Four Dances from Aladdin for Two Flutes and Piano

Take four lovely pieces by Nielsen, put them in the hands of an expert arranger and you are guaranteed success. Toke Lund Christiansen has managed to retain the all character, colour and spirit of these four very different dances by showing an understanding of both the music and the instruments he is working with. Interestingly the piece starts with piano only with Aladdin's Dream which is very enticing. Dance of the Morning Mists and the Hindu and Chinese Dances are ideally suited to this instrumentation and crafted sensitively. The more robust African Dance is a more challenging task to transcribe but the powerful piano bass line drives the music forward to create an exciting finale. Great to play, great to listen to!

Nielsen’s music for Aladdin was written for a theatre production in Copenhagen in 1919. Extracts from the score (which was originally 80 minutes in duration) are often performed as an orchestral Suite, in seven sections.

This arrangement for two flutes and piano comprises four of these dances—the Dance of the Morning Mists, Hindu Dance, Chinese Dance and African Dance. The two flute parts are evenly matched, with melodic material often switched between the two. The piano part is at times an equal voice in the ensemble, and sometimes supports the flutes in more of an accompaniment role. All three parts would suit intermediate to advanced players.

The four movements have contrasting characters. The opening piano introduction is the beautiful Aladdin’s Dream, which is an expressive moment in the Suite, full of poignant harmonies.

The Dance of the Morning Mists uses all three instruments to create a textural dialogue which depicts the swirling mists of the title. The Hindu Dance features chromatically twisting melodic lines which fuse Nielsen’s characteristic style with a hint of exoticism. This is a slow movement, full  of  rich harmonies and sinuous phrases. The Chinese Dance features strong rhythms and fast moving triplets creating a strong sense of energy. The final movement, the African Dance brings to mind drumming patterns with its repeated rhythmic ostinato passages. The orchestral original of this dance, which brings the whole Suite to a close, is full of colour and texture, and especially makes use of highly effective, and almost raucous brass effects. Some of that is undoubtedly lost in a version for two flutes and piano, which seems a little tame in comparison, but in the hands of the right players who give enough of a sense of energy and building excitement, this could nevertheless be an exhilarating concert experience.

Nielsen’s music is distinctive and well crafted, which means it lends itself well to being arranged for different combinations of instruments. This selection works well and provides another excellent contribution to the flute duo repertoire which is likely to be popular with audiences.