Kees Vlak

Telemark Fantasy

While the mountains are still covered with a thick snow cloth and many passroads are still closed, the fruitblossoms next to the fjords are in full bloom and the days are growing longer and warmer. This is Springtime in Norway. The love of the Telemark people of their native country is sounding in the 'Norges Hymn'. The joy of Spring is expressed by means of a 'Springdans', a kind of Norwegian country dance. The variety of the changing Norwegian landscapes is matched by that of the changing tone colours of this dance. In memory of the famous playwright Henrik Ibsen (born in Skien, the capital of Telemark), the composer included in this fantasy a song similar to the theatre music Edvard Grieg wrote for Ibsen's play 'Peer Gynt'. This 'Hagars-Sang' is full of melancholy and romanticism. The Final consists of a 'Halling Dance'. This cheerful dance music was originally played on the fiddle, just like the American square dance. The work closes with a thrilling panoramic view on the Hardangervidda highland from the Gausta mountain, the highest peak in Telemark.