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John Rimmer  

Vulcan

Duration: 04' 00" Year: 1999
fanfare for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    3(1),2,2(1),2(1); 4331; Timp., 2 perc, harp and strings
  • Programme Note

    New Zealand lies on one of the most volatile regions of the Earth, the so called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’. This fanfare reminds us of the way in which the cultures of the Pacific have been shaped by powerful and often destructive natural forces. Aucklanders in particular see volcanic hills every day and should know that more will appear as they have in the past albeit at several thousand year intervals.

    The music of Vulcan is thus explosive in nature. However the musical material goes beyond its volcanic inspiration and enters a sound world of drama and fantasy.

    Vulcan was commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and was completed on 5 February 1999, the composer’s sixtieth birthday.

  • Availability

Christopher Blake  

We all fall down

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 1996
for full orchestra

Chris Cree Brown  

Y2K Pacemaker

Duration: 03' 00" Year: 1999
fanfare for orchestra

  • Programme Note

    Y2k Pacemaker is an attempt to reflect some of the increasingly frenzied apprehension associated with the coming millennium, and more specifically, the “year 2000 computer bug”. Whether computer failures will cause a slight inconvenience or be a major disruption to life seems largely a matter for conjecture. However, I find the escalating alarm (sometimes exacerbated by scaremongers) and often ensuing bizarre reactions a fascinating aspect of our psychological makeup. The main idea behind the work is a measured increase in tempo which culminates in some frenetic activity. The musical texture incorporates ordinary scalic movement and has been derived from a simple octatonic scale. (The computer on which I wrote this work is ‘year 2000 compliant’ !) I would like to thank the Auckland Philharmonia for the opportunity to write “Y2k Pacemaker” and have long admired the orchestra’s commitment to New Zealand music.

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Anthony Ritchie  

Yet Another Poem of Spring

Duration: 02' 00" Year: 1991
a short "entree" for full orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    3332; 4231; timp., 3 perc; strs.
  • Programme Note

    In 1981 I composed a series of piano pieces called Poems of Spring, in which I juxtaposed the exhilarating beauty of a Christchurch spring with the terrible pain of a broken relationship. Ten years later, and in the middle of a cruel Dunedin winter, I recalled this Christchurch spring as I was composing this short piece for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. 1991 was a year in which I managed to climb out of a dark phase in my life, and consequently this piece expresses a sense of excitement and affirmation.

    Lasting just under 3 minutes, it was designed as a fanfare to open a concert and combines several short motifs into a busy mosaic of sound. Yet Another Poem of Spring is recorded by the NZSO on their Landscapes CD, released by Morrison Music Trust (MMT2037) in 2001.

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Lyell Cresswell  

Ylur

Duration: 27' 00" Year: 1990, r. 1991
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2(+pc), 2(+ca), 2(+bs-cl), 2(+c-bn);4330; 3perc; strs.
  • Programme Note

    This eight movement orchestral work commissioned by the St. Magnus Festival is concerned with different aspects of sorrow. Along with the music there are pastel drawings on sandpaper by Maurizio Bottarelli which give different perspectives of the same search for an understanding of sorrow.

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David Hamilton  

Zarya

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1999
fanfare for symphony orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    32ca2bcl2cbn; 4331; timp; 3perc; pf; org; strs
  • Programme Note

    The Russian word “Zarya” came to sudden international prominence in late 1998 when the first module of the international space station was launched. Russian for “sunrise”, the word conjures up ideas of the dawning of a new era, and by association, a new millenium.

    The fanfare is basically one long crescendo. Beginning softly, as if the pre-dawn twilight, the music progressively gathers energy by gaining in volume and brightness. The point of sunrise is marked by significant harmonic shift. The music can by heard as a positive affirmation of the progress of the past century and of humanity’s relentless quest for knowledge.

    Zarya was commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia as one of their eleven ‘Century Fanfares’ commissioned in 1999 to mark the end of the century.

  • Availability