Note from Nelson

Urban-o-rama (2019)

Orchestral work in three movements:

mvt I – Entropy
mvt II – The Apocalypse was Gentle
mvt III – Negentropy

Joint commission by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
First performance: 3 December 2019, Waterfront, Stockholm.
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, David Björkman (conductor).

2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 clar, 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 1 trb, tba, timp, perc (3 player), strings.

Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: For parts please contact the composer.
The first and third movements, Entropy and Negentropy, can be respectively performed as autonomous orchestral fanfares.

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Steampunk Blizzard (2016)

Single movement orchestral work.

Commissioned by Orchestre National d’île de France.
First performance: 24 January 2017, Philharmonie de Paris, France.
Orchestre National d’île de France, Enrique Mazzola (conductor).

3 fl (3 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 clar, 2 bsn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 trb, tba, perc (1 player), strings.

Duration: 7 min.
Publisher: Gehrmans Musikförlag

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Program notes for Steampunk Blizzard:

coming soon

Yaba-mm-Bop (1998)

Single movement orchestral work for youth symphony orchestra.

Commissioned by the Swedish Concert Institute.
First performance: 8 May 1999, Linköping, Sweden.
Vargöns Youth Symphony Orchestra, Gunilla Wretemark (conductor).

2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, 2 trb, timp, perc (2 players), pno, strings.
Duration: 6 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

There also exists an alternate instrumentation for large orchestra:
3 fl (2 alt. picc), 2cl, bcl, 2 bsn, 2 ob, eh, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 2 trb, btrb, tba, perc (2 players), pno, strings.

For the larger version please contact composer for score and parts.

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Program notes for Yaba-mm-Bop:

Mitt kompositionsarbete med ett nytt verk börjar inte vid skrivbordet med penna och notpapper. Det börjar snarare med att jag i flera månader innan går omkring evigt nynnande och sjungande på små rytmiska och melodiska fragment. Dessa sjungs om och om igen i olika konstellationer, tills dess att jag har ordnat dem i ett längre och mera sammanhängande förlopp som känns tillfredställande och som sedan bildar det musikaliska grundmaterialet i det verk jag skall påbörja. I och med att jag använder vissa stavelser för att ange vissa rytmiska eller melodiska fragment, blir det klingande resultatet av min sång oftast en lång rad fonetiska ljud. Till exempel, om jag skulle sjunga början av mitt orkesterverk som Ni nu snart skall få höra så skulle det låta ungefär som “yaba-mm-bop-mm-bop-daba-bop-mm-daaaba-jaP-jaP-BOP. Eller, kort och gott, Yaba-mmBop.

DanceWarp (2013)

Single movement for alto saxophone and pre-recorded electronics.

Commissioned by Föreningen ReRe with funding from the Swedish Arts Council.
First performance: 16 Novemember 2013, Norrdans Scen, Härnösand.
Jörgen Pettersson, alto saxophone.

DanceWarp was orginally part of the dance performance Boxes by choreographer Christina Tingskog.

Ashes (1997)

Concerto for violin and chamber ensemble in 3 movements.

Commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.
First performance: 27 September 1997, Sollefteå, Sweden.
Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Lee (vln/cond).

Ashes is a re-orchestration of Ablaze for violin and strings (1994).

vln-solo, fl, cl, bsn, pno, strings.
Duration: 20 min
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Ashes is a re-orchestration of Ablaze for violin and strings (1994).

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Program notes:

I tend to write families of pieces in which I explore similar melodic and structural ideas. One such family of pieces started as a programmatic depiction of the different stages of a fire: I originally envisioned a violin being played with such speed and intensity that sparks came flying off the bow, thereby igniting its wooden body and bursting the instrument into dancing flames. The first composition in this family of pieces was titled Burn. It was scored for string trio, and it was truly intense. Bolstered by the success of Burn, I scored my next piece for violin solo and large string orchestra, thinking that with so many instruments gathered together all at once, and all of them playing with such great ferocity, I could create not merely a small fire (such as in the string trio), but a blazing sea of flames. I aptly titled this piece Ablaze. Unfortunately, the piece lay neglected in my desk drawer for several years after completion, until violinist Jeffrey Lee suggested that I re-orchestrate the work for a smaller force. I set about this task, changing very little of the orchestra’s musical content, and indeed leaving the violin solo’s pyrotechnics completely intact. The result was a work which was practically identical to Ablaze in mood, but quite different in timbre. Since the new work had arisen out of the residue of Ablaze, I titled it Ashes. Being, basically, one and the same composition however, Ashes is, despite its title, actually a roaring fire.

Man and Woman (on the Beach) – (2010)

Single movement work for solo violin.

Duration: 3,5 min.

Commissioned by Vestfold Festspillene.
First performance: 5 June 2010, Vestfold Festspillene, Tønsberg, Norway.
Henning Kraggerud (vln).

Man and Woman was one of fifteen works commissioned by the Vestfold Festspillene, to accompany an Edvard Munch exhibition in Tønsberg. Fifteen composers were each given an Edvard Munch painting to depict in music. Each resulting violin work was then performed by Henning Kraggerud standing next to the painting it pertained to.

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Program notes:

Man and woman (on the Beach) for solo violin is essentially an imagined dialogue between the two subjects of the Munch painting entitled Mann og Kvinna vid stranden. The man in the painting is seemingly taciturn and perhaps a bit despondent. His part of the conversation is obdurate and unvarying. First, the woman tries to cajole him, but the man stays unresponsive and obstinate. She then tries to plead with him, but the man still remains unresponsive and obstinate. The woman’s frustration mounts until the apex of the composition, when she finally loses her temper and starts screeching the man’s own arguments back at him. Even this outburst of anger, however, seems to do nothing to lessen the man’s reticence and unyielding nature. At last, the now disheartened woman resorts back to cajoling the man, and the composition comes to a melancholy end.

Döden & Julia (2018)

Double concerto in eight scenes for soprano, violin and string orchestra.
Lyrics by Tuvalisa Rangström.

Commissioned by Musica Vitae.
First performance: 7 September 2018, Växjö, Sweden.
Musica Vitae, Malin Broman (violin), Karolina Bengtsson (soprano).

vln-solo, soprano, string orchestra
Duration: 29 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Metallëphônic (2001)

Concerto for tuba and orchestra.

Commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.
First performance: 28 April 2002, Sollefteå, Sweden.
Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Øystein Baadsvik (tuba), Christopher Warren-Green (conductor).

tuba-solo, 2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl (2 alt. bcl) , 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (1 player), pno/cel, el-gtr, el-bass, strings.
Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: Swedish Information Center.

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Metallëphônic also exists in a transcription for tuba and symphonic wind orchestra by Anders Högstedt under the title Metallëphônic Remix. It has been recorded by Øystein Baadsvik, and the Swedish Wind Ensemble with conductor Christian Lindberg.

Three requiem movements (1999)

Three movements for boys choir and orchestra. Three requiem movements was written as part of the Operanord collaborative stage production Gilles Requiem. Other composers who participated in the project where Juliana Hodkinson, Jovanka Trbojevic, Martin Hall, and Fläskkvartetten.

Commissioned by OperaNord.
First performance: August 13, 1999, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Copenhagens childrens’ choir.
Conductor: Bo Holten
Texts: Requiem liturgy
Additional texts: Per Åge Brandt
Director: Linus Tunström
Set design: Louis Beck
Lighting design: Mogens Kjempff

Boys choir, 2 fl, 2 ob, 2 cl, 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpts, 2 trb, hrp, timp, perc (2 players), pno/celesta, strings.
Duration: 26 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

CD: Gilles Requiem, RuoRecords RRC16 (1999)

Cardiac Fanfare – Hjärtats fanfar (2004)

Short fanfare for large orchestra.

Commissioned by the Swedish Radio.
First performance: 8 January 2005, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vasilij Petrenko (conductor).

picc, 2 fl, 3 ob (2 alt eh), 2 cl, bcl, 2 bsn, cbsn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 trb, tba, hrp, timp, perc (3 players) pno, strings.
Duration: 3,5 min.
Publisher: For score and parts contact the composer.

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Hjärtats fanfar / Cardiac fanfare is a short fanfare version of the longer Romantachycardia, originally commissioned by Sveriges Radio Berwaldhallen.

Mechanical Toys (2006)

Single movement work for clarinet, bassoon, and piano.

Commissioned by Trio Altaïr.
First performance: 6 may 2006, Helsingborg, Sweden.
Trio Altaïr: Per Johansson (cl), Magnus Nilsson (bsn), Nico Benadie (pno).

Duration: 11 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Lullabye variations (2003)

Theme and five variations for cello and double bass.

Commissioned by The Royal College of Music, Stockholm.
First performance: 3 March 2003, Nybrokajen 11 Stockholm, Sweden.
Ulla Ryman (double bass), Åsa Åkerberg (cello).

Duration: 8 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

Lullabye variations are variations on a theme that is never played, never heard, and actually does not exist. Rather than developing concrete musical parameters, Lullabye variations are variations on a mood which might subsist in the lingering aftermath of hearing a lullaby. It is precisely this emotional state that is interpreted and developed as the central material of the work.

Romantamotoric (1996)

Single movement work for clarinet, viola, and piano.

Commissioned by Trio Obscura.
First performance: 11 July 1996. Waldemarsudde Stockholm, Sweden.
Trio Obscura: Staffan Mårtensson (clarinet), Henrik Frendin (viola), Erik Lanninger (piano).

Duration: 11 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

CD: Obscura, DB Productions (2002)

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Program notes:

I have seldom entitled a piece of music as aptly as Romantamotoric. The title not only reflects the chief musical components of the work, but also evinces the two most fundamental characteristics of nearly all of my music: romanticism and groove. While the former arises from a pursuit of beauty, the latter displays my penchant for a gritty beat that swings. When the two are fused, the resultant hybrid is a pulsing romanticism, or, rather, a romantic motoricism.

Just Lookin’ for a Hit (1996)

Single movement work for flute, violin, cello, piano.

First performance: September 29, 1996 in Västerås, Sweden.
Pärlor för Svin: Anders Jonhäll (fute), George Kentros (violin), Mats Olofsson (cello), Mårten Landström (piano).

Duration: 4 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

CD: The Peärls Before Swïne Experience, Caprice Records CAP 21587 (1998)

Full Throttle (1999)

Single movement work for saxophone quartet.

First performance: 27 October 2001, Hultsfred, Sweden.
Stockholm Saxophone Quartet.

Duration: 3 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center. Contact composer for parts.

CD: Stockholm Saxophone Quartet – Encores, Phono Suecia PSCD 146 (2004)

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Program notes:

Full Throttle is, as the title suggests, a high energy, high octane ride. Motoric by nature, the music is driven forward by two contrasting rhythmic motives. Sometimes the motor purrs and sometimes it roars, but as the motives transform into increasingly shorter note values the motor pulsates at a faster and faster rate until, ultimately, the music hits full speed at full throttle.

Overcoming the Monster (2015)

Suite in five movements for flute and guitar.

Commissioned by Haga Duo with funding from the Swedish Arts Council.
First performance: 24 Novemeber 2015, Kaunas, Lithuania.
Haga Duo: Sareidah Hildebrand (flute), Joakim Lundström (guitar).

fl, gtr.
Duration: 8 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Jewish Proverbs (2014)

Ten movements for string trio.

Commissioned with funding from choreographer Christina Tingskog/ ReRe Dance Company and The Swedish Arts Council.
First performance: 22 September 2014, Stockholm Concert House.
Trio ZPR: Cecilia Zilliacus (violin), Johanna Persson (viola), Kati Raitinen (cello).

