The Magic Book

The Magic Book is taken from a tale by Danish author Tang Kristensen. It tells the story of Hans who has the power to transform himself into anything he likes thanks to a magical book. Hans transforms himself into a dog to allow his poor parents to earn some money by selling him to a duke. He also turns into a cow, which they sell to the king for the wedding of the princess, and then again into a horse to pay for the construction of a larger house. But this last transformation turns the tide against them; because the horse is sold with its bridle, it is tied up and, this time, Hans cannot escape. He manages to flee only due to his transformation into a dove and is caught by the princess. To her surprise the dove turns into a man, Hans. They fall in love and are married before becoming king and queen. From the original three-part composition, Thierry Deleruyelle made an instrumentation of two parts for brass ensemble and percussion. In the Castle, Hans’ arrival at the castle is a turning point in the story: the music becomes profound and intense. The percussion rhythm leads the ensemble in its build-up of a majestic melody. Royal Wedding, the happy ending of this tale, as in most tales, unites two characters in a lavish princely wedding. The music is festive and cheerful. One hears the fanfares announcing the couple and their majestic arrival, Hans on the arm of the princess. The tale ends in jubilation, in a modern style led by the percussion!