NOSPR / Tomasiewicz / Romanowski / The Art of Storytelling - NOSPR

The narrator of Eduard Tubin’s Double Bass Concerto occupies, quite unapologetically, the centre of the symphonic arena. There is little chance of overlooking him. His voice may be low, but appearances can be deceptive – there is nothing cumbersome about him. He is capable of exquisite singing and finely shaped rhetorical declamation. Above all, however, he finds himself caught in spirited exchanges with Tubin’s flamboyant orchestra, engaging not only with the modernist sharpness of rhythm and form, but also with Romantic outbursts of feeling and moments of lyrical reflection.

Meanwhile, the narrator of Carl Nielsen’s Aladdin is a storyteller. One endowed with such an exuberant imagination that his ideas could not be contained within the orchestra pit of the theatre for which the music was originally composed. Nielsen therefore recast the score as an independent concert suite, entrusting the narrative to the imagination of his listeners. Expressive gestures, stylised ornamentation, evocative dances, and processional marches place us unmistakably amid a bustling crowd. At times, we even find ourselves in the marketplace of Isfahan, where voices and activity seem to arrive from every direction. Perhaps someone nearby is trying to sell a magic lamp?

Finally, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus yields almost the entire space to its extraordinary narrators. It is, in effect, a concert of the most gifted among storytellers: trilling skylarks, migrating swans, and other birds whose calls were captured in the far north, including regions beyond the Arctic Circle. The sense of vast, cold space envelops us not only through the recordings, but also through the orchestra’s restrained and transparent textures. At one point, the composer even entrusts one melody directly to the listener. It is an invitation to share in the journey.

A nature programme, a debate, and a fairy tale on a Sunday morning? Such things need not be confined to television.

Piotr Mika („Ruch Muzyczny”)

Concert duration: approximately 70 minutes

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