Duration: 25 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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1 – Man plans and God laughs.
     -38 CE Alexandria, Egypt-
2 – Nine rabbis can’t make a minyan but ten shoemakers can.
      – 30 December, 1066 CE. Granada, Spain –
3 – Man plans and God laughs.
       – April 1506 CE. Lisbon, Portugal –
4 – What difference does it make to the turkey whether it’s
      slaughtered for the Purim feast or the Passover seder?
    – 15 April, 1881 CE. Kiev, Russian Empire –
5 – The devil is not as black as we paint him
      – 24 August, 1929 CE. Hebron, Palestine –
6 – If the girl can’t dance, she says the musicians can’t play.
      – 9 November, 1938 CE. Germany, Austria –
7 – Man plans and God laughs.
      – 27 June, 1941 CE. Iasi, Romania –
8 – If you lie on the ground, you cannot fall.
       – 18 July, 1994 CE. Buenos Aires, Argentina –
9 – What will become of the sheep if the wolf is the judge?
      – 9 November, 2013 CE. Stockholm, Sweden –
10 – Man plans and God weeps.
       – 24 May 2014 CE. Brussels, Belgium –

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Program notes:

”Feeling different, feeling alienated, feeling persecuted, feeling that the only way to deal with the world is to laugh – because if you don’t laugh you’re going to cry and never stop crying – that’s probably what’s responsible for the Jews having developed such a great sense of humor. The people who had the greatest reason to weep, learned more than anyone else how to laugh.”
-Mel Brooks

Jewish Proverbs is a set of ten short movements for string trio, each of which, as the title suggests, attempts to portray a different Yiddish proverb. Like the folklore from which they come, these proverbs often use humor as a device to deliver a more somber meaning. Similarly, while the titles of the individual movements are seemingly humorous, Jewish Proverbs also asks the listener to hear the ongoing history of Jews being persecuted and therein the pain, sadness, horror, and despair which gave rise to such a rich folklore and humor.
– Daniel Nelson

Burn (1994)

Single movement work for string trio.

Duration: 10 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

First performance: 7 April 1994, Stockholm Culture House, Sweden.
KammarensembleN: Jeffrey Lee (violin), Henrik Frendin (viola) Åsa Åkerberg (cello).

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Program notes:

Watching a fire, one becomes mesmerized by the dancing flames which are continuously varied in their shades of color, in their intensity and direction, and in their size and power. While the fire burns, and slowly but surely changes the make-up of its fueling material, it is also leaping about in various chaotic and irregular configurations of flames and sparks. Though jagged and dramatic, these bursting displays seem nonetheless to bear the shapes of re–emerging patterns. In other words, even though no two configurations of flames and sparks are identical, their appearance is repetitive by nature. It is my intention that the listeners’ aural experience of Burn might be analogous to watching the dancing flames of such a fire.

Music for Beasts (2018)

Suite in five movements for brass orchestra.

Commissioned by the The Royal Swedish Cavalry Band.
First performance: 12 January 2018, Stockholm, Sweden.
Royal Swedish Cavalry Band, David Björkman (conductor).

12 crn (alt. tpt), 4 hn (alt. a-hn), 2 bar, 3 trb, 2 euph, 4 tba, 3 perc.
Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

The first and fourth movements, Fanfare for Beasts and March for Beasts, are scored for a mounted cavalry band, but can also be played in a concert setting.

Sorrowful Songs (2015)

Suite in four movements for chamber ensemble.

Commissioned by the Vadstena Academy for the Vadstena Soloists.
First performance: 11 July 2015, Vadstena, Sweden, by the Vadstena Soloists.

fl, cl, bsn, 3 vln, 2 vla, 2 vc, gtr.
Duration: 11 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Haunt (1991)

Single movement work for chamber ensemble.

First performance: 22 May 1992, Chicago, USA.
Contemporary Chamber Players, Barbara Schubert (conductor).

fl, cl, hn, perc (1 player), pno, 2 vln, vla, vc.
Duration: 18 min.
Publisher: Edition Suecia.

CD: KammarensembleN, Haunt, Phono Suecia PSCD 125 (1999)
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Program notes:

Haunt was originally inspired by the first two lines of a W.H. Auden poem (Twelve Songs no. 4): “Dear, though the night is gone, / Its dream still haunts to-day.” Essentially, the work is concerned with a dream world which recounts time past as well as a physical world which signifies time present. In the beginning of the composition these two spaces of time are represented by contrasting musical moods which are continuously and abruptly alternating. Throughout the course of the work, as physical time passes, the two musical moods are increasingly melded together as if the dream were being assimilated in the present. By the end of the composition, the two spaces of time become almost indistinguishable. It is up to each listener to decide which musical mood signifies their present reality and which signifies their dream of the past.

Miz Melody & the Resonant Rhythm Review (1998)

Suite for chamber ensemble in four movements.

Commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Ensemble.
First performance: 3 March 1999, Sundsvall, Sweden.
Nordic Chamber Ensemble.

fl, ob, cl, bsn, 2 vln, vla, vc, pno
Duration: 12 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

CD: Nordic Chamber Ensemble/It’s all about Rhythm. Intim Musik IMCD 100 (2006)

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Program notes:

I have a great weakness for popular dance music, and especially dance music of the 1950’s and 1980’s which, in my mind, are somewhat akin to one another in that their respective swinging and bouncing rhythmic energies convey a similar expression of exuberance and joy. Having grown up listening to this music, it was only a matter of time before certain of its elements started to creep into my own compositions. Miz Melody & the Resonant Rhythm Review is, thus, a four movement survey of those components in popular dance music which I enjoy and find interesting. The first movement, Jolt, begins as a traditional Tarantella (a South American dance), but the emphasis of the meter quickly shifts to a back-beat and the Tarantella thereby metamorphoses into a groove that in my ears bears a strong resemblance to the Washington DC go-go beat which was popular in that region in the mid 1980’s.

Lite-Bop is steeped in the structure of a pop tune: intro, repeats, bridges, and all. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that popular music relies on a minimum of material, presented over and over again with very little variation, and still my attention as a listener seldom wanes. In the third movement, I tip my hat to Nelson Riddle, the arranger and bandleader who in the 1950’s gave such crooners as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin their unique and respective sounds. The riddle of writing this movement, entitled Nelson’s Riddle, was how to make the timbre of an eight-piece ensemble reminiscent of the lush horn saxophone-harp-string-flute sound which was so characteristic in the legendary band leader’s arrangements. These days, it is quite common to find #1 hits in several different recorded versions: the club-mix, the long-play dance mix, the radio mix, and so forth. Emulating this concept, I’ve blended material from the first three movements with new material specific to the fourth movement. The result being a quick mix, or Q-mix, which sums up the earlier portions of Miz Melody , while acting as a fresh and fitting finale to the entire work.

Neon-o-matic (1997)

Single movement work for chamber ensemble.

