For Solo Violin, Choir and Orchestra
Symphony No. 3
The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie
Lera Auerbach Symphony No. 3, The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie, is a symphonic fantasy for solo violin, choir and orchestra.
Commission
Commissioned by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Proms and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. World premiere: 7 April 2016, Bergen, with Vadim Gluzman, the Bergen Philharmonic Choir, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner.
Text
Erroneous Anonymous. Libretto by Erroneous Anonymous. Language: English.
Movements
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I. Overture
- Andante sognando, libero
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II. Child-Bard
- Agitato con brio
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III. Interlude — Promenade I
- Adagio nostalgico
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IV. Lament for a Common Corporant
- Tragico comico
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V. Who Is Dickery Dare?
- Allegretto scherzando
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VI. Interlude — Promenade II
- Andantino
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VII. Who Plays My Drum?
- Allegro
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VIII. Guacamole Treatment
- Allegretto, marcato molto
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IX. Moon-Rider
- Sognando libero
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X. Child-Wanderer
- Andante
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
Symphonic World
Lera Auerbach Symphony No. 3, The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie, is a symphonic fantasy for solo violin, choir and orchestra, where the violinist performs the lead role of a traveling musical storyteller who introduces a collection of wondrous tales by the mysterious author, Erroneous Anonymous.
The Infant Minstrel guides listeners in a voyage of imagination, speaking to the young and young at heart with enigmatic and humorous poems in the tradition of “nonsense” authors such as Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Hilaire Belloc and Mother Goose, as well as Edith Sitwell, Shel Silverstein, Edward Gorey and Tim Burton. The text is relevant yet timeless; satirical yet profound; child-like yet multilayered.
We meet characters such as the Common Corporant, the Moon-Rider and the Flying Pig who enjoy sitting on a cloud watching the crowd. The work humorously embraces the traditions of the British and Gaelic bard and troubadour, whose songs told embellished and exotic tales. It also finds inspiration in the menagerie—a diverse collection of creatures and curiosities—and the sideshow presentation of oddities and the bizarre.
Auerbach, who is a poet, writer, composer, concert pianist and visual artist, creates a spellbinding alchemy of words and sounds that have become her trademark.
Text / Libretto
Complete concert-program text for The Infant Minstrel and His Peculiar Menagerie. The text is presented for publication use; punctuation and layout should not be altered.
Original Text Author of Text: Erroneous Anonymous · Language: English
Lera Auerbach
The Infant Minstrel
and His Peculiar Menagerie
Symphony No. 3 for violin, choir and orchestra
Libretto by Erroneous Anonymous
- Overture
- Child-Bard
- Interlude (Promenade 1)
- Lament for a Common Corporant
- Who Is Dickery Dare?
- Interlude (Promenade 2)
- Who Plays My Drum?
- Guacamole Treatment
- Moon-Rider
- Child-Wanderer
Alle Sätze folgen attacca aufeinander. / All movements are to be performed attacca.
Libretto
I
Overture
No Text / Ohne Text
II
Child-Bard
Do you hear? Do you hear?
Infant Minstrel must be near!
Only kids and young at heart
Hear the call of the Child-Bard.
Strange chimeras and odd folks
From the legends and sidewalks
Follow his wordless tune –
Melodies of tides and the moon.
What is hiding in his fiddle?
Distant memories? Future’s riddle?
Why these sounds pull my heart?
Wait for me, O Child-Bard!
III
Interlude (Promenade 1)
No Text / Ohne Text
IV
Lament for a Common Corporant
I know a Common Corporant,
Who likes to rant, to rant, to rant!
He rants on all day long!
(And it’s a very boring song.)
He rants about his day at work,
He rants about his eggs and pork,
He rants about his lazy wife,
He rants about his busy life.
He rants about all other ants,
He rants about their empty rants,
And while others sing or dance
He clears invisible crumbs.
Oh, poor Common Corporate Ant,
So busy he is with his constant rant –
He doesn’t remember to love or chant,
He forgot he was not born an ant!
He forgot his childhood dreams,
He forgot he has wings, not just limbs!
He forgot he still has free will
(and it doesn’t come in a pill!)
He forgot he could fly any time!
(Without the drugs or wine.)
Oh, poor Common Corporant
Who likes to rant, to rant, to rant!
V
Who Is Dickery Dare?
Dickery, dickery, dare.
I once saw a Panda Bear.
He knocked on the door
Of a hardware store.
He was very polite,
Yet caused quite a fright!
Dickery, dickery, dare.
– Oh poor Panda Bear!
But who is that Dickery Dare?
– The Dare who went dickery, of course!
– Or the Dickery on a dare!
Dickery, dickery, dare.
The pig flew up in the air.
He sat on the cloud
and cheered the crowd!
Dickery, dickery, dare.
– No, the pig couldn’t sit on the cloud!
Cloud is… gas, wait…
Cloud… is water, no!
Oh yes: Cloud is air!
Not suitable for a chair!
Yes, I mean – no! Even on a dare –
It’s not suitable for a chair!
– Dickery, dickery, dare!
If the pig can fly – he can also sit
On pretty much anything!
Fair and square!
(And here is the end of the affair
with Flickery Dickery Dare.)
