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“The sanskrit equivalent for initiation is abhisheka, meaning ‘sprinkle’, ‘pour’, ‘anointment’. And if there is pouring, there must be a vessel into which the pouring can fall. So at last we might really give up all these complications and just allow some space, just give in. This is the moment when abhisheka – sprinkling and pouring – really takes place, because we are open and are really giving up the whole attempt to do anything, giving up all the busyness and overcrowding. Finally we have been forced to really stop properly, which is quite a rare occurrence for us.”

(Taken from Chogyam Trungpa’s Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, from album Nederlands Blazers Ensemble: Zeibekiko, NBECD014).

The composer writes: ”Drafted immediately after reading a book by the Buddhist guru Chögyam Trungpa, Abhisheka was my first-ever attempt at writing music with space in it. Until this piece, practically everything I had written was ultra-caffeinated, fast, full of notes, and murder on performers. But having been (albeit temporarily) inspired by the great truths and peace in Trungpa’s writing, I found myself navigating slower passages of musical time, as well as exploring the microcosm of inner space between the even intervals of our chromatic tuning system.”

Abhisheka by John Psathas was chosen for the list of string quartets in 2000 for ‘IAMIC Sounds of the Year’. The composer has also prepared versions of Abhisheka for mixed chamber ensemble, this version performed by Manos Achalinotopoulos, Vangelis Karipis and Nederlands Blazers Ensemble at Paradiso, in Amsterdam in 2004, and for string orchestra (2008).

Programme note from the New Zealand String Quartet’s 2012 New Zealand at Kings Place concert.

• Psathas: Abhisheka; computer-set 

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• Psathas: Abhisheka; computer-set   Year: 2000 

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• John Psathas: Abhisheka; video  

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• John Psathas, RNZB: Abhisheka (part 4 of 4); video 

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• John Psathas, RNZB: Abhisheka (part 3 of 4); video 

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• John Psathas, RNZB: Abhisheka (part 2 of 4); video 

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• John Psathas, RNZB: Abhisheka (part 1 of 4); video 

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• Psathas: Eight Works 

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• John Psathas: Abhisheka 

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• John Psathas: Rhythm Spike  Year: 1999 

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• Sound Barrier  Year: 2006 

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• notes from a journey  Year: 2010 

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This song cycle for soprano and piano has texts by the composer in Maori and English.

“Awa Herea memorably evokes the physical appearance of symbolic significance of these braided rivers… cosmic weather-driven energy.” (Covell, Sydney Morning Herald).

“Its pace was shrewdly varied and the music encompassed a range of styles – from sung declamation to florid lyricism – without incongruity.” (Jack, Independent).

“The cycle displays all the characteristics of her [Gillian Whitehead’s] mature work. The vocal line is at once exultant and contemplative, the piano writing incisive or lulling; the formal shaping novel yet accessible. It is a memorable piece, filled with the energetic spirit of the natural world and finding through that spirit its own serenity.”

• Whitehead: Awa Herea; computer-set 

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• Whitehead: Awa Herea; facsimile 

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• NZIAF: Gillian Whitehead Portrait; part 2 

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• Waikohu: Mere Boynton and Friends 

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• Tracey Chadwell's Songbook  Year: 1995 

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• Ears Wide Open Taringa Areare Education Resource CD  Year: 2000 

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• Psathas: Drum Dances; computer-set  Year: 1998 

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• John Psathas: Drum Dances (mvt 4); video 

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• John Psathas: Drum Dances (mvt 3); video 

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• John Psathas: Drum Dances (mvt 2); video 

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• John Psathas: Drum Dances (mvt 1); video 

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• John Psathas: Drum Dances 

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• Psathas: Eight Works 

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• The Next Step; First Steps CD 

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• John Psathas: Rhythm Spike  Year: 1999 

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• Meridan: Firecracker; computer-set 

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• NZ Women Composers Vol. 2 

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• Fanfares for a New Millennium  Year: 2000 

