The text for ‘Christ the King’ is taken from two poems by James K. Baxter: ‘Song to the Father’ and ‘Song to the Lord God on a Spring Morning’. The title of the piece comes from the feast day of October 25th in the church calendar, and the plainsong for this day is used in the opening and ending of the work. ‘Christ the King’ was written for the Sydney Chamber Choir.
Five Vignettes of Women was commissioned in December 1987 by Christchurch flautist, Rebecca Steel, and was first performed by her in April 1988 with a women’s choir conducted by the composer. Each work has a subtitle and the texts are taken from the writings of the subject of each song: Virginia Woolf, Olivia Spencer-Brown, Robin Hyde, Fanny Buss and Katherine Mansfield.
Henna appears in two collections of carols. In a 2008 revision it is No. 5 from the Five Carol for 3 and 4 Parts. The original version of the carol appears in my earlier collection Sun Festival Carols.