Coral Fantasy (1993)
The seed of inspiration for Coral Fantasy came from a dancer friend who suggested the delights of writing a ballet about life under the sea: "Imagine the movements, the colours, the costumes." I was lucky to be able to take advantage of recent trips to Hawaii and Australia to observe the exotic life of the coral reefs in these tropical waters. Coral Fantasy is a celebration of the beauty, wonder and mystery of this magical world.
The music follows an itinerary in some ways analogous to Mussorgsky's Pictures from an exhibition. Starting with an introduction suggested by sunlight dancing on the waves, we move underwater to scenes of a coral reef, the gentle rhythms of the sea currents, anemone, jellyfish, the variety of coral fishes, and a scherzo episode for clownfish. At its climax the music breaks through the water again at the end of the day, to witness the peaceful splendour of a tropical sunset.
Pastel and Oil (1995–7; wind quintet)
Pastel and Oil takes inspiration from four paintings. 'Morning Song' relates to The Sunlit Tower by Australian artist Lloyd Rees, 'Scherzo' and 'Nocturne' to Nicotiana and Jack-in-the Pulpit, paintings of flowers by American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. In 'Nocturne' the flower's black petal and oriental-like white stamen are reflected by the oboe and bassoon duet in the piece's middle section, with a sense of richness and dark mystery. 'Waltz' follows an untitled pastel by Cheryl Stoll Thygeson, depicting a celestial form in the shape of an S-like spiral. This radiant being dances to a gentle, easy waltz with some rhythmic play between twos and threes.
One of my main aims in this suite was to give prominence to all five instruments, and in particular to bring out the melodic and expressive character of the horn and bassoon, often the cinderellas of woodwind ensembles.
Listen to 2nd mvt (Scherzo), perf. by Pleiades Ensemble
Fantasy on a Tale (1998; wind quintet)
This single-movement work was written in response to a commission from bassoonist Hugh Rosenbaum, and is based around the characters of children, whose entry and exit are marked by a lively march, and a babushka-like figure who tells the two tales. She is not old but round, warm and jolly in character like the horn that depicts her. The two tales on which a fantasy is woven are based on illustrations. The first is a cartoon drawing of a boy looking at a beautiful spider in its web. He asks the spider for some thread to mend his trousers. In the story Babushka tells, the spider is a beautiful young girl with raven black hair and eyes, and the web is the beginning of the unseen threads of affection and bonding. The second tale is drawn from a picture of a Russian lacquer box painting inspired by Russian legends and fairy tales by contemporary artist, Palekh. The music focuses on a still, moonless night in a forest. The stars are shining and snow is falling. The great trees of the forest begin to stir and you hear the arrival of three fiery steeds in full flight who are eventually drawn up into the night sky. They are magic horses though and Babushka tells the children that they will return while they sleep to take them on a ride through the stars.
Pages of Poetry (1999–2000; clarinet & string trio)
The original version of this suite was composed for clarinettist Deborah de Graaf and the Ku-Ring-Gai Virtuosi, who premièred it in Sydney in 1999. For a Radio Suisse Romande live broadcast concert in 2000, clarinettist Thomas Friedli suggested enlarging the suite, resulting in the present first and fourth movements. All five movements are essentially songs without words, inspired by poetry. The first and third relate to poems by Rabrindranath Tagore of children at play. The second and fourth take a very contrasted stimulus from Walt Whitman's moving poems about death and the American civil war. The dark mood of the fourth movement is dispelled by the finale, which takes inspiration from an Ancient Egyptian text in praise of the sun (Ra). As a point of technical interest, movements 2, 3 and 5 closely follow the rhythm of the poetic texts that inspired them, while the longer movements 1 and 4 more freely explore their poems' atmosphere and structure.
Listen to Finale (Thomas Friedli , clarinet / Quatuor Krommer)
Wendy Hiscocks
Click for more notes on works including String Quartet
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