Music Finland Core

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El Hambo is the second instalment in a rather loosely defined series that I have decided to call Justly Forgotten Peoples. (The first instalment was, of course, Pseudo-Yoik.) The hambo is a Swedish folk dance in 3/4 time. This augmented hambo in 5/4 time is something of a tribute to those folk musicians whose enthusiasm much exceeds their sense of rhythm, and the increasingly desperate punctuations should be interpreted as an attempt to keep the performance in some sort of metrical shape. The somewhat arrogant title is intended to suggest (rather like La Valse) an apotheosis of the genre, The Mother of All Hambos if you like, or perhaps even The Hambo to End All Hambos. It also embraces the pan-European ideal; for those who find themselves distressed by the fact that the piece does not in fact contain anything remotely identifiable as Spanish, it may be of interest to note that elhambo means ‘electric hambo’ in Swedish and could also be an alternative transliteration of the Welsh y llam bodd (‘the jump of joy’). On the other hand, el hambo does mean ‘the boyfriend’ in Catalan.Sources of inspiration for this piece include, surprisingly, genuine Norwegian choral folk song arrangements and of course the Swedish Chef in The Muppet Show. The text is, or is supposed to be, completely meaningless, as those who are familiar with Pseudo-Yoik will already have suspected. The first three chords of the piece are violin tunings actually used in Norwegian folk music.El Hambo was commissioned by Rita Varonen for the Cantinovum chamber choir of Jyväskylä, Finland; they premiered it at the Tampere Choir Festival in June 1997.© Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, 1999El Hambo on toinen osa väljästi määritellyssä sarjassa, jolle olen antanut nimeksi Syystä unohdetut kansat. (Ensimmäinen osa oli tietenkin Pseudo-Yoik.) Hambohan on kolmijakoinen ruotsalainen kansantanssi. Tämä viisijakoinen hambo on tarkoitettu eräänlaiseksi kunnianosoitukseksi niille kansanmuusikoille, joilla on intoa verrattomasti enemmän kuin rytmitajua, ja teoksen yhä epätoivoisemmat rytmiset alleviivaukset tulisikin tulkita yrityksiksi pitää tämä ralli edes jotenkin kasassa. Teoksen hieman ylimielisen nimen on tarkoitus ilmaista (vähän La Valsen tapaan) jonkinlaista lajityypin apoteoosia, kenties Kaikkien Hambojen äitiä tai Hamboa, Joka Lopettaa Kaikki Hambot. Teos heijastaa myös yleiseurooppalaisia ihanteita, ja jos jotakuta häiritsee se, ettei kappaleesta kertakaikkiaan löydy mitään espanjalaista, niin häntä saattaa kiinnostaa, että elhambo on ruotsiksi ‘sähköhambo’ ja että tämä voi olla myös vaihtoehtoinen tapa translitteroida kymrinkielinen ilmaisu y llam bodd (‘riemunloikka’). Toisaalta el hambo on kylläkin katalaaniksi ‘poikaystävä’.Innoituksen lähteinä teokselle ovat olleet aidot norjalaiset kansanlaulujen kuorosovitukset, yllättävää kyllä, sekä tietenkin Muppet Show'n ruotsalainen kokki. Teksti on (tai sen on tarkoitus olla) täysin merkityksetön; Pseudo-Yoikiin tutustuneet lienevät jo arvanneetkin tämän. Teoksen kolme ensimmäistä sointua ovat norjalaisessa kansanmusiikissa oikeasti käytettyjä viuluvirityksiä.El Hambon tilasi Rita Varonen johtamalleen jyväskyläläiselle Cantinovum-kamarikuorolle, joka kantaesitti sen Tampereen Sävelessä kesäkuussa 1997.© Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, 1999

Year of composing

Arranger

Movements

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Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin