2 mins
Let there be light
Cello, chorus and orchestra join forces for a fantastical story
KNIGHT OF MUSIC: The life of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, is given the big-screen treatment in Chevalier, produced by Searchlight Pictures. To play the lead character, actor Kelvin Harrison Jr practised the violin for seven hours a day. ‘It’s a beautiful celebration of the Chevalier’s life,’ he said. ‘His path reflects how we all struggle to find the spaces where we can be seen and heard.’ Much of the Chevalier’s own music is featured, as well as a specially composed soundtrack by Kris Bowers. The film is due to be released on 7 April, although readers can learn more about Bologne’s life in The Strad’s February 2021 issue.
Image: courtesy Searchlight Pictures
Elena Langer
Kristina Blaumane
LANGER PHOTO ANASTASIA TIKHONOVA. BLAUMANE PHOTO BENJAMIN EALOVEGA
COMPOSER Elena Langer
WORK The Dong with aLuminous Nose
ARTIST Kristina Blaumane (cello) London Philharmonic
Orchestra/Andrey Boreyko, London Philharmonic Choir
DATE 18 March 2023
PLACE Royal Festival Hall, London, UK bit.ly/3XtyvAl
How to mix the genres of concerto with opera, via the grandeur of a tone poem? Russian–British composer Elena Langer, best known for her operatic works, takes on the challenge with The Dong with a Luminous Nose for solo cello, orchestra and an 80-strong chorus. The 22-minute, onemovement work will be premiered by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir and the orchestra’s lead cellist and Langer’s long-time friend, Kristina Blaumane.
Based on Edward Lear’s poem, the ‘surreal and fantastical’ story is about a mythical creature, the Dong, who falls in love with a Jumbly girl. On her leaving, he devotes his life to finding her by wandering the earth with a luminous nose. Langer’s compositional process began with the chorus part, from which she drew material to write the cello part, and subsequently wrote a piano accompaniment that was then orchestrated.
These three layers interact to represent the story’s characters and plot. ‘The cello represents what the Dong might be feeling and thinking. The chorus represents everything: the Jumblies, those experiencing the story, and sometimes the Dong,’ Langer says. As for orchestration: ‘Lear’s poetic language is so rich, I needed unusual timbres to reflect this.’ From flexatone and rainstick in percussion and horn glissandos to soloistic strings, Langer creates ‘different landscapes with contrasting music’ to parallel Lear’s colourful, and often invented, words.
The solo cello part is virtuosic and complex. ‘When the Dong becomes insane, there’s a competition between cello and orchestra,’ explains Langer, ‘so I wrote contrasting textures, not just long lyrical tunes.’ The choice of the solo cello was based on its voice-like qualities, in the absence of solo singers. ‘I know Kristina’s sound, and it has been a nice collaboration.’