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Commissioned in 2000 by the NZTrio, A Feather of Blue takes its title from a phrase in a poem called A View From A Window by New Zealand writer Kevin Ireland. I have always admired the wry humour and brightness of Kevin Ireland’s writing and many years ago set three of his poems for soprano and mixed ensemble. As a kind gesture Mr Ireland sent me a copy of his book of poems Skinning A Fish, and I was particularly struck by the imagery of colours, flowers, feathers and birds in this poem, which illustrates rain pouring down a window pane and giving way to a burst of sunshine after a storm.

Maria Grenfell

• Grenfell: A Feather of Blue; computer-set 

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• Grenfell: A Feather of Blue; computer-set 

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• Grenfell: A Feather of Blue; computer-set 

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• Grenfell: A Feather of Blue; computer-set 

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• New Zealand Trio - Spark  Year: 2004 

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for violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, gamelan, narrator and sheng (or oboe)

This work uses four short passages from Canadian composer and ethnomusicologist, Colin McPhee’s famous account of his experiences while living in Bali in the 1930s. A joint composition between Jack Body and Wayan Yudane who composed the gamelan sections. A Creative New Zealand grant assisted the composition of this work.

• Body, Yudane: A House in Bali; computer-set 

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• Body, Yudane: A House in Bali; computer-set 

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• Body, Yudane: A House in Bali; computer-set 

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• Body, Yudane: A House in Bali; computer-set 

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• Body: A House in Bali; computer-set 

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guitar and ensemble (2-6 players) - instrumentation is flexible (and suggested size is also only a suggestion)

• Brownlee: As if to catch the fleeting tail of time; computer-set 

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• Brownlee: As if to catch the fleeting tail of time; computer-set 

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• Philip Brownlee: As if to catch the fleeting tail of time; audio 

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• Philip Brownlee: As if to catch the fleeting tail of time; video 

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• Philip Brownlee: As if to catch the fleeting tail of time 

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• Two pieces by Philip Brownlee 

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violin, cello, piano

• Crehan: At the Breaking Point; computer-set 

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• Crehan: At the breaking Point; computer-set 

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violin, cello, piano (some preparation required); all performers required to speak

Piano preparation: the strings between c’’’ and a’’’ need to have a flat metal object laid on top to achieve a bright, jangly ringing sonority (especially from mm 26-37). This/these to be removed by the pianist in the section from m 45.

The three strings F, G, A flat, should have firm rubber wedges between them to create a dull thuddy sonority (for the section at m42), but with a still discernible pitch

At water’s birth is a meditative, ritualistic work, whose sonic palette includes prepared piano sonorities and some vocalising from the players, including whispering, spoken words and whistling.

The pushing out of the boundaries of the conventional instrumental sounds is something I have employed in other works such as the whistling and knocking on the piano lid in small blue for piano and the bell and tamtam playing in Ring True. The meandering sections of the music suggest a relationship with the forces of water, its depth, currents and undercurrents and there is a sense of ritual in some of the chant-like rhythms.

• de Castro-Robinson: At Water's Birth; facsimile  

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• de Castro-Robinson: At Water's Birth; facsimile 

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• NZ Premieres 2008 Vol. 1 

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• NZTrio: Flourishes  Year: 2010 

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Flute doubling alto flute; clarinet doubling bass clarinet; horn; bass trombone; percussion (3 tom toms, 2 bongos, 2 suspended cymbals, crotales, vibraphone, bell tree); cello; double bass and bass clarinet solo

Au began as a series of musical reflections on the Auroroa with pitch material based on the name of bass clarinettist Andrew Uren whose initials provide the title. This title, ‘Au’ is also the abbreviation for ‘aurum’, the Latin word for gold. As I was composing I realised that I was dealing with golden qualities not only of the sounds in the piece but also of the musicians in the ensemble 175 East who would be giving its first performance. This was particularly the case with the soloist Andrew Uren whose adventurous bass clarinet playing has revolutionised the way in which composers in New Zealand think about the instrument.

The work was commissioned by Andrew Uren with funding provided by Creative New Zealand and was first performed on 15 September 2002 at The Space, Wellington, by Andrew Uren and ‘175 East’ conducted by Hamish McKeich.

• Rimmer: Au; computer-set 

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• Rimmer: Au (hire set); computer set 

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• Rimmer: Au; computer-set 

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• John Rimmer: Au; audio 

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• 175 East: Microchix and newer stuff 

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• John Rimmer: Au  Year: 2002 

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• Rimmer: 'Au' – concerto for bass clarinet and ensemble  Year: 2002 

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• Andrew Uren: Steep Steps  Year: 2011 

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These twenty (mostly very brief) bagatelles were among the first pieces I wrote while on a one-month residency at the Visby International Centre for Composers in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, in October 2005.

The musical material I use in these Bagatelles I feel relates to my being in Europe (albeit a rather far-flung part) for the first time, and my subsequent reflection on my ‘European’ classical musical upbringing on the other side of the world in New Zealand. At times the music veers into irony, such as the violin caught in a maze of its own making (bagatelle 7) or the pianist unable to stop her rapid motions at either end of the keyboard (no. 14), sometimes to a laid-back jazzy feeling (no. 11) or quasi-improvisation (no 10); there are dance-like numbers too (4 and 19). The set ends with the longest bagatelle, a chromatic meditation over the open fifths of the cello and low register of the piano.

• Carey: Bagatelles; facsimile 

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violin, cello, and piano. Each performer should have the following pedals: reverb, delay, and on/off switch.

This piece was inspired by Plato’s allegory of the cave in which he describes humankind as existing in a world where truth is merely a shadow.

…above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a parapet; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in from of them, over which they show the puppets. …they only see their shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite side of the cave.

I have used Plato’s allegory more as a point of departure and as an occasional reference point rather than a literal representation of the story. However, there are instances where I have deliberately tried to capture the character of the marionette players, the fire and the shadows.

The purpose of the digital effects, are twofold. Firstly, the delay and reverb should at times create a nebulous quality in which motifs become slightly blurred and imprecise. Secondly, with the aid of amplification and effects, the more intimate colours of the piano strings being stroked or violin and cello pizz are given more presence.

Michael Williams
Notes taken from Ahi – The Ogen Trio, Atoll Records ACD108

• Williams: Behind the Parapet; computer-set 

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• Williams, M.: Behind the Parapet; computer-set 

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• Ahi - The Ogen Trio  Year: 2008 

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‘blessed unrest’, was one of six short pieces commissioned by the New Zealand Trio as “attention-grabbing”, programme opening pieces. They wanted something that would start a concert “with all guns blazing”; a piece that ought to be “high-impact, dynamic and edgy”. It took a long time until I found something that I thought satisfied this demand, as I didn’t want to write an obviously motoric pulse-based piece. I wanted to create a sense of pent-up energy and its release in bursts. Many approaches were tried and rejected and while this was going on I came across the quote that gave the piece its title. I don’t think my dissatisfaction with earlier versions of the piece was either ‘queer’ or ‘divine’ and I dislike the lofty tone, but parts of Martha Graham’s statement nevertheless resonated with me: “There is vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not yours to determine how good it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is ever pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”

• Gardner: blessed unrest; computer-set 

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• Gardner: blessed unrest; computer set 

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• James Gardner: blessed unrest; audio 

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• Rimmer: Burning the Calories; computer-set 

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• Rimmer: Burning the Calories; computer-set 

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• Rimmer: Burning the Calories; computer set 

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• Rimmer: Burning the Calories; computer set 

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• John Rimmer: Burning the Calories; audio 

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