Programme notes:

Ariel is part of a series of compositions from the eighties where Nilsson works with a sonorous expansion of the spatial dimensions. The tape part adds a further effect of depth to the acoustical phenomena of the music. In Ariel it is the oboe part which, like its namesake, Shakespeare's airy spirit in The Tempest, has been given an added sonic dimension: the oboe stands out on the tape with independent strata which at the same time are well integrated in the musical structure. This emphasizes the consistently weightless character of the solo part while the tape part provides an illusion of new acoustic spatial dimensions by means of its resounding lontano effects. In Ariel both the structure and the orchestration are compact; a complex polyphonic texture dominates the work, but the orchestral sound itself is predomniantly light and intense. Due to its primarily linear construction the rhythmic pattern of Ariel is ambiguous, in as much as the intricate musical structure is dominated by a kind of micro-rhythmics, where the listener's own preferences play a specific part. One can listen melodically, rhythmically or melodically-rhythmically, thereby discovering someting new each time the piece is potential and in no way detracts from the overall effect of the concerto. The sum of the parts remains the same regardless of how one chooses to divide up the music. Ariel was composed in 1985 - 86, commissioned by the Music Department of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation, and dedicated to Helén Jahren. Text: Thomas Roth. Ur Phono Suecia nr 53 (1993) English translation: Cynthia Zetterqvist