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• Gareth Farr: From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs - hardcopy score 

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• Gareth Farr: Orchestral Music  Year: 1997 

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• Symphony of Sails  Year: 2002 

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• Gareth Farr: From the Depths Sound the Great Sea Gongs  Year: 2009 

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I – On the magical island of Bali, flowing gamelan melodies intertwine with the sound of the “suling” (Balinese bamboo flute) to form rich colourful tapestries. The marimba and flute start out as one, their sounds indistinguishable. Bit by bit the flute asserts its independence, straying further and further from the marimba melody. An argument ensues – but all is resolved at the climax.


II – The haunting sounds of the Japanese “shakuhachi” flute float out over the warm echoes of the rolling landscape.

III – Complex rhythms and South Indian scales set the two instruments off in a race to see who can outplay the other. The marimba is set in a three bar cycle of 5/4 + 5/8 + 5/6 but the flute plays a different cross rhythm each time, returning to the marimba’s pattern at the end of every cycle.


from Tangaroa – Trust Records

• Farr: Kembang Suling; computer-set 

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• Gareth Farr: Kembang Suling (pt 1); video 

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• Gareth Farr: Kembang Suling (pt 2); video 

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• Gareth Farr: Kembang Suling (pt 3); video 

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• Kembang Suling  Year: 1996 

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• Gareth Farr: Chamber Music  Year: 1997 

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• Gareth Farr - Tangaroa  Year: 2008 

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Luminous was one of the ‘Century Fanfares’ commissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia from ten New Zealand composers in 1998. The composer writes: ‘When I was invited to write a fanfare for the new millennium I inevitably found myself considering the last one thousand years. For me, the single most striking feature of human history during the last millennium has been the increase in travel and the settling in foreign lands of smaller and smaller groups. In the distant past, an entire race of people would slowly traverse one continent. Today, an individual, in the space of a few days, is able to completely uproot from their homeland and settle in a country on the other side of the world. A friend of mine, Pan, moved to New Zealand from China. For her, the pressure to integrate two very different sets of beliefs proved ultimately overwhelming. This work is dedicated to her memory.’

• Psathas: Luminous; computer-set 

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• John Psathas: Luminous; video 

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• Fanfares for a New Millennium  Year: 2000 

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• Dadson: MAYA; facsimile 

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• Buchanan Dadson Fisher: works 

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• Philip Dadson: Maya 

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• Fanfares for a New Millennium  Year: 2000 

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The composer comments, “Melancholia is a very straightforward little piece and is a meditation on loneliness … I was mindful of the guitar’s intimate qualities which help to convey an introspective mood.” Melancholia was commissioned by Sue Court for a book of ten NZ guitar works, Guitar Aotearoa.

• Guitar Aotearoa; computer set  Year: 1991 

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• Anthony Ritchie: Melancholia; video 

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• Ears Wide Open Taringa Areare Education Resource CD  Year: 2000 

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• Sound Barrier  Year: 2006 

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Several of the melodic ideas in Other Echoes are based on New Zealand birdcalls: the first violin is the now extinct huia, the cor anglais is the endangered kokako (also the bassoons and clarinets). Piccolo, trumpet and horns also play native birdcalls The composer believes these specific calls lend themselves particularly well to instrumental or vocal imitation, and has done a similar thing in several works over the years including the Chaos of Delight series.

• De Castro-Robinson: Other Echoes; computer-set 

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• de Castro-Robinson: Other echoes; facsimile 

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• New Zealand New Music in Scotland 

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• Eve de Castro-Robinson: Other Echoes, music for orchestra 

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• Music by Eve de Castro-Robinson 

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• New Zealand Music for Creative Dance 

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• Ears Wide Open Taringa Areare Education Resource CD  Year: 2000 

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• Fanfares for a New Millennium  Year: 2000 

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• Sound Barrier  Year: 2006 

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• Eve de Castro-Robinson: Releasing the Angel  Year: 2011 

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