{"id":809,"date":"2013-05-02T19:37:05","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T19:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=809"},"modified":"2026-02-03T10:18:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:18:29","slug":"visions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alzand.com\/?page_id=809","title":{"rendered":"Karim Al-Zand: Music: Visions from Another World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Visions from Another World<\/h2>\n

after illustrations by J. J. Grandville<\/h5>\n

V<\/span>isions from Another World<\/i> is inspired by three fanciful illustrations by J. J. Grandville (1803\u20131847), one of the most popular and innovative French illustrators of the 19th century. Grandville\u2019s engravings and lithographs for editions of Gulliver\u2019s Travels, Don Quixote, Robinson Crusoe and the fables of Fontaine and Aesop were highly regarded and much collected during his time.
\nHe is also well-known for his animal caricatures, often published in periodicals, in which anthropomorphized creatures enact humorous satires on contemporary politics and social mores.
\nUn Autre Monde<\/i> [Another World], \"image\"published in 1844 with wood engravings by Grandville, is somewhat unusual in the history of illustration: the drawings were completed first and a text added only later, to tie the images together. It is an eclectic work, reflected in Grandville\u2019s own subtitle: \u201ctransformations, visions, incarnations, ascensions, locomotions, explorations, peregrinations, excursions, metamorphoses, cosmologies, phantasmagories…\u201d The imagery from this later, more idiosyncratic period of his work stems from Grandville\u2019s vivid and bizarre flights of imagination. The illustrations of Un Autre Monde<\/i> reveal why Grandville has often been cited as a precursor to the surrealist movement of the early 20th century.
\nAs Robert Simon puts it, \u201cthe book charts an excursion to a parallel universe populated by mutant animals, vegetal\/human hybrids, and inanimate objects come to life. The dreamscape they inhabit is equally fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ronde Fantastique<\/h5>\n

A lovelorn owl has consulted an old carp, well-known as a prognosticator, about his fortune.
\nThe carp summons a troupe of aquatic animals, who \u201crise one by one to form a circle; above this, other rings appear, formed of innumerable insects rising into the sky. The water lilies, braving the darkness, lift their bold stems to the water\u2019s surface; and flowers\u2014which had closed, not to reopen until the morning\u2014are pulled out of their deep sleep. With the carp at the center, the rings begin to spin, the animals dancing a fantastic round.\u201d<\/p>\n

Funeral Cort\u00e8ge of the Silkworm<\/h5>\n

Taken from the book La Vie priv\u00e9e et publique des animaux<\/i>, this drawing \"image\"illustrates a detailed account of an insect funeral rite. The insects mourn the passing of their comrade the silkworm, released from a life of servitude (as a slave of the silk trade), and accompany the corpse to the grave. \u201cThe Death\u2019s Head Moth giving the signal to depart, the tiny procession begins to march. Shepherd Spiders clear the path before the Silkworm\u2019s body, which is carried on a Mulberry leaf by four Cardinal Beetles. Following the funeral bier is a long train of Fleas and Ticks, Ants, and Caterpillars, which accompanies the procession on its way to the purple heather in the distance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spinning Ballerina<\/h5>\n

This illustration from Un Autre Monde<\/i> probably best captures the whimsical \"image\"lunacy of Grandville\u2019s drawings. Entitled \u201cApocalypse du Ballet,\u201d the work also features several of the artist\u2019s characteristic \u201cmetamorphoses\u201d: here a ballerina emerges from a dancing foot, is transformed into a spindle and thread, eventually to take the form of a sprinting dog. Other metamorphoses can be seen in the foreground, as can the dancer\u2019s love-struck admirer (the heart figure at left) and a newspaper critic (the feather plume holding a thurible).
\nThe remarkable image objectifies a sort of frantic, madcap motion.<\/p>\n

[Hi-res versions of the images are available for download<\/a>.]<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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purchase score & parts<\/span><\/h4> <\/span>Learn More<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n
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purchase CD recording<\/span><\/h4> <\/span>Learn More<\/span><\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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DATE
\n2008<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

DURATION
\n13 minutes<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

COMMISSION
\nRiver Oaks Chamber Orchestra<\/a>; City of Houston, through an Individual Arts Grant from Houston Arts Alliance<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

INSTRUMENTATION
\nchamber orchestra:<\/strong> winds: 2*22*2 brass: 2110 | 3 percussion | timpani | harp | harpsichord | strings (min 6-6-4-3-2)<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

Visions from Another World<\/i> also exists in a version for sinfonietta<\/strong> (16 players: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, 2 percussion, harp, piano, 2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass)<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

Ronde Fantastique<\/i> also available separately in a version for 10 players<\/a><\/strong><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

MOVEMENTS
\n1. Ronde Fantastique
\n2. Funeral Cort\u00e8ge of the Silkworm
\n3. Spinning Ballerina<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

PREMI\u00c8RE
\nOctober 11, 2008, St. John the Divine Church, Houston TX
\nRiver Oaks Chamber Orchestra<\/a> | JoAnn Falletta<\/a>, conductor<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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AUDIO<\/p>\n

ROCO (River Oaks Chamber Orchestra) | Mei-Ann Chen, conductor<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div> 1. Ronde Fantastique
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<\/div><\/div><\/div> 2. Funeral Cort\u00e8ge of the Silkworm
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<\/div><\/div><\/div> 3. The Spinning Ballerina<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n
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SCORE
\nPDF<\/a> (orchestra)
\nPDF<\/a> (16 players)<\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

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VIDEO<\/p>\n