Commissioned by Kammarensemble NAÜ.
First performance: 8 March 1998, Nalen, Stockholm, Sweden.
Kammarensemble NAÜ, Hans Ek (conductor).

fl, cl, ob, bsn, hn, tpt, trb, 2 vln, vla, vc, db.
Duration: 9min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

My Inner Disco (2001)

Single movement work for accordion and string quartet.

Commissioned by the Swedish Concert Institute.
First performance: 13 April 2002, Växjö, Sweden.
Geir Draugsvoll (accordion), Aniara String Quartet.

Duration: 9 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center (for parts contact composer).

CD: Aniara Quartet – Contemporary works for String Quartet and Accordion.
Intim Musik IMCD 088 (2004).

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Program notes:

I think everybody has at some time or another fleetingly heard a snippet of a song on the radio that has completely captivated them. You know the feeling? Suddenly you are transfixed by music that you have never heard before. Somehow the music has the rhythm, tempo, harmony and timing that exactly corresponds to your own inner groove. My Inner Disco is a compilation of such musical components that make my own inner clock tick.

Purplelectric (1997)

Single movement work for flute and organ.

First performance: 5 July 1997, Eskiltuna, Sweden.
Mikael Pettersson (flute), Bengt Tribukait (organ).

Duration: 7 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Purplelectric is an arrangement of A-chord-in-Neon for accordion solo.
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Program notes:

Purple is a bold, electrifying, and ecstatic color which demands attention, And although I don’t believe in synesthetic relationships between music and color, I do think that ones perception of dissimilar sensorary encounters may lead to emotional responses of comparable qualities. In other words, for me as a listener, the music of Purplelectric gives rise to an emotional response similar to that of being intensely subjugated to the color purple. It stands to reason, however, that these responses are articulated to us, and indeed by us, through external association. Where our personal experiences differ, so too do our emotional responses to given items differ. When titling my composition Purplelectric I am thus attempting to underline my own auditory experience of the work, and perhaps trying to steer other listeners to hear the piece the same way I do. I am, however, in no way suggesting that the music sounds purple. After all, how does purple sound?

Ablaze (1994)

Concerto for violin and string orchestra in 3 movements.

First performance: 17 September, 2000, Stockholm, Sweden.
Maria Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Lee (violin), Ragnar Bolin (conductor).

Duration: 20 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.
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Program notes:

Ablaze (1994) was the second completed piece in a planned trilogy of works for various string ensembles. In addition to having melodic and rhythmic material in common, the three pieces also share the idea of fire as a programmatic theme. Rather than to try and aurally depict three different types, or three successive stages of a fire, I have sought to write incidental music to the theatrical play of sparks and flames. Whereas the first part of the trilogy, Burn for string trio, concerned itself with minute details of regular, yet continuously shifting, configurations and patterns in a small fire, Ablaze is, as can be deduced from its title, a raging inferno. Here, the shifting harmonic and rhythmic patterns have been exchanged for large blocks of music which are forever surging forward, hardly ever letting up in intensity, and, in a whirlwind of notes, are always blazing towards new climaxes.

Rondo Neuroica (1994)

Single movement work for amateur string orchestra.

Commissioned by Rättvik String Course/Åsa Åkerberg.
First performance: 1 August 2994, Rättvik, Sweden.
Rättvik String Course, Åsa Åkerberg (conductor).

Duration: 7 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Bounce (2003)

Single movement work for amateur wind orchestra.

Commissioned by the Swedish Concert Institute.
First performance: 26 November 2003, Västerås, Sweden.
Västerås Stadsmusikkår, Håkan Johansson (conductor).

3 fl (3 alt picc), 2 ob, 3 cl, bcl, 2 bsn, 2 a-sax, ten-sax, bar-sax, 3 tpt, 2 cornets, 4 hn, 2 trb, 2 tbas, db, perc (4 players).
Oboes and bassoons are doubling instruments and thus not requisite for the performance of Bounce.
Duration: 7 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

If I view each new piece that I write as a resultant sum of previous musical experiences, then Bounce borrows perhaps most heavily from that music which I encountered as a young boy during the early and mid 1970’s: Disco, La Bohéme, J.S. Bach, and theme songs from cheesy TV-shows. It is the essence of these musical influences, rather than direct quotes, that flavor the music of Bounce.

Book of Beat (2003)

Concerto for saxophone quartet and windband.

Commissioned by Stiftelsen Östgötamusiken.
First performance: 12 February 2004, Linköping, Sweden.
Östgöta Blåsarsymfonikerna, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Hannu Koivula (conductor).

Saxophone quartet (sop, alt, ten, bar), 2 fl (alt. picc), 2 ob, 3 cl, bcl, 2 bsn, 2 hn, 3 tpt, 3 trb, tba, el-bass, pno, perc (2 players).
Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

As the title suggests, Book of Beat is a catalogue of grooves and rhythms. A library of rhythmic motives which I have amassed during the past decade of composing. Some of them have been the musical backbone to pieces I have written, while others have been laying in my desk drawer for years, waiting for an opportunity to be woven or inserted into a new composition. Their respective similarities lie in the common compositional process by which they have been generated, and in the communal character which is decidedly danceable.
To sew it all together, I have used J.S. Bach’s Third Orchestral Suite as a model. Itself, a group of courtly dances which I imagine would be rather difficult to strut your stuff to on the dance floor. And therein lies the primary tie to the baroque form in which I navigate. I have indeed borrowed other elements from the orchestral suite: titles, long-range structure, the tertiary forms of movements, and the idea of a continuo group functioning as the primary motor of the orchestra. Yet, I must admit to having been quite liberal in my interpretation of baroque dances, viewing them mainly as a vehicle for a good beat. I like to think that Bach would have approved.

Metallëphônic Remix (2005)

Concerto for tuba and wind ensemble in seven movements.

First performance: 19 January 2007, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Wind Ensemble, Øystein Baadsvik (tuba soloist), and Christian Lindberg (conductor).

Tuba-solo, 3 fl, 3 ob, 6 cl, bcl, c-bcl, sop sax, alto sax, ten sax, bar sax, 2 hn, 2 tpt, trb, btrb, el-gtr, el-bass, pno/cel, perc (2 players).
Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: Ovation Music.

