4BR Editor Iwan Fox takes a close look at 'Aurora' the Championship Section test-piece that could provide the sign to conquer rivals for one band in Malmo...
Here comes the sun...
The Romans liked a God or two.
In fact, 67 or so give or take a few that were in and out of fashion until the Emperor Constantine decided to place his faith in just the one ahead of a winner takes all battle against rivals.
By all accounts he had a vision that saw a script that read: In Hoc Signo Vince or In this sign, conquer.
Quite a few of the 14 conductors here in Malmo will be looking for the same divine intervention when they open the score to Joel Thoor Engstroms 'Aurora' set-work for the Championship Section on Friday afternoon.
Aurora was strictly a mid-table God in terms of the Premier League of Roman deities.
The table topper of the 12 Dii Consentes (major Gods) was Jupiter the God of the Sky and Thunder. Aurora on the other hand had the job of waking up at dawn to streak across the heavens announcing the arrival of her brother, Sol, the Sun God.
What she for the rest of the day nobody quite knows, but perhaps bored of her repetitive heavenly life she took a mortal lover, who unlike her, aged in immortality. She eventually turned the poor chap into a cicada.
She did this dressed in robe of saffron, opening the gates to the morning with her rosy fingers before riding a chariot, said to led by two pink or white horses, traveling across the sky from East to West.
What she for the rest of the day nobody quite knows, but perhaps bored of her repetitive heavenly life she took a mortal lover, who unlike her, aged in immortality. She eventually turned the poor chap into a cicada.
The heavens awake...
Joel Thoor Engstroms engaging 18-minute composition is inspired by Auroras symbolism rather than character traits - evoking the mystery as well as majesty of the bringer of renewal and joy, the comforter of better times ahead during the darkest hours of the night.
Think of waking up to a day of ELOs Mr Blue Sky after an evening of Leonard Cohen.
The work is structured in three distinct but joined parts; the unstable scene-setting opening followed by the growing busy activity of early morning Roman life.
A central kindling of light warmly settles in place as the day unfolds, eventually giving way to a festive song of praise finale, packed with free flowing, childlike optimism.
A central kindling of light warmly settles in place as the day unfolds, eventually giving way to a festive song of praise finale, packed with free flowing, childlike optimism that itself heralds a race to enjoy the last embers of the sun before Auroras moon sister, Luna is seen to settle in the sky.
It all starts (below) in the ether of pre-dawn; glimpses of light breaking through a thick mist ready to be burned off by the arrival of the blazing golden orb in the heavens. It is slow and mysterious the percussion (with the help of a rubber superball rolled across a timpani head, a scraped tam-tam and tinkling crotales) setting the scene.
An early indicator of the composers thematic development (motif twists and turns formed by what the composer describes as harmonic magnetic fields) is heard in the muted trombones in the following Vivace section.
This has a sprightly semi-quaver underpinning that grows in incremental pace (132/142/144/152), drama and purpose fleet of foot but light of dynamic touch.
That said, Auroras horses galop with an oddly gaited stride at times.
It soundslike the Norse God Odins eight legged Sleipnir at full pelt (above). However, its dislocated meter(with just a hint of sardonic Swedish humour in its driving ABBAesque money, money, money semi quaver lines?) is written withclarity and precision in the uncluttered scoring (as it is throughout) before reaching its ferocious stopping point.
Its a like the Norse God Odins eight legged Sleipnir at full pelt with its dislocated meters (with just a hint of sardonic Swedish humour in its driving ABBAesque money, money, money semi quaver lines?)
There, a moments silence greets an afternoon of relaxed expression which unfolds with soli unison leads enhanced by solo cameos from soprano to vibraphone.
None are overextended in length or needless virtuosity, each drawing into the other to keep the music flowing with tasteful rubato. The climaxes are sonorous, but certainly not bombastic or overblown, finally passing through different lead voices to the solo cornet on a libero cadenza (below) of simple tranquil settlement.
The spirited finale comes as little bit of a surprise; the dark minor chord undercurrents even in that afternoon sun replaced by all things bright, bubbly (marked 132) and compound. The youthful vigour is obvious; jubilant and nippy, the clear scoring with its clever percussion writing adding texture and colour.
The youthful vigour is obvious; jubilant and nippy, the clear scoring with its clever percussion writing adding texture and colour.
The impending sense of the joyfulness ending as the moon begins to rise is obvious though; the pace increasing almost exponentially, fevered, agitated and finally ecstatic the final snatch of sunshine grabbed at an alarming 182 sprint finish.
