Toccata
Toccata was written in 1983 while the composer was a student at Sydney University, in response to a workshop commission for the Sydney Schumann Society. This work was influenced by two particular factors: the composer's introduction to Indian raga, and encouragement from the composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks to concentrate on melody and rhythm.
Rainforest Toccata
Rainforest Toccata was composed in 1987 and reflects two sources of inspiration. One is the echoing acoustic and atmosphere of the 'Devil's Coachhouse' near the entrance to the Jenolan Caves in New South Wales, at the start of that lovely walk through the bush where one can watch rock wallabies at dusk. The other general inspiration is the sounds and scents of Australian rainforests; the piece's central dancing toccata section was probably most marked by a magical afternoon listening to a forest of bellbirds on the escarpments of the NSW Central Coast.
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
This four-movement concert or ballet suite for solo piano, completed in 1995, was inspired by a magical chapter from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. In a scene far removed from the antics of Mr Toad, two of the animal characters journey through a summer night to the breaking of dawn, drawn on irresistibly by a mysterious glad piping to a vision of Pan, protector of all wild creatures. "Prelude" evokes twilight, punctuated by two small scherzo episodes for fluttering moths and wheeling bats; "Nocturne" paints the river as the moon gradually rises and sails overhead; "Caprice" brings first light, hints of a morning breeze, and the mysterious piping. The Finale blends the whispers of the wind in the reeds and Pan's secret song to all creatures.
Tarantella
This piece was written at the request of the talented young pianist Cordelia Williams. Brilliant and virtuosic, it takes as its source of inspiration the solar wind. At times the wind delights in its dance through the cosmic dust and at other times it is powerful and dynamic. Occasionally you can hear deep bass notes like drums – a reminder of the distant heartbeat of the sun where the solar wind originates. Only at the climax near the end of the piece, does the solar wind revisit its origins before being propelled into the universe again amidst the swirling star dust.
Piano pieces for Children
Light
This collection was composed in 1995, in response to a request from my colleague and friend Eleanor Drover for a set of children's piano pieces which are poetic and sensitive in character. Each of the six pieces tells a story about some aspect of Light and how it affects our world. Eleanor and I started from the shared feeling that sensitivity and awareness developed in the young are a means by which violence can end.
This music was not written to lie under simple five-note patterns, but to develop intelligence and suppleness in the fingers, hands and arms, exploring all registers of the piano.
Two Pieces for Cordelia
These two pieces were commissioned by Cordelia Williams, who premièred the first of them at her eighth birthday piano recital on 7 July 1996. I was asked if I could reassure Cordelia by reconciling through music the tragic story of Shakespeare's Cordelia. In this respect "Cordelia for whom the Angels dance" is not a tragic or sad piece: it is a dance for Shakespeare's pure-hearted Cordelia, and for the young artist who commissioned the piece. Underneath some decorative passages in small notes, this piece is melodic, not unlike calligraphic curves which must flow and be connected.
Blue stars are the youngest and hottest of the stars in the universe. On attending an exhibition of astronomical photography, I felt a connection between the brightness and energy of the blue stars and the talented young Cordelia Williams. "The Blue Star" is also a study in pedal, indicated by tying bass notes, sometimes with open ties, rather than by constantly indicating “Ped.”. This leaves more to the player's initiative, and allows for different pianos and acoustics. It also lets the score show harmonic mixing of sounds more clearly.
Wendy Hiscocks
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