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Metallëphônic Remix is a an arrangement for wind ensemble done by Anders Högstedt.
The original version, Metallëphônic for tuba and orchestra, was commissioned by Sundsvall/Nordic Chamber Orchestra.

Clarinet Concerto (2000)

Concerto for clarinet and orchestra.

Commissioned by Västerås Sinfonietta and the Swedish Concert Institute.
First performance: 16 March 2000, Västerås, Sweden.
Västerås Sinfonietta, Niklas Andersson (clarinet), Glenn Mossop (conductor).

cl-solo, 2 fl* (2 alt. picc.), 2 ob*, 2 clar*, 2 bsn*, 2 hrns, 2 tpts, perc (2 players), pno/celesta, strings.
*(each woodwind player is, in the 2nd mvt, required to play on 2 crystal wine glasses tuned to specific pitches).
Duration: 19 min.
Publisher: Edition Suecia
CD: Intim Musik / IMCD072

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Program notes:

I’ve always felt that music is an objective art form, and that any programmatic content a listener might experience is based more on the listener’s associative memories than on any inherent programmatic power of the music. Right before I started composing the Clarinet Concerto, however, I had an awful dream about a very dear friend who had recently died. The nightmare was accompanied by music: a static but achingly beautiful string-chord over which a high clarinet screamed out in anguish. This being the first time I had ever dreamt music, I was rather disconcerted, not only by the subject of the dream itself, but also because the dream indirectly raised many questions concerning my views of music as non-programmatic. Why was the dream-music so tranquil and thus so different from my otherwise florid and energetic compositional style? Why was the clarinet accompanied by a string chord? Why did the string chord seem so beautiful despite the anguish of the dream? Basically, I was asking myself; what is the programmatic meaning of this music?
The music from my dream appears only in the concerto’s second movement, yet I can see with hindsight that my nightmare actually influenced the entire work. The playfulness which was to characterize the third movement became instead an ominous and dramatic rhythmic energy, while the virtuoso and fanfare-like first movement attained an almost mozartian lightness as a balance against the heaviness of the rest of the concerto. I have had to revise my opinions concerning programmatic music. For me, the Clarinet Concerto has a deep programmatic meaning. Still, I wonder if you, the listener, would hear the programmatic content if I had not first explained it.

The Clarinet Concerto is dedicated to Niklas Andersson. The second movement is dedicated to my wife Sabra Walker.

Romantatronic (2000)

Concerto in two movements for viola, string orchestra, percussion and celesta.

Commissioned by the Swedish section of the International Viola Society.
First performance: 4 August 2000, Stockholm, Sweden.
Camerata Roman, Henrik Frendin (viola), Andreas Hanson (conductor).

Duration: 13 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.
CD: Henrik Frendin, Viola con Forza. Phono Suecia PSCD 151 (2003)

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Program notes:

In the beginning of January, 2000 I completed a large-scale work for clarinet and orchestra. Upon its completion I felt somewhat exhausted by the flashy and virtuoso style of writing which tends to typify the solo parts of concerti. Having to immediately start working on the next concerto, this time for viola and string orchestra, I decided to forfeit any pyrotechnical exhibitions by the solo-viola in favor of incorporating the instrument into the larger fabric of the string orchestra.
Concurrent with starting to work on the new piece for viola and string orchestra, I was engaged in an altogether different project involving, among others, a Swedish DJ whose field of expertise is popular, modern dance-music as well as ambient music. During numerous evenings of CD-listening he introduced me to this genre of music, which I found to be surprisingly rich in variety and style. I was particularly drawn to the way that rhythmically contrasting layers of music were constantly alternating between background and foreground. The resulting effect was of a continuously changing ‘groove-pattern’ even though the ‘beat’ of the music remained constant. This struck me as an excellent manner in which the solo viola-part could move between an orchestral role and a more soloistic role. I used this style of writing mainly in the fast, second section of the piece, which I felt gave it a distinct technotronic flavor. The mood of the opening movement is, however, undeniably romantic: thus the title of the piece, Romantatronic..

The Ninth Wave (2008)

Cantata in nine movements for soprano and orchestra setting texts by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892):
excerpts from Maud (part II-IV:1-2), Maud (part I-XI: 1-2),In Memoriam A.H.H., and The Coming Arthur.

Commissioned by Västerås Sinfonietta with funding from The Swedish Arts Council.
First performance: 25 October 2002, Västerås, Sweden.
Västerås Sinfonietta, Jeanette Bjurling (soprano), Mats Rondin (conductor).

soprano, 2 fl, 2 ob (2 alt eh), 2 cl (2 alt. bcl), 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (2 players), pno/celesta, el-bass, strings.

Duration: 40 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

I first started sketching The Ninth Wave during the summer of 1992. It was a summer of great personal anguish. My wife was hospitalised with TBE and I dealt with my anxiety by combing through Alfred Lord Tennyson’s complete poetry, looking for texts which subject matter either conveyed a sense of hope, or pertained to the transformation of hopelessness into hope. During the course of the summer my perusal of Tennyson’s poetry resulted in a rather detailed sketch of a large-scale piece for soprano and orchestra. As the summer came to a close and my wife’s health improved, I felt less of an urgency to continue my work on the piece. I finally put my sketches away in a drawer where they lay untouched for quite awhile.
Nine years later, as I awaited parenthood, the issue of hope became very topical in my life once again. It seemed, therefore, a good time to recommence work on the Ninth Wave. During the interim, however, many of my compositional techniques as well as musical predilections had changed. Yet, I noticed that my reading of the poetry remained largely the same. Most importantly, I found that the longe-range structure that I had mapped out — basically, a textual journey from despair to hope — still felt very current to my situation in life. On an emotional spectrum from despair to hope, I was now, however, standing on the side of hope. The Ninth Wave is dedicated to all people who nurture hope in their hearts, and especially to Ella and Sabra who embody so many of my own hopes; past, present, and future.

Romances & Air (2003)

Concerto for violin and orchestra.

Commissioned by Symphony Orchestra of NorrlandsOperan.
First performance: 17 May 2007, Umeå, Sweden.
Symphony Orchestra of NorrlandsOperan, Cecilia Zilliacus (violin), Hannu Lintu (conductor).

vln-solo, 2 fl (alt. picc), 2 ob (2 alt. eh), 2 cl (2 alt. bcl), 2 bsn,4 hn, 2 tpt, 2 trb, tba, hrp, perc (2 players), pno, strings.