Iwan Fox
Swedish composer Joel Thoor Engstrm (1987) is based in Stockholm, whose works for orchestra, choir and chamber ensembles to solo compositions and opera are characterised by colourful expressions in rhythm and harmony.
He is influenced by both the neo-classical French tradition following Debussy and Ravel all the way to electronica, experimental fusion and progressive chiptunes.
For many years he played in a brass band and later studied composition at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Mats Larsson Gothe, Per Mrtensson and Henrik Strindberg.
He was a finalist in the European Composer Competition in Belfast in 2006 with his work, Odyssey, and since them his works have been performed nationally and internationally by artists such as Norrkping Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Choir, Baltic Youth Philharmonic, Royal Swedish Army Band and ensemble recherche.
He has composed several chamber operas, the latest Om Mnninskan (About man) which premiered at the Folkoperan in Stockholm in 2019.
Joel is also a teacher of music theory, ear training and composition at Lilla Akademien Music School in Stockholm.
View original post here:
2023 European Championships Here comes the sun... 4barsrest - 4barsrest.com
- Indestructible UConn One Win Away from Immortality After Final Four Win over Alabama - Bleacher Report - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality - BusinessLine - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Immortality Is PossibleWe Just Have to Overcome One Stubborn Law of Physics - Popular Mechanics - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Naruto: Orochimaru and Madara could have achieved immortality easier if an Akatsuki member helped them - Sportskeeda - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Most The Last Airbender Fans Don't Know Only 1 Avatar Knew a Secret Immortality Technique She Learned from a ... - FandomWire - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Revolutionizing Grief: How AI is Redefining the Concept of Immortality - elblog.pl - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- IRaH - The Immortality App Movie Review: Rohit Roy Starrer Is A Thrilling Dive Into Digital Deception - Times Now - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- One Piece's Final Villains Are Officially Immortal (And The Series Already Explained Why) - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- One of the great sporting gestures: How Jared helped Jasmin to Barkley Marathons immortality - Run247.com - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- One Piece: The Immorality Of The Gorosei, Explained - GameRant - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Dilraba Dilmurat and Chen Xing Xu Start Filming the Search for Immortality Mystery C-drama Love on the Turq... - A Koala's Playground - March 24th, 2024 [March 24th, 2024]
- Grief Tech And Digital Immortality: How Far Would You Go? - Sify - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- When Celine Dion paid emotional tribute to the Bee Gees with poignant rendition of 'Immortality' - Smooth Radio - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Nobody Wants to Die will explore immortality and transhumanism later in 2024 - TheXboxHub - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Nike Giannis Immortality 3 "White On White" DZ7533-102 - Sneaker News - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Cosmism: The philosophical movement that predicted space travel - Big Think - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Is Immortality Really All Its Cracked Up to Be in The Lord of the Rings? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Elves Immortality Is More of a Curse Than a Blessing in The Lord of the Rings - IMDb - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Dragon Ball's Weakest Villain Killed All The Strongest Heroes (In ... - Screen Rant - August 18th, 2023 [August 18th, 2023]
- The Recorder - Connecting the Dots: Project Immortality - The Recorder - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Opinion: Gordon Lightfoot | The immortality of a shipwreck - News Courier - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- A Classic Spider-Man Villain Almost Killed the Hulk - CBR - Comic Book Resources - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Ilkay Gundogan has evolved and can now reach Manchester City immortality - Yahoo News - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Keanu Reeves Wont Ever Die! A Conspiracy Theory Of His Immortality By Fans Brings Up An Uncanny Resemblance To A Centuries-Old King, His Graceful... - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Amrit and the terror of impermanence - The Economic Times - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 20 Split-Second Decisions Made in Movies That Completely ... - MovieWeb - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 10 Movies like Renfield you must watch - Ready Steady Cut - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror reviews roundup - The Guardian - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- 10 Anime with immortal protagonists, ranked by likability - Sportskeeda - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Superman's Final Fate in DC Canon is Worse Than Fans Can Imagine - Screen Rant - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Palpatine Was Never a Star Wars Jedi - And It May Explain His Power - CBR - Comic Book Resources - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- INDYCAR Championship: Full Driver Standings After GMR Grand ... - Crash - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Tale Of The Nine-Tailed 1938 Promises An Explosive 2nd Season ... - soompi - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- DARLINGTON RACEWAY NOTEBOOK: Some of Sunday's drivers ... - SCNow - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Rumours Reimagined to hit the stage in Harrison this weekend ... - Agassiz Harrison Observer - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Unity (U) Q1 2023 earnings results beat revenue expectations - Shacknews - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Who is the real villain in Hells Paradise? - Dexerto - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Mark Patinkin's mom celebrates 73rd Mother's Day as center of family - The Providence Journal - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Deadpool 3 Has A Hilarious Way To Tie Into The MCU Infinity Saga - Screen Rant - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- WATCH: Exclusive Clip from Cartoon Network's We Baby Bears ... - GLAAD - May 14th, 2023 [May 14th, 2023]
