…THE LITTLE MERMAID is a Hans Christian
Andersen bicentenary evocation of the famous
fairy tale (a symbol of Denmark itself) and
the author's own lovelorn life…Sørensen
counterpoints the harrowing story - a soprano
represents the mermaid - with extracts from
Anderson's diary, sung by a tenor, but the
main narration falls to three groups of
girls' voices…The effect was as if a
Christmas carol has been analyzed into its
harmonic spectra and reconstituted in glassy,
glissandoing orchestral half-tones…It was a
true poem in sound, and the most striking new
work of the season so far.
- Paul Driver, The Sunday Times
Bent Sørensen
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Duration: 24’
Text by H.C.Andersen/Peter Asmussen
S, T; SA; 0.2(2obda).0+2Ebcl.2(cbn)/4.2.3.1/
2perc/hp/pf/str
Inger Dam-Jensen, soprano;
Gert Henning-Jensen, tenor
Danish National Girl’s Choir
Danish National Radio Symphony/Dausgaard
12 August 2005; BBC Proms, London, England
World Premiere
