WORLD PREMIERE Broström: The Grand Carnival
"I've never had so much fun at work. It's just play!" Tobias Broström lets loose in his new orchestral work for Jönköping Sinfonietta, which premieres on May 31st at Spira Concert Hall. In five movements, the unexpected and absurd are celebrated, with rhyming verses, sword swallowers, and elephant ballet.
About The Grand Carnival (from kulturhusetspira.se)
"Welcome all, a carnival is underway, the biggest of all, with pomp and fanfare!" This is how Tobias Broström's colorful and imaginative work The Great Carnival begins. The work is a tribute to the spectacular, the unexpected, and the slightly absurd – a musical journey through a magical circus world where the impossible is tamed and where colors and sounds explode in a shared triumph. Throughout the work, a common thread of texts written in verse runs. The texts are written by the composer and are read aloud by the carnival general.
The work is structured in five movements, each portraying different situations and characters in the carnival world:
I. The Elephant Ballet
The carnival opens with a heavy-footed but graceful introduction where "heavyweights trip in tulle and in time." It limps a little from the start as the rhythmically driven and playful introduction shifts between a 4/4 time signature and a 7/8 time signature.
II. The Trapeze Artists' Night
An airborne waltz at a dizzying height characterized by soaring sounds from celesta, harp, and muted strings.
III. Pantomime for a Lonely Clown
The spotlight finds a sad person. A thoughtful and reflective movement that perhaps focuses on the downside of the carnival?
IV. Alfredo the Sword Swallower's Hesitation
Alfredo hesitates and time freezes. He is, after all, defying fate in a life-threatening way. A dramatic and perhaps somewhat nerve-wracking depiction of a risky moment... Will he succeed?
V. Parade Through the City
A grand finale where the entire orchestra's power is gathered as the carnival procession moves forward with cheers and commotion in a glittering march.
The music is characterized by Broström's distinctive rhythmic energy and a rich orchestral palette. One of the work's most unusual details is a "siren whistle" handled by none other than the conductor himself.
Broström seems to balance the virtuoso orchestral playing with an underlying tone of transience – the reminder that the magic of the carnival is beautiful, but alas, so short. But most important of all seems to be the humorous tone that invites the listener to forget the boundaries of everyday life and step into a world where anything can happen.
Sunday, May 31st Kulturhuset Spira