Orpheus in Town, Dance Suite from (Concert Band - Score and Parts) - Rosenberg, Hilding - Johansson, Jerker

Dance Suite in Seven Movements. Op.75. Orpheus In Town. In 1936 the Stockholm Concert Hall was given its most distinguished artistic adornment, Carl Milles' Orpheus fountain. A Greek god lets his voice and the sounds of his lyre float over the rush and bustle of the big city far up in Ultima Thule. Two choreographers at the Stockholm Opera, Julian Algo and Vera Sager, had a brainwave. Why should Orpheus merely be a statue, a symbol of the beauty and inspiring power of music, why not give the myth about him its special Stockholm chapter as well? This is what happened: On the stage we see the columned facade of the Concert Hall and in front of it the statue group with Orpheus and the eight enraptured listeners. Suddenly the figures come to life, jump down from their pedestal and dance into the crowd at the marketplace. Orpheus, who is consumed by longing for Eurydice, begins looking for his beloved, first among other well-known sculptures in town, then in restaurants and nightclubs. At last he thinks he recognises her in a fashionable society woman and brings her to the Concert Hall. However, faced with the threat of having to spend her life in bronze at Orpheus' side, she runs away. She wasn't Eurydice after all. Or was she? For this ballet, which had its first performance at the Stockholm Opera in 1938, Hilding Rosenberg wrote vital and entertaining music in a style which is unusually to the point, and with a bright and strong orchestration. The music in the Dance Suite from Orpheus in Town is taken from the dance scenes at the nightclub: guests and a bartender perform, finally also Orpheus and his entourage. The suite consists of: 1. Rhythm of the Times (2.00); 2. Bartender's Dance (1.30); 3. Girl's Dance (1.00); 4. Dance of the Negress (2.30); 5. Trio Dance (1.30); 6. Tango (2.00); 7. Finale (1.30). Total duration: 14.00.

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