Duration: 17 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Music Noir (2010)

Concerto for electric-viola and orchestra.

Commissioned by the Swedish Concert Institute.
First performance: 13 April 2011, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Henrik Frendin (viola), Enrique Mazzola (conductor).

el-vla solo, 2 fl (alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl (2 alt. bcl), 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, timp, perc (2-3 players), pno,
el-gtr, el-bass, musical saw, strings, electronics (7 audio files projected through stereo speakers).

Duration: 25 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Analytic Tales of Mechanical Movement (2012)

Concerto for double bass and string orchestra.

Commissioned by Musik i Syd/Musica Vitae.
First performance: 7 November 2013, Växjö, Sweden.
Musica Vitae, Joel Larsson (double bass), Katarina Andreasson (conductor).

Double bass, string orchestra (44321 min)
Duration: 22 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

I am quite fond of mechanical toys and other automata which move without the use of electricity, relying instead on the interplay of cogs, wheels, weights and springs for their mechanical movement. Analytic Tales of Mechanical Movement, is a four movement ode to such self-operating machines which are powered by inner clockwork. Waltz of the music box doll opens the concerto. It is a waltz with a slight limp, as if one of the cogs twirling the plastic ballerina occasionally glitches, and then lurches on again. Similarly, during Inner clockwork of a sad automaton you mainly hear the continuous bump and grind of the cogs and wheels which are working hard to create the emotional song of a sad mechanical robot. Only briefly do you actually get to hear his lament before the whir of the cogs takes over again.
In the forbidden city of Beijing, China, there is an extraordinary museum with clocks from all around the world. The most fantastic piece in this museum is a porcelain scribe who pulls out a piece of rice paper and using a calligraphy pen paints the chinese pictogram for ”longevity.” Thereafter, the Scribe in the forbidden city becomes seemingly inactive for the next twelve hours, but truth be known his inner clockwork is silently working the entire time.
The final movement of the double bass concerto is entitled Coil & spring which is merely descriptive of how I hear this music; like coils winding tighter and tighter, then released, only to be wound up again, released and wound up.

– Daniel Nelson

The Little Prince Suite (2017)

Orchestral suite in eight movements.

Commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.
First performance: 16 march 2017, Tonhallen Sundsvall, Sweden.
Nordic Chamber Orchestra, David Björkman (conductor).

2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob (2 alt. eh) , 2 cl (2 alt. bcl) , 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (1 player), pno/cel, strings.
Duration: 28 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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The Little Prince Suite is an extract of music from the ballet of the the same title, The Little Prince.

The Little Prince (2015)

Ballet in 2 acts.

Commissioned by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra.
First performance: 3 October 2015, Sundsvall, Sweden.

Music: Daniel Nelson
Choreography: Tina Tarpgaard.
Conductor: David Björkman.
Scenography: Signe Krogh
Costume Design: Inbal Lieblich.
Lighting Design: Michael Breiner.
Dancers: Tomáš Červinka, Claudia Fürnholzer, César García Steensen, Anna Jirmanova, Viktor Konvalinka, Hanna Nussbaumer, Leila Verlinden, Jonas Örknér.

2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob (2 alt. eh) , 2 cl (2 alt. bcl) , 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (1 player), pno/cel, strings.
Duration: 90 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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The Little Prince was commissioned in celebration of the Nordic Chamber Orchestra’s 25th year anniversary and Norrdans’ 20th anniversary.

Electric Graffiti (2014)

Concerto for electric guitar and orchestra.

Commissioned by Västerås Sinfonietta, written for Mats Bergström and the Västerås Sinfonietta.
First performance: 23 April 23 2015, Västerås, Sweden.
Västerås Sinfonietta, Mats Bergström (electric guitar), Julian Kuerti (conductor).

Electric guitar, 2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl (2 alt. bcl), 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (1 player), pno/celesta, strings.
Duration: 23 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes:

The trickiest part of writing Electric Graffiti was, beyond a doubt, figuring out how to sonically fit an electric guitar into the analogue timbre of the orchestra. I have earlier, in orchestral works like Metallëphônic, Music Noir, and The Ninth Wave, used electric guitars and electric basses with great success. Interestingly, I have found, that if these electronic instruments are hidden at the back of the stage, so that an audience only hears them and does not actually see them being played, then it is possible to weave their unique sounds seamlessly into the timbre of the orchestra, thereby creating some stunning resultant soundscapes. Obviously, you cannot hide a soloist at the back of the orchestra. It seemed to me that any way I tried to handle the solo electric-guitar, it stood out like graffiti on a fresh coat of paint. Once I established that the instrument was a complete foreigner to its surroundings, it was not a big leap to decide that perhaps the solution was merely to fit the surroundings around the sonic properties of the electric guitar. And so, Electric Graffiti evolved as a kind of travelogue in which a graffiti artist (the electric guitarist) moves through different urban milieus, transforming the landscape as he disperses his Tags and graffiti art.

Det knepigaste med att skriva Electric Graffiti var onekligen att komma på hur man ljudmässigt skulle få en elgitarr att passa in i orkesterns klangfärg. Jag har tidigare, i verk såsom Metallëphônic, Music Noir och även The Ninth Wave, använt elgitarr och elektriska bas med stor framgång. Intressant nog upptäckte jag att om man gömmer dessa elektriska instrument längst bak i orkestern, så att publiken endast hör och inte ser när de spelas, är det möjligt att sömlöst väva in deras unika ljud i orkesterns klangfärg och därmed skapa fantastiska resulterande ljudbilder. Självklart går det inte att gömma en solist längst bak i orkestern. När jag skrev detta stycke blev jag alltmer varse om att hur jag än försökte hantera sologitarren, så stack den ut som graffiti på en nymålad tavla. När jag väl konstaterade att instrumentet var en komplett främling i sin miljö, var det inte ett stort steg till att bestämma att lösningen kanske låg i att istället anpassa omgivningen till elgitarrens soniska egenskaper. På så sätt utvecklades Electric Graffiti som en slags reseberättelse i vilket en graffitikonstnär (el-gitarristen) förflyttar sig genom olika stadsmiljöer och förvandlar de kringliggande landskap genom att måla sina “Tags” och sin graffitikonst.

– Daniel Nelson

Boxes (2012)

Dance performance by Swedish choreographer Christina Tingskog.

Commissioned by ReRe Dance Company and The Swedish Arts Council.
Additional funding from Norrdans and the Nordic Chamber Ensemble.
First performance: 16 Novemember 2013, Norrdans Scen, Härnösand.

Choreography: Christina Tingskog.
Light Design: Thomas Mirstam
Alto Saxophone: Jörgen Pettersson
Pre-recorded music by the Nordic Chamber Orchestra and ZilliacusPerssonRaitinen Trio.
Dancers: Sigrid Husfjord, Laerke Ilkjaer, Alexander Larsson, Markus Lönneborg, Nelly Zagora.

Scored for Chamber ensemble, alto saxophone (live), and electronics.
The Chamber ensemble and electronics are pre-recorded.
Duration: 50 min.

#JAG (2016)

Dance performance for children (from 12 years) investigating the world of social media, and the cross-section between the virtual world and IRL.

Commissioned by the Royal Swedish Opera.
First performance: 19 November 2016, Stockholm, Sweden.

Musicians from the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra.
Choreography: Christina Tingskog.
Conductor: Andreas Hanson.
Scenography/Lighting Design: Markus Granqvist.
Costume: Anna Kjellsdotter.
Video Animation: Lois Nygren.
Dancers: Björn Nilsson/Jonathan Sikell, Gjertrud Lager Olaussen, Maria Påhls, Michelle Persson, Ninos Josef.

Force of a Rainbow – Kraften av en regnbåge (2006)

Single movement orchestral fanfare.

Commissioned by the Swedish Radio.
First performance: 17 June 2006, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stefan Solyom (cond).

3 fl (3 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl, b.clar, 2 bsn, c.bsn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 2 trb, tba, hrp, timp, perc (3 players), pno, strings.
Duration: 4 min.
Publisher: Swedish Radio, Music Library. Tel: +46 – 8 784 00 00.

Force of a Rainbow was premiered at the Swedish Radio SO:s televised By-popular-demand concert from Skansen in Stockholm. In addition it has been played at their annually televised Epiphany concert, as well as at the Swedish Royal Philharmonic’s annually televised Music-in-the-Green concert. The latter of which was attended by an audience of 35000 people.

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Program notes for Force of a Rainbow:

Like a rainbow, the music crackles with sparkling colors. And like a rainbow, this experience lasts only a short while. But in contrast to the natural phenomenon that always fades away, the music instead wells up with an increasing force, as waves in a sea of rainbows.

Likt en regnbåge sprakar musiken med gnistrande färger. Och likt en regnbåge varar upplevelsen bara en kort stund. Men i motsats till naturfenomenet som alltid tynar bort, väller musiken istället fram med ett alltjämnt tilltagande kraft. Som vågor i ett hav av regnbågar.

Romantachycardia (2004)

Single movement orchestral fanfare.

Commissioned by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
First performance: 2 September 2004, Stockholm, Sweden.
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck (conductor).

picc, 2 fl, 3 ob (2 alt eh), 2 cl, b.cl, 2 bsn, c.bsn, 4 hn, 3 tpt, 3 trb, tba, hrp, timp, perc (3 players) pno, strings.
Duration: 9 min.
Publisher: Swedish Radio, Music Library: tel +46 – 8 784 00 00

Symphony (2008)

Orchestral work in three movements.

Commissioned by the Symphony Orchestra of NorrlandsOperan.
First performance: 30 October 2008, Umeå, Sweden.
Symphony Orchestra of NorrlandsOperan, Roland Kluttig (conductor).

2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl (2 alt. b.cl), 2 bsn, 4 hn, 2 tpt, 3 trb, tba, hrp, timp, perc (2-3 players), pno/celesta, strings.
Duration: 40 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

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Program notes for the Symphony:

Writing a symphony was at the time the most massive compositional venture that I had ever undertaken. In a manner, I erected a musical monument to myself. This symphony is a catalogue of my musical tastes and influences as well as a codefication of my craftmanship. It is a retrospective of my entire development as a composer, while at the same time it is a door to my musical future.
Early on I had a notion that I wanted to depict how we might experience time in space. I had three pictures in my mind, each of which elicited feelings that I somehow wanted to translate into music, and each of which eventually came to govern the three movements of the symphony: firstly, the feeling of standing still or moving in slow motion in a crowd; secondly, the sense of hovering or floating over a bustling crowd, objectively observing the people walking by; and lastly, the feeling of moving quickly through a mob which is almost stagnant. Common to all three scenarios is that an individual is pitted against a larger crowd, and that the individual and the crowd is moving at disparate speeds.
As I had already concluded the autobiographical aspect of writing a symphony, it seemed natural to assign different temporal functions to the two elements of the above scenarios. I decided then that the individual would vaguely represent my present as a composer (i.e. the music I have been writing during the past three years), while the crowd would represent my past.
In the first movement of the symphony my musical past is manifest in gestures or verbatim quotes from earlier works, mainly from the oratorium The Ninth Wave (2002) and my clarinet trio Romantamotoric (1996). I have been very careful in choosing such quotes that fit into my current compositional style without being excessively modified. In this movement, akin to standing still in a rushing crowd, my musical present is the vortex around which snippets of my musical past whirl.
In the second movement I use a technique of layering different musical strata. Here I am revisiting past works (most notably a work for music theater that I wrote in 1999, Gilles Requiem, as well as the ensemble work Haunt from 1992) and rewriting them based on my current compositional style. I am, in a sense, perched up in my present, hovering above and observing my past.Finally, the last movement is an amalgamy of my musical past and present. Here, quotes from earlier works like the Clarinet concerto (2000) and Romantachycardia (2004), as well as motivic gestures from Mahler and Richard Strauss, crash into the present and transform into entirely new music. In this movement, the individual is running through his past, and each time he bumps into someone from the crowd, he changes and transforms until the very end of the piece where he no longer is past or present but perhaps already part of his own future.

Dances & Air (2003)

Three short movements for violin and orchestra.

