Kangaroos, long-eared characters, fossils, a swan… does that ring a bell? Not if it had been up to Saint-Saëns, because he never intended his musical smash hit Carnival of the Animals for publication. Far too playful for such a serious composer at the peak of his career. The Flanders Symphony Orchestra decided to take it even further: the grande fantaisie zoologique is being expanded with five new animals by five young composers. While beloved Wonderfeel guests Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy take their places at the keys, master storyteller Jeroen Olyslaegers narrates their story. The new animals and their composers are: otter (Murielle Lemay); black grouse (Sílvia Lanao); choral (Linde Huyghens); eel (Mehmet İlhan Gazioğlu); and jellyfish (Mattias Spee).

Jeroen Olyslaegers - text and narration
Flanders Symphony Orchestra
Pavel Kolesnikov - piano
Samson Tsoy - piano

A co-production by STROOM, Wonderfeel, and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra

The composers on their animal:

Murielle Lemay on Lydia the otter: "We spot Lydia in the great outdoors. She is lightly colored by the Lydian mode. We hear her swimming, surfacing, chattering, and playing with her favorite boulders."

Sílvia Lanao on Black Grouse Lyrurus Tetrix: "I followed the black grouse in its mating dance. As with most birds, the male dances for the female to show off his worth. Often, several males dance at the same time, and the dancing degenerates into a fight. The double bass and cello represent the female; the flute, glockenspiel, and first violin play one male, and the clarinet, xylophone, and second violin play the other male. They copy each other’s movements and sounds, but unlike in the real world, they eventually all dance together.”

Linde Huyghens on Koraal: "Koraal is inspired by the idea of coral bleaching, the leading cause of coral species extinction. Due to rising water temperatures, algae are leaving the corals, causing them to lose their color and, with it, their primary food source. Throughout the piece, I introduce musical material that gradually becomes less colorful, less varied, and emerges at a slower tempo. To also make a reference to the musical form of the same name, I drew inspiration from ornamented chorale."

Mehmet İlhan Gazioğlu on Two Eels in Dance Class: "What happens when two eels try to dance the Turkish horon, the tango, and the waltz all at the same time? I think it ends in a beautiful failure, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be given the chance to try."

Mattias Spee on The Jellyfish: "Jellyfish are animals with many different faces (not literally, of course, since most jellyfish have no eyes). They are breathtakingly elegant, but they can deliver a deadly sting. Their endearing appearance makes them undeniably funny, but at the same time, due to climate change and overfishing, they are taking over the oceans in an unstoppable advance that is disrupting our ecosystem. The terrifying, wondrously beautiful, melancholic, provocative, and fascinating creature we call the jellyfish was a rich source of inspiration due to its endless array of peculiarities."

Photo: Joss McKinley