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Maria Grenfell  

Alegria

Duration: 07' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    1(1)1(1)1(1)2; 4231; timp., 2 perc.; strings
  • Programme Note

    ‘Alegria’ is an education piece for children of primary school age. It focuses on aspects of rhythm and ostinato, and it is based on the flamenco principle of 3+3+2+2+2 (12 beat cycle). Flamenco music is based on Spanish gypsy music, and is often accompanied by clapping, so there are clapping parts included for members of the orchestra. The audience may learn the simple clapping patterns so they can accompany the orchestra when they hear the patterns. The central section in 5/8 is intended as an asymmetrical contrast to the duple and triple meters of the outer sections. “Alegria” means ‘joy’ or ‘happiness’ in Spanish.

  • Availability

Jeff Lin  

Anxiety... Tumbling into Ecstasy

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2*222; 4231; timp., perc.(3), hp; strings Percussion: triangle, maracas, tubular bells, bass drum, marimba, roto-toms, claves, thunder sheet, gong and metal wind chime
  • Programme Note

    Anxiety is a common psychological disorder in modern society. It is a state of uneasiness or tension caused by over-worrying about a possible future problem or danger. Ecstasy here implies a state of exalted delight, joy, and then, gradually moves to a more extreme emotion.

    A person experiences various feelings every day. However, some people have to overcome certain psychological difficulties, such as phobia or anxiety. This piece reflects two aspects of feelings, anxiety and ecstasy, which are unique in humans. One maybe we are trying to avoid, while another one, we are trying to pursue. Some people may have already experienced both of these two states in real life. Others may have just suffered anxiety but never have made the journey into the euphoria of ecstasy. It is interesting to notice that if these two feelings are persistent or triggered by certain events, they both can lead to intense emotions, such as Anxiety Attack and an ecstasy of rage.

  • Availability

David Hamilton  

Concerto Grosso No.2

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 2004
for two violins, cello and string orchestra

  • Programme Note

    The title of this work may seem unexpected as there is no ‘Concert Grosso No. 1’ in my list of works! However I’ve always considered my 1985 work for strings and percussion ‘Well Done, Mister Bach’ to be a concerto grosso. That work features the leaders of all five string parts as a ‘concertante’ group. In a more traditional Baroque manner, this work features just the leaders of the first and second violin and cello sections as the soloists. My intention with the work was to write something in the manner of a Baroque concerto grosso, drawing inspiration from typical styles of the period. Mixed in are my own musical and compositional preferences, so that in the end the piece might be described as ‘Baroque meets minimalism’. I finally gave into the temptation to give the three movements titles. The title, ‘Prelude’, of the first movement is a little ironic as it is longer than the remaining two movements combined. The second movement, ‘Air on a Shoestring’ suggests a rather brief, perhaps truncated air, in this case, a piece which fails to return to its home key. The final movement is in the manner of a Baroque fugue, I knew that university paper would finally come in useful one day!. ‘Concert Grosso No. 2’ was commissioned by the Music Department of St Cuthbert’s College in Auckland, and follows a commission from them the previous year for ‘Whisper to me’ (for choir, strings and percussion).

  • Availability

Samuel Holloway  

Fault

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

David Hamilton  

Folk Song Suite for Strings

Duration: 07' 00" Year: 2004
for string orchestra

Leonie Holmes  

Frond

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2222; 4231; timp., perc. 1 (glock., xyl., sus. cym., tri., bongos, tub. bells), perc. 2 (vib.), hp, pno (and celesta); strings
  • Programme Note

    A scene from childhood, remembered as a half peaceful, half eerie dream sequence. Deep in the bush where there were no cicadas singing, the moist smell of soil, a small stream, dark ferns. Occasional streaks of sunlight struck the water. The middle of the ponga fern looked as if it would be a perfect bed to curl up in. I half believed that there were bush-dwelling creatures that did live and sleep there, watching me from the shadows.

  • Availability

David Hamilton  

Taharoto

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 2004
for orchestra

  • Instrumentation
    2221; 2310; timp., perc. (3-4 players), pf; strs
  • Programme Note

    This work was written for the Taharoto Orchestra – a group consisting of students from both Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys High Schools conducted by Liz Cable.

    The name ‘Taharoto’ is derived from two Maori words and is an approximation of the idea of ‘Westlake’. Literally it means ‘beside’ (taha) ‘lake’ (roto). The lake is Lake Pupuke on Auckland’s North Shore. A feature of the lake is the swans, and the symbol for Westlake Girls High School is the swan. I was asked to include ideas of the lake covered in mist and the swans taking flight, but also to include music which suggested aspects of the characters of the students at Westlake Girls High School: generous, assertive and energetic!

    Overall the music has a sense of spaciousness, building to an emphatic climax, and subsiding into silence again at the end. The music includes some ‘contemporary’ playing techniques for the string players, with some more challenging parts for the leading wind players.

  • Availability

Hugh Dixon  

The Enchanted Garden

Duration: 08' 00" Year: 2004
for string orchestra

Gareth Farr  

Vula Canon

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 2004
for string orchestra with tubular bells