Continual Letting Go (2005)
for Orchestra
8’20”

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For my mother and father

This piece was started in 1999 after the birth of my second child, a daughter. It was composed to express the realisation I had in my daughters early days, that from the moment we are born we begin a “continual letting go” of our parents. The piece is unashamedly “song-like” and incorporates ideas from a multitude of sources: Balinese Gamelan, Cook Island drumming, and alternative popular music.

This is a love song to my parents who have supported me through all my musical emergences and developments.

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Azimuth (2005)
for Wind Orchestra
3’30”

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The word azimuth originates from Arabic for “the arc of the horizon to the zenith” (the highest point straight above you). In this piece, the sense of the gradual movement from a still point to a climax is obvious.

The idea of an azimuth is very mathematical and have reflected this in the symmetry and balance of the work – creating a “calculated” path of progress – very suited to the minimalist inspirations at play.

Azimuth was first performed with interactive visuals by Nigel Brookes. The visuals feature a “sun” which is a photo mosaic of constantly cycling images of the geos (world we live in) bios (the biology we live with) technos (the technology we have created).

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Arc of the Sun (1999)
for Orchestra, Harp and Log Drum
4'15"

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Arc of the Sun is comprised of three sections – the first representing the dawn, the second - day, and the third - dusk. It is heavily influenced by the traditional drum and vocal music that I documented in the Cook Islands in 1988, while researching my MMus thesis. While these rhythms are instantly attractive to western ears, I feel that the polyphonic vocal forms are just as interesting – this strong sense of harmonic rhythm pervades Arc of the Sun. These stereotyped melodic lines have influenced some of the melodies in the work, and the way they interact within the work. The scale featured throughout the piece is typical of the polyphonic vocal music of the Cook Islands – a major scale with a flattened 7^th. The often antiphonal nature of Arc of the Sun is also a common feature of contemporary Cook Island vocal music, and in their archaic chants which are seldom heard today.

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MIM - a pre-millenial fanfare (1999)
for 2 Trumpets, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones, Tuba and Rototoms.
1'20"

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MIM is a fanfare made up of lots of simple musical layers, with each instrument playing a simple musical line. The combination of these layers creates a complex and vibrant whole. MIM was composed especially for the opening of the Selwyn College Performing Arts Theatre (22-4-99). MIM is dedicated to my daughter Xanthe – it was written in the last stages of her gestation and finished just days before she was born.

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Betwixt (1999)
for Eb Clarinet, Cello, Double Bass, Bass Trombone and Bass Clarinet
00'30"

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This was composed for 175 East in response to their call for 30-second micro scores during 1999. It is scored for flute, bass clarinet, bass trombone, cello and double bass.

It was recorded by Radio New Zealand and broadcast during 2000.

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Full Fathom Five (2007)
for Voices & String Quartet
2’20”

Two versions exist of this work. Much of the vocal material is exactly the same – but the later version here has developed and extended the final section.

In the original version “Full Fathom Five” (2001) is a work for three vocal parts with a digital soundscape. The generated sounds capture a watery submerged feeling as suggested in the text. The backing soundscape was created using an early version of the program “Absynth” – much of the connection between the vocal lines and the backing was very much a happy accident – the soaring sax-like solo is an example of this.

This later version (2007) retains and expands the vocal parts and has been scored for string quartet, replacing the digital soundscape. The string quartet carries through the hazy underwater atmosphere described in Shakespeare’s famous words from his play “The Tempest”.

This new version was revised and first performed to celebrate the 90^th Birthday of Epsom Girls Grammar School, where I currently teach music. There has been a long and proud tradition of composers who have taught in the Epsom Girls Music Department – Dorothea Franchi, Martyn Heath, and David Hamilton.

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Leopard Flower (2002)
for 2 Voices, String Quartet and Oboe / Cor Anglais
2’15”

Leopard Flower was originally written in 1987 for alto, viola, clarinet and percussion. In this form, it has a more contemporary classical style.

This 2003 version has been re-scored for 2 voice parts, cor anglais (or oboe) and string quartet. The text comes from an ancient collection of poetry of the 6^th century Japanese poetess – Ono No Komachi. I wanted to update the piece by presenting it more as a song.

I loved the simplicity of the words but the also the passion of the poem.

The pelog musical scale (pentatonic) that the vocal melodies are drawn from comes from Indonesia and was inspired by the Ramayana Monkey Chant of Bali.

Take This Hammer (2001)
for SATB a capella
2’00”

These are the thoughts of a slave on the verge of freedom. His defiant stance as he sends away his work tools to the captain, is expressed forcefully in the "huh! huh! huh!". 

The song is made up of three sections with a euphoric coda. Each section is more defiant than the last. In the first he sends his tools to the captain. He then runs away flying. Finally he offers (rather sarcastically) that he was crying as he left. It could have an audible stomp throughout.

As with traditional Gospel arrangements, dynamics have not been prescribed in the score - each group is encouraged to sing it shaped as they see fit. Build increasingly in dynamics from a quiet beginning. It slowly unwinds and releases tension, much like the slave who gradually eases into newfound freedom.

For performance purposes - members of the same section should breathe at different points in the phrase so that there is no space in the part. This is especially important in the coda. A strong and gutsy African vocal style (chest voice) suits the piece best.

The poem "Take This Hammer" is a traditional freedom song found in the book "In Search of Color Everywhere - A Collection of African-American Poetry", edited by E. Ethelbert Millerand and published by Stewart, Tabori and Chang, New York, 1994.

It is dedicated to my friend Joy, and was first performed at the NZ Choral Festival 2001 by the Selwyn College Vocal Group.

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Shanti (1998)
for 2 part vocal group (male, female or mixed) and electroacoustic soundscape
4'00"

Shanti is an electro-acoustic work, an elegy dedicated to four people – my close friend David who died in 1991;  Georgia who died in 1997, a past student who was killed in a motorbike accident; my Nana who died in 1997; and Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, the world’s finest Qawaali singer from Pakistan, who also died in 1997. All of these deaths had a strong impact on me and inspired the composition of this work. Each of the dedicatees has a section (or verse) which refers directly to them. The backing track is a digital soundscape with manipulated vocals layered throughout.

Shanti is essentially a two part vocal piece. It has been scored as four vocal lines for ease of reading bars 25 – 29. The rest of the piece has vocal lines 1 & 2, and 3 & 4 in unison with each other.

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