Lidström, Mats: The Stamp King. Concert Suite. Cello & Piano
£14.95
The concert suite presented here is formed of sections from the melodrama “The Stamp King”, which premiered at the Wigmore Hall in London in December 2010 with pianist Bengt Forsberg and Cellist Mats Lidström, narrated by Sir Terry Waite.
My story about the Stamp King adventures first appeared in book form, beautifully illustrated by my best friend Lasse Paulsson, a professional clarinettist and, I hasten to add, an artist in every sense. The drawings which adorn the pages of this volume are taken from that book.
The suite does not follow the storyline. Instead, the position of the movements is based on musical content. Each movement is introduced with a few lines from the story for the purpose of helping the musicians set the mood. Those few lines are not meant to be read to the audience. No weight needs to be given to the story. I have not extracted the music to create a mini melodrama.
SYNOPSIS: The characters of postal stamps such as kings and queens, authors, painters and athletes, spend their time on envelopes in letterboxes and in the sorting office at the post office. Unknown to people of the normal world, these characters wander freely in and out of any stamp. Friendship and love across the ages make for wonderful possibilities. Sudden and unexpected danger is rare but present in the world of the stamps.
The main character, George V, is the Stamp King. With his two fellow companions Pelé and Alfred Nobel, he enters a stamp of the Giza pyramids. Pelé wrecks the Sphinx to the state as we know it today, and they are soon captured and brought to the feet of Ramses II. From the depths of one of the pyramids, our friends manage not only to escape but also reduce it to rubble by means of Nobel’s dynamite.
They just about make it back to their respective stamps before the letterbox is emptied, followed by a shaky trip in the postal van. At the sorting office, George falls in love with Malika, Queen of Sheba. Unknowingly, they enter a stamp which soon changes from a beautiful field of poppies on a hot summer’s afternoon into the Battle of Waterloo. George fights a violent swords duel with the Roman commander Titus. They fall out of their Belgian stamp and into one where Mozart is busy performing his 17th piano concerto in G major. (see front cover). Florence Nightingale pleads with George and Titus to stop, but only the appearance of the Duke of Wellington saves George at the very last moment. Back at the sorting office and the other stamp characters, George and Malika decide to walk into a stamp of their choice and disappear to a place where they can love each other forever.
1. Ouverture
Introductory music describing the joy and drama that make the story of The Stamp King.
2. Promenade 1
With his old friend Alfred Nobel – inventor of the dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prizes – and a new acquaintance, the great Brazilian footballer Pelé, the English King George V, who is the Stamp King, enters Nobel’s stamp for a formidable view of the Giza pyramids.
3. Despair
Having escaped the captivity of Ramses, George and Nobel believe they have lost Pelé in the rubble of the collapsed pyramid.
4. Flashing weapons and hooves of terrified horses. George experiences love at first sight. With Malika, Queen of Sheba, he walks into a beautiful field where, in the midst of a sea of poppies, they embrace for the first time. Then a rumbling sound in the distance… Two armies marching from opposite directions. George realises that they are witnessing the beginning of the battle at Waterloo!
5. Promenade 2
Sent to their deaths by Ramses II, the three friends are frog-marched to one of the pyramids. At one point the brutal guards make Nobel fall over. ‘The sand is hotter than the sun’, he says quietly when he feels the sand on the palms of his hands.
6. Song for Jerusalem
The music laments the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple 70 AD. Nobel speaks of the brutality of Titus, the Roman commander.
7. A shaky trip in the postal van.
The post box is emptied and all the envelopes slide into the postman’s sack for a shaky trip to the Sorting Office. But the last stop is worth the trouble: the atmosphere is bustling and every stamp character is ready to party and make new friends.
Contents
- 1. Ouverture
- 2. Promenade 1
- 3. Despair
- 4. Flashing weapons and hooves of terrified horses.
- 5. Promenade 2
- 6. Song for Jerusalem
- 7. A shaky trip in the postal van.