Carl Nielsen - Suite from 'Aladdin', Op. 34 (1919)

Carl August Nielsen (9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer.

Suite (7 Orchestral Pieces) from "Aladdin", Op 34 (1918-19)
Incidental Music for Adam Oehlenschläger;s (1779-1850) Play 'Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp in 5 Acts (30 numbers)

1. Oriental Festival March (No.11)
2. Aladdin's Dream/Dance of the Morning Mist (No.22) (2:44)
3. Hindu Dance (No.16) (5:38)
4. Chinese Dance (No.14) (8:46)
5. The Marketplace in Ispahan (No.7) (12:01)
6. Dance of the Prisoners (No.15) (16:53)
7. Negro Dance (No.17) (22:03)

The Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Paavo Järvi

Nielsen's Aladdin, Opus 34/FS 89, is incidental music written to accompany a new production of Adam Oehlenschläger’s "dramatic fairy tale" presented at The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen in February 1919..

Nielsen composed much of the music in Skagen during the summer of 1918, completing it after returning to Copenhagen in January 1919. He experienced major difficulties with the work as the director, Johannes Poulsen, had used the orchestra pit for an extended stage, leaving the orchestra cramped below a majestic staircase on the set. When Poulsen cut out large parts of the music during final rehearsals and changed the sequence of dances, Nielsen demanded that his name be removed from the posters and the programme.[1] In fact, the theatre production in February 1919 was not very successful and was withdrawn after only 15 performances.

The complete score, lasting over 80 minutes, is Nielsen's longest work apart from his operas. Demonstrating great inventiveness, Nielsen's enriched style can be observed in the musical language he used for the exotic dances, paving the way for his Fifth Symphony.[2] In May 1992 a recording of virtually the entire score was made by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Choir with Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

Nielsen frequently conducted extracts from Aladdin to great popular acclaim both in Denmark and abroad. The music was successfully presented at London’s Queen's Hall on 22 June 1923 and at 12 performances of Aladdin at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in November and December 1929. Nielsen had been scheduled to conduct extracts with the Radio Symphony Orchestra on 1 October 1931 when he suffered a major heart attack. Lying on a hospital bed, he was nevertheless able to listen to the Oriental March, Hindu Dance and Negro Dance on a crystal set before he died the following day.[2] The extracts were published in 1940 as the Aladdin suite.

[tamillab]

Magnificent! How come I've never heard of this? Have I been livin' under the rock or something?
That's what I call the hidden gem!

[ShaunakDesaiPiano]

This piece is the diamond in the rough.

[porkyminch]

0:00 - 1st movement
2:45 - 2nd movement
5:38 - 3rd movement
8:46 - 4th movement
12:00 - 5th movement
16:53 - 6th movement
22:03 - 7th movement

[alanwelsh-qd]

straight out of the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen
and then the band who have had a few drinks join in voice-wise HURRAH
a favorite with SPRINGTIME IN FUNEN

[julianfwong]

Wow, another great Orientalism piece. Thank you Bartje for uploading this.

[steveegallo]

Superb music I never heard before! Recalls Franz Schmidt at the start. I think. It's a Major Work....BRAVO!

[herbchilds]

As great as the Suite is, Nielsen's complete "Aladdin" is over 80 minutes, and well worth a listen!

[MCMeru]

Played this piece two years ago and havent listened to it since, its nice to listen to it again! Thanks for uploading! :D

[cremat]

Sempre es descobreix algo nou. Escoltant a l, orquestra de la Universitat de València, vaig descobrir aquesta preciositat simpfonica. Molt interessant!!!

[bassoonist]

Wow. Never heard of this one before. I really need to listen to more.

[kniazigor]

Nielsen a été, avec Sibelius, un magnifique représentant de la musique du Nord. Quel dommage qu'il ne soit pas plus souvent au programme de nos concerts symphoniques !!

[yuewang]

22:03 Neger-Tanz
(estudo coro)
22:40 preparar
23:00 descida flauta para fá, coro entra com mesma nota
23:53 preparar, seguir desenho do oboé, coro entra meio tom acima
24:41 terceira nota do desenho = entrada do coro
24:49 penúltima nota das cordas = entrada do coro
25:03 descida flauta para fá, coro entra com mesma nota
25:47 preparar

[Woodcut]

Wow, look at "The Marketplace in Ispahan". That's something Charles Ives would have done, with four orchestras and four tempi.

[musikant-dx]

No. 7 would be nice to hear with Choir - or the strings could simultaneously play and sing - like in Ketelbey's "In a Persian Market"

[jenniferreesdavies]

Thank you for uploading this. I'd never heard of the piece and I wonder why not?

[este.bahn]

How does this never get recomended when someone asks for metal in classical music?

The last movement is metal af, there are some seriously sick riffs inthere

[mydogskips]

Have you done a score video of Scheherazade (by Rimsky-Korsakov) yet?

[mikeklimczak]

I prefer the finale with the chorus present.

[JanCarlComposer]

nice. the sound is a little too quiet IMO

[davidmayhew]

That one section in the middle was a tad too long. But otherwise very entertaining!