LABYRINTH
I wrote Labyrinth to celebrate the 450th anniversary for the city of Fredrikstad. The Danish king Fredrik II agreed to establish a new town further down the river Glomma, to make it easier to defend from the Swedes.
The piece is a network of quotations mixed with my own pitch material. My versions of the quoted melodies are not authentic, and sometimes hard to recognize. However, the different quotations give the music an aura of tonality. For example, a dance tune composed by the Flemish composer Mattheus Le Maistre (1505-1577). The melody also occurs in the first danish book of hymns written after the reformation. Since Norway for 400 years was a part of Denmark and everybody had to write and read Danish, they used much of the same music, too. I also use regular Danish hymn tunes and quote from a religious folk song from the area around Fredrikstad. The military signals I use are authentic (for example, The Old Danish March), and I am very sure they were used in the Old Town (the fortress) of Fredrikstad. The drums quote from The Downfall of Paris. This could have been heard played by professional soldiers hired by the Swedes from Scotland. This edition is a revised version made in 2020.
TORSTEIN AAGAARD-NILSEN (1964)
Aagaard-Nilsen is educated from the University of Bergen and Bergen
Music Conservatory. He established himself in the Bergen area by the
end of the 1980´s as a composer, arranger and conductor. His list of works includes many compositions and arrangements for both brass- and wind band.
For more information: www.torsteinaagaardnilsen.no
SOUND SAMPLE RECORDED BY BORGE MUSIKKORPS, CONDUCTED BY TORSTEIN AAGAARD-NILSEN
Live recording from the Norwegian Wind Band Championships 2018 - Olavshallen, Trondheim.
Full recording available on "Around Once More - New Music for Concert Band - Demo Tracks 2020-2021"
Download complete album or single track on iTunes or Amazon.
Can be streamed on TIDAL, Apple Music, Spotify, Beat, Deezer and Music Unlimited.
