Composed by Mikael Carlsson, lyrics by Sir William Shakespeare. Composition year: 2015. Secular.

An expressive three movement work for SATB choir with divisi and piano accompaniment exploring Shakespeare text s with a nocturnal setting. Beautiful harmony and forward movement leads the way of 'Over Hill, Over Dale' ('Midsummer Night's Dream'), ominous piano glissandi and misterioso chords dominate 'Heavily, Heavily' ('Much Ado About Nothing') and shimmering light and a dazzling ending with the effect of whistling and sea waves makes the final 'Night of Our Solemnities' ('Midsummer Night's Dream) particularly memorable.


1. Over Hill, Over Dale (Midsummer Night's Dream)

Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire.
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon?s sphere.
And I serve the fairy queen
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be.
In their gold coats spots you see.
Those be rubies, fairy favors.
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip?s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I?ll be gone.
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.

2. Heavily, Heavily (Much Ado About Nothing)

Pardon, goddess of the night,
Those that slew thy virgin knight,
For the which with songs of woe
Round about her tomb they go.
Midnight, assist our moan.
Help us to sigh and groan
Heavily, heavily.
Graves, yawn and yield your dead,
Till death be utterèd,
Heavily, heavily.

3. Night of Our Solemnities (Midsummer Night's Dream)

Four days will quickly steep themselves in night.
Four nights will quickly dream away the time.
And then the moon, like to a silver bow
New bent in heaven, shall behold the night
Of our solemnities.

Choral score including piano part. 28 pages.
Total duration: 15:30.
Movement 1: 4:30
Movement 2: 5:00
Movement 3: 6:00

Suitable for concert programs concerning themes such as Shakespeare, night, evening, love, sorrow, evening, forgiving.

Discover more music by Mikael Carlsson at http://www.mikaelcarlsson.com

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