to acknowledge Bart Picqueur’s talent, when the latter was still in conservatory. In 2007 the piece was published by Beriato Music and recorded by the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides, conducted by Henri Adams. In 2022 on its 15th birthday, De Bello Gallico came home and is now available at Minor Scale Music in a slightly updated instrumentation. Again it is dedicated to (this time in memory of) Jos Van der Cruys, who passed away in 2016.
 
De Bello Gallico was obviously based on Caesar’s letters to the Romans. In these manuscripts he described the glorious victories of his legions over the Gallic people. As the emperor thus controlled the press and the army as well as international politics, he might have been the inventor of ‘fake news’. The singing part reveals the hypothetic point of view of the Nervii tribe towards the (alternative) facts. They, and not Caesar are claiming the victory (as it seems?) The sarcastic sounding trumpet line in the ending gives away the general philosophical conclusion:
 
War has no winners. It never has, it never had, it never will. It ruins the lives of the many, for the doubtful glory of the few.