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Gillian Whitehead  

Arapatiki

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2004
a "landscape prelude" for piano

Gillian Bibby  

Bird Looks in the Window

Duration: 00' 45" Year: 2007
for solo piano from 'The Bad Bird Book'

Gillian Bibby  

Dangerous Mission

Duration: 01' 00" Year: 2007
for solo piano from 'The Bad bird Book'

Gillian Bibby  

Dawn Chorus

Duration: 01' 30" Year: 2007
for solo piano from 'The Bad Bird Book'

Helen Bowater  

Hihi

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2007
for harp

John Rimmer  

Manukau Refrains

Duration: 13' 00" Year: 2007
for three percussionists and orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2222;2200;3 perc;harp;strings perc 1: timp, large susp. cym., snare,guiro,large log drum, small rain stick perc 2: marimba, medium suspended cymbal, snare drum, guiro, medium log drum perc 3: vibraphone, small suspended cymbal, snare drum, guiro, small log drum
  • Programme Note

    ‘Manukau Refrains’ is a delicate, colourful piece for 3 percussionists and community orchestra inspired by images of wading birds (‘manukau’), shifting patterns of water and sand in an environment teeming with life. In performance, the percussionists are spaced apart with the timpani in their usual position at the rear of the orchestra and the marimba and vibraphone in front of the orchestra. Each percussionist also plays a variety of small non-tuned instruments such as guiros, small drums and Pacific log drums. After a soft introduction, the ‘refrain’ begins as a short rhythmic pattern played by the timpani and is extended on each of its repetitions. Gradually instruments from the orchestra are drawn into this activity which accelerates as the piece progresses. The music builds to a climax followed by a short coda which reminisces on the mood of the opening.

  • Availability

David Hamilton  

Me he korokoro tui

 Year: 2009
for SATB semi-chorus, SATB choir and organ

  • Programme Note

    Composing a piece for a festival presents challenges: the text shouldn’t be so tied to that one event that no-one else will want to utilize it, yet it should speak to some aspect of the festival. When approached to write for the Out and Loud choral festival, I searched for something suitable to set. Eventually I sent the challenge back to the organising committee to come up with a text, and Me He Korokoro Tui was the result (slightly re-edited by the composer!).

    The words are a mix of Maori and English, contemporary and traditional. They speak of singing, and being united together in song. The words also refer to the tui, one of New Zealand’s most musical song-birds.

    In the opening and closing sections of the work I used tui calls that had been notated in the early 20th century. In his book Bird-song and New Zealand Song Birds Johannes Andersen notated around seventy distinctive calls of the tui. He noted: “He sings at all times… by day and by night; at rest and on the wing…”, and also commented that “…the notes of this most versatile bird are different in season, new notes being sounded in addition to old ones repeated…”.

    The middle section of the work, sung by semi-chorus against simple repeating harmonies, is a traditional Maori text (attributed to Mere Ngamai o Te Wharepouri (Ngati Awa)) which is supposed to be a duet between a male and female tui. The first verse suggests the movement of the birds – sung by the male bird. The remaining two sections are the female bird identifying herself, and telling her mate to pick the fruit of a nearby plant for them to eat. The music suggests traditional chant ideas.

    The music ranges from the festive and majestic, to the gentle and restrained. The proverb “Me he korokoro tui” (As sweet throated as the tui) gives the work its title, and also provides a musical refrain which returns a number of times.

    Me He Korokoro Tui was commissioned for the Out and Loud Festival 2010 (Auckland, New Zealand), a gathering of gay and lesbian choirs.

    David Hamilton

  • Availability

Craig Utting  

Moa and her Chick

Duration: 01' 15" Year: 2007
for piano

Helen Fisher  

Otari

Duration: 17' 00" Year: 2005
for solo harp

  • Programme Note

    Like my piano solo Where the river flows, Otari (2004) for solo harp is inspired by one of my favourite Wellington places, Otari Bush near my home, which is a peaceful soundworld of birdsong, pools of stillness, and ebb and flow of wind and stream. The chorale-like theme that emerges towards the end is based on my Te Puna Waiora (Spring of Living Water).

    Overall, Otari is shaped by some words in T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets: " At the still point, there the dance is.."

    This work is dedicated to Carolyn Mills, principal harpist for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, whose innovative and enthusiastic collaboration enabled me to explore some extended harp techniques as part of the composing process. In March 2005, Otari was premiered in United States and since then it has received several performances in New Zealand and the United States as well as at three international Harp Festivals – London, San Francisco and Adelaide.

  • Availability