danse grotesque

for organ

about

The word grotesque describes something as being hideous, unpleasant, repulsive or even frightening to such a degree that it's almost comical. It has been used as a descriptive term in art, theatre, literature, music, dance and — perhaps most prominently — architecture.

Danse Grotesque is a dance piece exploring the synthesis of bizarre and unfamiliar tonalities with more traditional Western harmony, which makes the tonal identity of the piece both ambiguous and completely obvious at once. The rhythm of the piece is very clear, but at the same time, it has a slight limping feel to it, and certain sections feel like they arrive just a tiny bit before they should.

This gives Danse Grotesque the overall character of a strange, humorous and slightly off dance.

acknowledgements

Danse Grotesque was premiered on 9 February 2019 by Susannah Carlsson at Lund Cathedral, Lund, Sweden.

composition year

2018

duration

4′ 15″

instrumentation

Organ