SEAN BELL
Countertenor and Performance Artist
Sean Bell has done several collaborations with the Norwegian brass quintet Ny Norsk Messingkvintett. Their first project together was instigated by the composers group from Ny Musikk (NMK) in 2017, which premiered five pieces for countertenor and brass quintet.
Since then, they have collaborated on and comissioned many more pieces. Their most played work is the semi-staged concert for children ‘Eg er ein frosk’ (2018) by Norwegian composer Kristin Bolstad.
Read more about NyNorsk Messingkvintett here.
Messe Norvégienne Profane
by Tze Yeung Ho, text by Linda Gabrielsen, live recorded in Sandefjord in 2021
Eg er ein frosk
Eg er ein frosk is based on Kurt Johannessen's book Eg er ein frosk (2007) and Det (2010). Kristin Bolstad composed the music for brass quintet, countertenor and puppet theater, directed by Tormod Fuglestad, with puppet theater by Ingunn Myrland.
Through music and play, pyjamas dressed musicians recreate Johannessen's surreal dream world, and as in the book, the action is almost imperceptibly turned into a magical world where anything can happen. While the countertenor sings the poem about the frog, the musicians in the brass quintet play with figures of felt and improvise new action patterns that unfold as parallel layers. The musicians also invite the children on stage to help create new stories with the puppet theater.
The music emphasizes the absurd-comic plot with repeated quacking frog rhythms. At the same time, a contrasst occur: low-pitched and beautiful music gives the countertenor room to sing gently and emotionally about being a frog. As the supporting characters take up more space in the action, details such as wind sounds and a fly trying to find its place in the soundscape.