- Frightening and fascinating facets of a deathless world - The New Indian Express - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- A Timeless Tale of Immortality and the Battle between Light and Dark - Digital Journal - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The keys to longevity are hidden in the microbes that give us beer and wine - EL PAS USA - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Ding Liren Wins 2023 FIDE World Championship In Rapid Tiebreaks - Chess.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Hells Paradise: The history of Shinsenkyo explained - Dexerto - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- For Succession, Everything Is IP - Paste Magazine - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Canon U.S.A. Supports 18th Annual Japan Center Essay ... - InvestorsObserver - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- What I Learned at a Funeral about the Power of Love - spokanefavs.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Benedict Cumberbatch Is Perfect As Lord Voldemort, See The Photo - Giant Freakin Robot - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- What it means to have a perfect resurrection body - The Christian Post - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The Flash Just Unlocked Immortality as DC's Most Un-Killable Hero - Screen Rant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Bucks County Community College names winners of High School ... - The Bucks County Herald - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- 10th Old School Kung Fu Festival: The Ghost Hill (1971) Review - Voices From The Balcony - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Sith Weren't The First Darkness The Jedi Unleashed On The ... - Screen Rant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Jamie Carragher lauds Manchester City as 'superior to Man United's Treble winners' - Daily Mail - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Carol Burnett's 90th birthday special stars Cher, Bob Mackie creations - USA TODAY - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Biological Clocks Have Been 'Rewired' to Increase Lifespan by 80 Percent - Newsweek - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- One Piece chapter 1081 reveals the fate of the Heart Pirates - Dexerto - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Sweet Tooth Season 2 Episode 3 Recap - why does Becky enlist ... - Ready Steady Cut - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku and BLEACH Have This Interesting ... - GameRant - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Story of the Tree Has Artistic and Scientific Branches - UConn ... - University of Connecticut - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is an Inspired Tarot-Crafting Game - Hardcore Gamer - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Honkai Star Rail Officially Available On Mobile And PC; PlayStation ... - Noisy Pixel - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- ChooxTV's iconic tank Layla build will have you scratching your head - ONE Esports - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- 'Sisu' review: Nazi-killing World War II film is a gory good time - The Arizona Republic - April 27th, 2023 [April 27th, 2023]
- Biological immortality - Wikipedia - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Immortality Director Considering Using Graphics, Rather Than Actors and Sets, for His Next ... - Latest - LatestLY - January 19th, 2023 [January 19th, 2023]
- Immortality (video game) - Wikipedia - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Lionel Messi attains footballing immortality and receives royal coronation on the grandest stage of them all - VAVEL.com - December 21st, 2022 [December 21st, 2022]
- Immortality for PC Reviews - Metacritic - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- Netflix Subscribers Can Download Immortality Game for iOS Devices - December 18th, 2022 [December 18th, 2022]
- Immortality review | PC Gamer - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- 'Immortality,' the latest game from 'Her Story' creator Sam Barlow ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Nike Giannis Immortality 2 "Floral" FD0213-400 | SneakerNews.com - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Guerrero: I once fell for the fantasy of uploading ourselves. It's a dangerous myth - Los Angeles Times - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Grand Rapids landmarks to light up Oct. 13 to raise awareness for metastatic breast cancer - MLive.com - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Make It Stop: Colbert Will Host Celebrity Pickleball Show - UPROXX - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Interview with the Vampire stars Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid on the "endurance and acceptance" of immortality (Exclusive) - Sportskeeda - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- What Was The Significance Of The Paragon "Hourglass" Symbol? Was Stanton Feeding The Dead Patients To The Ghosts? | DMT - DMT - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Next Day I Will Be in the Gym: Ronnie Coleman Shared an Optimistic Message With Concerned Fans Before Heading for His Seventh Surgery in 2016 -... - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]