Cantabile is a work composed from 2004 to 2009 by Frederik Magle

Frederik Magle

Frederik Magle is a Danish composer, concert organist, and pianist. He studied composition and music theory with Leif Thybo and attended the Royal Danish Academy of Music where he studied composition and organ...

. It consists of three symphonic poems (or movements) based on poems written by Henrik the Prince Consort of Denmark

Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark

Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark , is the husband of the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II.-Early life:Henrik was born in Talence, Gironde, France...

 published in his book Cantabile

Cantabile (book)

Cantabile is a collection of poems written by Henrik, the Prince Consort of Denmark and published in 2000. It is illustrated by the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II....

. The Cantabile suite was commissioned by the Danish Royal Family

Danish Royal Family

The Danish Royal Family includes the Queen of Denmark and her family. All members except the Queen hold the title of Prince/Princess of Denmark with the style of His/Her Royal Highness or His/Her Highness. The Queen is styled Her Majesty. The Queen and her siblings belong to the House of...

 and the first movement was premiered in 2004. The second and third movements were premiered on June 10th 2009 at a concert in the Copenhagen Concert Hall

Copenhagen Concert Hall

The Copenhagen Concert Hall by Jean Nouvel is a part of the new DR Byen , that houses the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR. The concert hall and the DR Town are located in the northern part of Ørestad - an ambitious development area in Copenhagen, Denmark...

 celebrating Prince Henrik's 75th birthday. On both occasions the music was performed by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra

Danish National Symphony Orchestra

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra , is a Danish orchestra based in Copenhagen. The DNSO is the principal orchestra of DR...

 and Choir, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard

Thomas Dausgaard

Thomas Dausgaard , is a Danish conductor.Since 1997, Dausgaard has been Principal Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. From 2001-2004, he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra , and became principal conductor in 2004, the first Danish conductor to hold the...

.

Besides the original text by Prince Henrik in French, a Danish translation by Per Aage Brandt

Per Aage Brandt

Per Aage Brandt is a Danish writer, poet, and linguist. He is Master of Arts in Romance Philology from the University of Copenhagen and hold a Doctorate of Semiotics from the Sorbonne University ....

 is also used in the work, and at places French and Danish is being sung at the same time.

The three symphonic poems/movements forming the suite are:

• "Souffle le vent" (based on the poem "Souffle le vent")
• "Cortège & Danse Macabre" (based on the poem "Cortège funèbre" (with the subtitle "Danse Macabre
  Danse Macabre
  Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre , Danza de la Muerte , Dansa de la Mort , Danza Macabra , Dança da Morte , Totentanz , Dodendans , is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's...
  
  "))
• "Carillon" (based on the poems "L'Angélus" and "Lacrymae mundi")

Instrumentation

Orchestration:

3 Flutes

Western concert flute

The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....

,
2 Oboes

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

 (2nd: English Horn),
3 Clarinets

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

,
1 Bass Clarinet

Bass clarinet

The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...

,
2 Bassoons

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

,
1 Contrabassoon

Contrabassoon

The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...

,

4 Horns

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

,
3 Trumpets

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

,
3 Trombones

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

,
1 Contrabass Tuba

Tuba

The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...

,

Timpani

Timpani

Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...

,
3 Percussionists,

Harp

Harp

The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...

,
Piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 (soloist, third movement only),
Organ

Pipe organ

The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

,

Soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 (Soloist),
Bass-baritone

Bass-baritone

A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende...

 (Soloist),
Mixed Choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 (S,S,A,A,T,T,B,B),

Strings

String section

The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

Instruments of special note: The use of a giraffe's

Giraffe

The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...

 thigh bone as a percussion instrument in the Cortège & Danse Macabre.