VI
Interlude (Promenade 2)
The Panda Bear and the Flying Pig
Dancing a gigue on the town’s square,
While Infant Minstrel is filling the air
With his music – refined and rare.
Fiddely, giddely, flair!
Sideshow is the best of the fair:
Some very odd folks
Tell a story that rocks
While my head is due for repair!
(I could also use some software.
If only I could restart,
I would be reborn very smart
With fiddely giddely flair!)
Goodbye, Dicky-Dickery Dare.
VII
Who Plays My Drum?
I had a little husband,
No bigger than my thumb.
I gave him tiny presents
And played for him my drum.
He was so very pretty,
I wanted to give him a hug,
But accidently squished him
When he hid under the rug.
So, I play my drum.
So, I drink my rum.
So, I suck my thumb.
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Ta-ra-ram!
I had a little husband,
No bigger than my thumb.
And all day long and all night long
I played for him my drum.
He covered his ears in vain –
My drumming was too loud.
He tried to complain,
But it was lame
As he was always too proud.
Then he tried to hide
To run away from me –
That made me very angry,
So I drowned him in my tea.
Yes, I found him!
Yes, I caught him!
Yes, I ignored his plea!
I drowned him
In my Milky Oolong
Delicious cup of tea!
I was soon remorseful, of course.
And to his grave brought a beautiful rose.
He is waiting for me in heaven,
While I practice 24/7:
Around the clock from midnight to midnight
I drum on my drum, hoping to make it all right.
(I am certain our post-mortem future is bright!)
So, I play my drum.
So, I drink my rum.
So, I suck my thumb.
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Ta-ra-ram!
I had a little husband,
No bigger than my thumb.
Didn’t know what to call him,
So I called him Donald Dumb.
He was so cute in his bossy suit!
But then he became increasingly rude:
He would bite me and hide my keys;
He would snarl at me, bully and tease.
I wasn’t at all pleased!
Until one day I sneezed…
And somehow he disappeared.
The man whom I soooo feared…
He is nowhere to be found!
Have you seen him around?
I play my drum.
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Who plays my drum?
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
I play whose drum?
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Trum-ta-ra-rump!
Trum-ta-ra-rump!
Trum-ta-ra-rump!
Drum! Drum!
I play, but it is
No longer fun…
I break the sticks
And smash the drum!
But still I can hear
Loud and clear:
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Tam-ta-ra-ram!
Ta-ra-ram!
VIII
Guacamole Treatment
There was once a man
With such a long nose
That his wife had mistaken it
For a garden hose.
When she started watering plants
His nose turned red and tense.
Then he sneezed, as he was allergic to pollen,
With tears in his eyes and his throat swollen.
“Oh, my darling, I am so very sorry!
I am going to catch the best guacamole
To make for you a cold green compress –
The best-known treatment for a nose in distress!”
Cried his wife and cut for him her best rose.
“Pretty rose for your suffering nose!
– Ooops! I did it again: I forgot –
You’re allergic to all pretty things, poor lad!”
The man sat sadly
In a defeated pose
While his wife applied
Guacamole to his nose.
IX
Moon-Rider
– Moon-Rider, Moon-Rider, fly through the night,
Light up the starts with fire and might!
Veil all troubles, so we may
Dream our dreams, pray and play.
Moon-Rider’s panther – an ancient beast
Scares nightmares from entering dreams.
Protected, in innocence, children can sleep,
While the guilty restlessly weep.
– Moon-Rider, Moon-Rider, help me tonight!
My thoughts are scattered from troubles of heart.
Take me along in your flight through the dark –
Away from my thoughts and their howling bark!
Moon-Rider answers: “Come along!
Find the silence that is your own –
It is your safety, your true voice, your home.
Do not despair: You are never alone.
Come, my child, hear my voice:
In the darkest of hours you may still rejoice.
Breathe and remember: each breath is your life,
The sky is within you. Breathe deeply – and dive!”
X
Child-Wanderer
Infant Minstrel’s playing fast.
Infant Minstrel’s playing slow.
Infant Minstrel shall never grow,
Yet he’s a thousand years old –
On his ears grow mold.
– Child-Wanderer, be my guide
Through all times – light or hard –
Into the wondrous hidden land,
Where tomorrow shall never end.
Play your fiddle, sing your song,
Tell me what is right and wrong,
Sing me of your strange adventures,
Keep your bow, your wings, your dentures.
Infant Minstrel’s playing high,
Infant Minstrel’s playing low –
In the sun and in the snow.
One can feel his music near –
In the smile, in the tear.
Close your eyes and listen within –
You shall find his violin.
He shall lead you to his friends –
Odd, peculiar specimens.
You can learn from them a great deal…
– Infant Minstrel, are you real?
Online Materials
Publisher, rental, score, libretto and listening references for Lera Auerbach Symphony No. 3, prepared for performers, presenters, scholars and listeners.
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ListeningVimeo embed
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PublisherBoosey & Hawkes / Sikorski Work Page Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski
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RentalZinfonia Rental Material Zinfonia
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ScoreBuy Score Boosey & Hawkes
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ReferenceStandard Abbreviations PDF Boosey & Hawkes
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InternalFull Catalogue LeraAuerbach.com
Publisher and Materials
Lera Auerbach Symphony No. 3 is published by Sikorski and available through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. Rental material and score information are available through the official publisher links.
