Scored for 21EH22/2200/timp/1perc/hp/strings Parts on rental.

Debussy?s friendship with the versatile poet and playwright Gabriel Mourey began in 1899, and in July 1907, Mourey offered Debussy a libretto based on Le roman de Tristan - Joesph B�dier?s adaptation of a twelfth-century Breton romance by the Anglo-Norman poet known as Tomas - which had recently been published in Paris. Debussy enthusiastically outline the four-act plot to Victor Segalen that October, and the main differences from Wagner?s Tristan und Isolde are that none of the action takes place in Cornwal and that ?Isolde of the white hands? is found guilty of cuckolding King Marc with Tristan, who has to rescue her from the leper colony in which she is abandoned in Act 1. She also betrays hi when he goes mad at the end.

The idea of a Tristan that restorced its ?legendary character? and had no connections with Wagner, appealed to Debussy, who was extremely moved by the circumstances of Tristan?s death. Even if he thought that Mourey?s poetry was ?not very lyrical and many passages do not exactly ?invite? music?, he did work on the libretto and the music that summer and sent his pubisher Jacques Durand, ?one of the 363 themes for the ?Roman de Tristan?? in a letter sent from Pourville on 23 August, 1907. The present prelude grows from this theme, together with the poignant Breton folksong ?Le Faucon?. After a short atmospheric introduction, Debussy?s dance-like theme (which is definitely not a leitmotif) gradually gains momentum and after it reaches it ecstatic climas, representing the transient happiness of the lovers, it dissolves into an expressive coda and an elegiac close (all growing from Debussy?s opennning, off-stage trumpet calls), leaving us with the ultimate tragedy of their ill-fated advice.

Unforunately, Mourey?s actual libretto has been lost and the project eventually foundered because B�dier?s cousin, Louis Artus, wanted Debussy to use the scenario he had prepared and copyrights for the stage, and would not allow him to proceed with Mourey?s version. Debussy, it need hardly be said, would never have dreamed of collaborating with the author of the vaudeville hit La culotte (The pants)!

A large orchestral piece, inspired by the classic film music of science fiction cinema, perfect for cross-over, pops programs. A symphonic love letter to science fiction!

Anyone familiar with the 1980s sci-fi cinema boosted by the success of Steven Spielberg should note the obvious reference in the title of this piece. The 1987 sci-fi adventure, directed by Joe Dante and produced by Spielberg, was one of my favourite movies as a teenager.

When the enthusiastic Gothia Concentus commissioned me to write Innerspace, the task was to write a stand-alone concert work that would serve as companion piece to an impressive set list of well-known genre works primarily from the world of film, but also video games. Since all of the other pieces were written for sci-fi adventures taking place in outer space, I wanted to go in the other direction - inwards.

My piece and its storyline is inspired by that of Joe Dante?s movie, and of course, even more so by the ingenious 1960s sci-fi gem Fantastic Voyage. I would not say, though, that the music itself is particularly inspired by the scores written for these films (by Jerry Goldsmith and Leonard Rosenman) - it?s more of a love letter to all of the great sci-fi music written in the past century.

Innerspace is in large doses based on an octatonic scale which I developed based on a chord progression that has been in my head since I was a teenager, just waiting for the righ opportunity to ?come out?. The piece makes a condensed journey from the stark and alarming opening, through atmospheric passages which are almost bitonal in character, via stirring action and heroic scherzo motifs to a triumphant finale.

It is my intention that this piece should be entertaining, fun and exciting for the post-modern symphony audience, as well as a lot of fun for the players and conductor who share my love for the great sci-fi movies!

Duration: ca 7:30

Instrumentation: 3(1.2.pic)3(1.2.eh)3(1.2.bcl)3(1.2.cbn) - 6652(1opt) - timp.3perc - hp.pno - str.

Mikael Carlsson
January 2019

The national anthem of the USA arranged for full orchestra. There are also versions for Brass Quintet & String Orchestra in my stores.


"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the Defence of Fort M'Henry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the then 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "To Anacreon in Heaven" (or "The Anacreontic Song"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it soon became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. With a range of 19 semitones, it is known for being very difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. � 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.

Before 1931, other songs served as the hymns of U.S. officialdom. "Hail, Columbia" served this purpose at official functions for most of the 19th century. "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", whose melody is identical to "God Save the Queen", the United Kingdom's national anthem, also served as a de facto national anthem. Following the War of 1812 and subsequent U.S. wars, other songs emerged to compete for popularity at public events, among them "America the Beautiful", which itself was being considered before 1931, as a candidate to become the national anthem of the United States.

John Stafford Smith (30 March 1750 ? 21 September 1836) was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Stafford Smith is best known for writing the music for "The Anacreontic Song", which became the tune for the US patriotic song "The Star-Spangled Banner" following the War of 1812, and in 1931 was adopted as the national anthem of the United States.

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