Two Danes and a Swede walked into a pub… no, not the opening line of a joke; rather, the beginning of a musical collaboration that has produced some of the most exciting new music to emanate from Scandinavia since Väsen helped the resurgence of the nyckelharpa. Nikolaj Busk (piano and accordion), Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin) and Ale Carr (Cittern) formed Dreamer’s Circus after a chance meeting and jam session in 2009. As in their 2013 debut, A Little Symphony, their newly released follow-up, Second Movement, takes the traditions of Scandinavian folk music as a starting point, adds European classical and jazz influences, and stirs into the mix the incredible talents of the Danish String Quartet (of which Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen is also a member). To this heady mix is added their own ability to take a theme and guide it, attentively, through any number of twists, turns and delights toward a musical adventure that can be as dramatic as a stormy sea, as full of light as a snow-clad mountain peak, or as colourful and tranquil as an alpine meadow.
Tracklist:
1. Idas Första (3:49)
2. Snabbsen (4:20)
3. Prelude (1:44)
4. A Little Symphony (5:05)
5. Carrousel Prime (3:02)
6. Fuglsang Jig (3:40)
7. When Harlequin Sleeps (5:39)
8. Nikolajs Første Styk’ (4:52)
9. Night Spectacular (4:30)
10. Quantum Fantasy (4:21)
11. Julpolskan (8:33)
12. Dreamers’ Beginning (3:56)
13. Circus Continuum (7:16)
Dreamers’ Circus:
Ale Carr: cittern, acoustic guitar, octave cittern, double bass, grand piano
Nikolaj Busk: grand piano, accordion, harmonium, hammer spinet, moog, vibraphone
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen: violin, harmonium, grand piano, vibraphone, hammer spinet
The Danish String Quartet:
Frederik Øland: 1st violin on track 2, 12 and 14
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen: 2nd violin on track 2 and 14
Asbjørn Nørgaard: viola on track 2, 12 and 14
Fredrik Sjölin: cello on track 2, 10, 12 and 14
Featuring Olle Davidsson: double bass on track 2 and 14
The European Traveling Brass Carnival:
Kasper Tranberg: trumpet & cornet, Ketil Duckert: trumpet, Johan Åhnberg: horn, Jakob Keiding: horn, Páll Sólstein: horn, Johannes Undisz: horn, Gustav Rasmussen: trombone, Jakob Johansen: trombone, David Clemmensen: bass trombone, Arvid Lorimer Olsson: tuba.
Featuring: Benjamin Fox: timpanis on “Prelude”, Marta Zych: gong on “Julpolskan”
Very special guest on “Julpolskan”, Rishab Prasanna, playing the heavenly bansuri