Borisova-Ollas: Exodus: Departure, für Klarinette und Orchester

There are many expressive details in the Biblical story of Exodus which have triggered the imagination of countless artists, poets, authors, filmmakers throughout the centuries. It is really hard to beat The Old Testament when it comes to powerful descriptions of hair rising events.

However true or not, even the Bible far too often wraps the ugly historical truth in a rich and merciful cloud of verbal decoration. We could probably never been able to believe any of the texts otherwise. Nowadays we are getting more and more immune to a dry merciless running subtitles on our TV screens bringing us news about no less incredible events than the story of a stubborn little tribe taking off suddenly on the search of a Promised Land, leaving behind, if measured by the standards of that remout time rather civilised enviroment, plunging into a scary sea waters without any fear at all and wondering for eternity in a plain desert.

Kill the poetry, and you will kill the truth. In time for the next Exodus of Biblical dimensions there will be no burning bushes, no Pharaonic carriages swallowed by the angry sea as the perfect sunset lights up the stony road to Eternity for the Chosen People. There will be just a bunch of techno freaks running towards their ugly space ships in a desperate hope to leave this sad and unfortunate planet once given to us as a promise of an eternal Paradise for some better place in some remote corner of the Universe. Every story, however richly decorated, has a beginning full of hope and a very determined and cruel end. So does the life of everyone and everything on this Earth. Even the Earth itself.

Exodus: Departure was written especially for a world famous Swedish clarinettist Martin Fröst for his concert series Exit where he appears as soloist, conductor and narrator.

Victoria Borisova-Ollas