Commissioned by Västerås Sinfonietta with funding from the Swedish Arts Council.
First performance: 7 October 2004, Västerås, Sweden.
Västerås Sinfonietta, Cecilia Zilliacus (violin), Hannu Koivula (conductor).

vln-solo, 2 fl (2 alt. picc), 2 ob, 2 cl (2 alt. b.cl), 2 bsn, 2 hn, 2 tpt, perc (1 player), pno, strings.
Duration: 10 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

CD: Intim Musik IMCD 093

Öde Mix (2006)

Dance performances by Swedish choreographer Christina Tingskog.

Commissioned by Föreningen ReRe.
First performance: January 2007, Moderna Dansteatern, Stockholm, Sweden.

Music: collaborative work by Daniel Nelson and Fredrik Högberg.
Lighting design: Thomas Mirstam.
Duration: 60 min.

Pride and Prejudice – Stolthet och fördom (2011)

Opera Buffa in 3 acts.
Music: Daniel Nelson
Libretto: Sofia Fredén after the novel by Jane Austen.

Commissioned by the Vadstena Academy.
First performance: 21 July 2011, Vadstena Castle, Vadstena, Sweden.

Elisabeth Meyer (Lizzy), John Kinell (Mr. Darcy), Sofie Asplund (Lydia),
Martin Vanberg (Mr. Wickham), Sara P Eriksson (Charlotte), Thomas Sepp
(Mr. Collins), Hélène Kimblad (Mrs. Bennet), Mikael Axelsson (Mr. Bennet),
Magdalena Risberg (Jane), Jesper Säll (Mr. Bingley).

Conductor: David Björkman.
Vadstena Academy Opera Orchestra.
Directors and choreographers: Clara Svärd, Nils Spangenberg, Johanna Hybinette.
Stage design and costumes: Ulrika Wedin.
Lighting designer: Jimmy Ström.
Mask design: Katrin Wahlberg.

Duration: 140 min.
Publisher: Swedish Music Information Center.

Lizzy – soprano
Mr. Darcy – baritone
Lydia – soprano
Mr. Wickham – tenor
Charlotte – mezzosoprano
Mr. Collins – baritone
Mrs. Bennet – alto/mezzosoprano
Mr. Bennet – bassbaritone
Jane – soprano
Mr. Bingley – tenor
Steward at Pemberley – spoken role

fl (alt. picc), ob, cl (alt. b.cl), hn, tpt, hrp, perc (1 player), pno, 2 vln, vla, vc, db (can also be played with an augmented string section).

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Act 1

The Bennets are at a ball in Hertfordshire in southern England. The Bennet family is comprised of Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, and their three daughters: the oldest, Jane, the middle daughter, Lizzy, and last but not least the youngest, Lydia. With them also is Lizzy’s best friend, Charlotte Lucas.
Mrs. Bennet is in search of an appropriate husband for any, or preferably, all of her daughters. Due to the entail law, she and her daughters will be penniless when Mr. Bennet dies as their estate must be inherited by a male relative. In the case of the Bennets it is a distant cousin, Mr. Collins.
Mr. Bingley, a wealthy gentleman who rents a rural castle in the area, arrives at the ball accompanied by his best friend, the even richer Mr. Darcy. There is an immediate attraction between Mr. Bingley and Jane. The successful evening is marred only by Mr. Darcy’s presence, especially for Lizzy as she always seems to be the butt of his condescending manners.
Later in the evening, Mr. Wickham, an officer from the local regiment, arrives at the ball. He is popular with the ladies, especially with Lydia. Mr. Wickham also has insight about Mr. Darcy, in whose home he grew up…

Act 2

A week has passed, and at the Bennet’s house, Longbourn, Charlotte and the Bennets are waiting for Mr. Bingley. Instead, Mr. Wickham shows up. Everything is fine until Mr. Collins suddenly makes his entrance. He has a suggestion that would secure the future of the Bennet daughters – he intends to marry one of them! He prefers Jane but on Mrs. Bennet’s advice he chooses Lizzy. She, however, declines his invites. After the rejected Mr. Collins has stormed off, Mr. Wickham talks about his and Mr. Darcy’s past, and laments how it has affected his financial security. Quite unexpectedly Mr. Darcy shows up. He wants to talk to Lizzy but his purpose remains unclear.
More time has now passed, the first snow falls and the family is still waiting. Charlotte comes to share city gossip. She has news about Mr. Bingley, about Mr. Wickham, and about herself. She reveals that she is soon going to marry Mr. Collins.

Act 3

Winter progresses, but at Longbourn still nothing is happening. Mrs. Bennet takes action and sends Jane to London where Mr. Bingley resides. Lydia will be off to Brighton where she will meet the local regiment. The plan is for Lizzy to stay at home – much to Mr. Bennet’s delight. But Lizzy does not want to stay at home and she goes for a walk in the woods.
Suddenly, Mr. Darcy appears. He says he loves her, despite her lower station in life. Lizzy declares that she does not reciprocate his feelings. He leaves her with the promise to write a letter that will tell the truth about himself and his involvement in Mr. Bingley’s hasty departure from Jane, and in Mr. Wickham’s fate.
Lizzy decides to take a trip. She goes first to visit Charlotte and Mr. Collins, and then to Derbyshire where she falls in love with the landscape and with Pemberley castle, unaware that it is the home of Mr. Darcy. When the master of the house unexpectedly returns home, they meet again.
In Brighton, Lydia and Mr. Wickham meet and elope to a seedy hotel in London. Lydia’s foolishness has devastated the family’s future, and the scandal is a fact! Lizzy and Jane return home at once to Longbourn. As do Lydia and Mr. Wickham whom to the relief of the Bennet family are newlyweds. Lydia tells the family that, in fact, Mr. Darcy is the one who has paid for the wedding and all of Mr. Wickham’s debts. The Bennet family reputation is saved.
Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to visit and everything is now different…

PERFECT or Join my picnic (2010)

Dance performance by Swedish choreographer Christina Tingskog.

Commissioned by Föreningen ReRe.
First performance: March 29, 2011, Berga Teatern, Åkersberga, Sweden.

Light design: Thomas Mirstam.
Dancers: Karin Delén, Caroline Hammar, Ida Hellsten,
Markus Lönneborg, Therese Persson, Kiruna Stamell, Tommy Roda

Publisher: Contact composer for Audio files.

Note from Nelson

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