Lamp dance/Chorós phōtōn

Lamp dance/Chorós phōtōn for alto flute, as quasi-concert version, from the chamber-pantomim-ballet based on the poetry collection ”The Tale of Fatumeh” by the Swedish poet Gunnar Ekelöf (1907-1968).

It is the tale of Fatumeh, a girl sold into prostitution by her mother, then for a while kept as a concubine by a prince, abondened but surviving by force of spirit. Although the story is conventionally tragic, the vitality of Fatumeh brings a completely new dimension to the story.

The collection of poems are devided into two parts; the first naming the poems Naẓm 1-29, the second Tesbīḥ 1-29.

In the chamber-pantomim-ballet the Lamp Dance takes place quite early after the intro and a ghazal-like recital. The libretto says: “Short pause during which the narrators remain standing. The curtain is pulled aside and we see the still dark alley flickering with lamps:

If you wish, a dance of the lamps.”

The musical material delves into a complex palate of unstable sound for the alto flute. These two or three-part sounds (multiphonics and dyads) are combined, permutated and differentiated with trills, double trills, fluttertongue, throat flutter and other timbral nuances. These sounds fascinate me because of their inherent fragility, their transience and shimmering beaty. And yet, despite all this complexity, the solo might just as well be heard as a simple one to three-part melodic line – endlessly circling inward.