Xenomanía

Merriam-Webster defines the word as "an inordinate attachment to foreign things". It's also the name of this musical production, played at the Theatre in Kalmar. Of course it's also meant as the opposite to Xenofobia, fear of the foreign. Tonight was the first time I worked there for a year and a half.

The composer, in the thumbnail, is Ale Möller, a Swedish folk musician and multi instrumentalist, celebrating 50 years on the stage this year. He is well known in Sweden as well as in many parts of the world where he plays, gets inspired and certainly inspires other musicians and listeners. Tonights performance  was the result of a commission from the Swedish radio for him to write some music that was to be recorded and performed by his nine-piece band on a tour through the country. His inspiration for the music has been "the foreign", personified by four musicians he has worked with from various places in the world and who has influenced him a lot.

Luckily for the orchestra, they will now meet larger audiences than when the tour started, since restrictions are now lifted.  His musicians are very experienced and extremely good at what they're doing musically so the evening was full of amazing arrangements, fun solos and musicians who really enjoyed the Kalmar audience and gave us their best. It is a very long time since I heard anything this good.