Lindberg, Magnus - GRAFFITI (Hawkes Pocket Score HPS 1682)

Composed in 2008-09, GRAFFITI is Lindberg's first work for chorus and orchestra, and it earned him the 2009 Finnish Composer Society's Award. The libretto for the half-hour work is compiled from ancient Latin graffiti discovered during excavations of Pompeii, the city destroyed by volcanic eruption in 79 CE. Some of the writings are specific to the time and place, such as publicity for gladiatorial combats, but many of the political denunciations, silly aphorisms, and sexual encounters either documented or solicited could, with the Roman names changed, be found in present-day settings. Lindberg assembled the brief texts without aiming to create a narrative or thematic scheme, his intention being to evoke 'a grand choral and orchestral fresco of the life of the town'. A work of great energy and originality, and a significant addition to the repertoire of large-scale choral writing.