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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION 2010: Stop writing dishonest programme notes.

This work was conceived in the abstract and does not relate to human experience. It does not illustrate the composer’s state of mind, he having suddenly found himself awake in the middle of the night, unable to control his thoughts. While the experience of insomnia, especially when suffered over consecutive nights, can be physically and emotionally crippling, at times the abundance and insistence of multiple streams of unwanted thought (unruly Beta waves) can be, if not pleasurable, then certainly fascinating. This piece does not seek to illustrate this through music, nor does it sonically pose this question: why does the brain seize control of the consciousness and produce such a plethora of unwanted activity that sleep is made impossible and the host becomes miserable?

At times, certain thoughts seem to somehow rise above the melee of insomniac thought and become quite focused and of seeming import, however inane these might seem in the cold light of day. This is not portrayed in the music by infrequent parings-down of texture and emergence of single, insistent motivic ideas. The music doesn’t describe how such thoughts soon get swallowed up as the jumble of thoughts returns and the victim adjusts position once again, glancing desperately at his or her clock radio and resolving hopelessly to try to make yet another attempt at deep breathing and sheep counting work.

The composer could claim that the work is about these things, but that would be a lie; he no longer wishes to construct programme notes after the act of composition that conform to some conceivable extra-musical agenda.

This version of this work is the first of a number of versions, with another swapping cello for viola and another as a solo guitar piece currently projected.

The work was requested by Dylan Lardelli and is dedicated to this increasingly mythic musician.

• Watson, C.: about nothing...really; computer-set 

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• Watson, C.: about nothing...really; computer-set 

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• Watson, C.: about nothing...really; computer-set 

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The word abscission refers to the act of cutting off or shedding a body part, however it is most often used to describe a plant dropping one of its parts such as a fruit or a seed, or to a deciduous tree shedding its leaves in autumn. The word therefore has one meaning which could be taken to be savage and distasteful, yet in its most common usage the word conjures up a far more whimsical and melancholic association.

Structurally, the piece is made up of a series of loosely related ideas which interrupt or “cut off” each other as the work progresses, gradually moving from percussive stab chords at the beginning towards having a more serene character at the end. This work was largely influenced by George Crumb’s Eleven Echoes of Autumn and uses similar instrumentation, it is dedicated to the CHROMA ensemble.

• Eastwood: Abscission; computer set 

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This version of Atthis is an adaption by the composer for Viola and Guitar from the original song for Mezzo-Soprano and Guitar. The text of the Mezzo-Soprano and Guitar version was based on the poem To Atthis by Sappho (c.630 BC).

• Adams, C.: Atthis; computer-set 

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for saxophone/bass clarinet, percussion, piano, electric guitar, violin and cello

Bout is inspired by the sport of women’s boxing. In an interview with Canadian boxing pioneer Savoy “Kapow” Howe, I was struck by her detailed demonstration of the inner monologue of a fighter. Melodic and rhythmic material from her words insinuate themselves into the piece, along with referee’s whistles, counts and bells, training routines and the dogged persistence of the fighter.

Bout: A round at fighting; a contest, match, trial of strength, physical or intellectual.

• Palmer: Bout; computer set 

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• Palmer: Bout; computer set  

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• Juliet Palmer: Bout 

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for tenor saxophone, bassoon/contrabassoon, 2 flute, 2 clarinet, trumpet, piano, viola, cello, double bass

• Adams, C.: Chamber Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Contrabassoon/Bassoon; computer-set 

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flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horn

‘eye-glitter out of black air 1’ is part of a cycle of pieces written for the players of the Slovene wind quintet Slowind. To date, the cycle includes solo pieces for all of the instruments of the standard wind quintet, two wind quintets and a piece for wind quintet and orchestra.

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flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, french horn

‘eye-glitter out of black air 2’ is the second version of a wind quintet that forms part of a cycle of pieces written for the players of the Slovene wind quintet Slowind. To date, the cycle includes solo pieces for all of the instruments of the standard wind quintet, two wind quintets and a piece for wind quintet and orchestra.

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for clarinet in B flat, viola, cello and percussion (1 player)

• Bolley: Fleeting Masks; computer-set 

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for bass clarinet in Bb, alto flute
percussion — kick-drum, snare drum, low tom-tom, low woodblock, high woodblock, medium cowbell (muted), hi-hat, high ride cymbal, medium splash cymbal, thin metal sheet, cabasa, rainstick, tibetan bowl (F if possible), vibraphone, marimba;
narrator — amplified with microphone and/or paper megaphone and power megaphone;
piano (nylon fishing line rosined), violin and violoncello

“In the beginning, there was nothing. Just the water.”
“But where did all the water come from?”

Throughout Thomas King’s novel the character of the trickster Coyote reappears, hopelessly bamboozled, trying to learn what really happened when the world began. Who knows the Real Story? Coyote would like to think he does, but then there’s Coyote’s Dream – “gets loose and runs around. Makes a lot of noise”. Coyote’s Dream has his own idea about things: “I’m in charge of the world”. By the end of the piece, you’ll be wondering where all that water came from…

• Palmer: How it Happened; computer set 

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• Juliet Palmer: How it Happened 

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for violin, cello and piano

This work was written for the NZTrio while I was the inaugural University of Otago/James Wallace Artist in Residence at the Pah Homestead.

Twinkle twinkle little star
how I wonder what you are?
A little bit hound, a little bit fox,
a junkie for the ballot box?
Twinkle twinkle little star
who’d have thought you’d come this far.

[adapted from Sam Mahon’s A Knight’s Tale]

While Jekyll Rat is based on a prominent New Zealand politician, it unfortunately could be applicable to a number of political figures. It deals with my anger and frustration that a number of local body representatives and nationally elected politicians forget that they were elected to represent their constituents and instead become absorbed by the power and prestige of the position, or use their power and influence for personal gain.

Jekyll Rat has three movements. The first “Me ne frego” (translation: I don’t give a dam), starts with the statement of the principal theme but then over the course of the movement is gradually consumed by an insidiously growing chromatic semiquaver sequence in the strings. The second “Sycophant’s Dance,” moves between sections of slightly awkward and clumsy pomposity, teetering fragility and vicious rage. The final movement “Insanity represented by Mustard Yellow” is fast and frenetic until it finally ends with an almost elegiac reprisal of the principal theme.

• Chris Adams: Jekyll Rat - hardcopy score & parts 

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• Chris Adams: Jekyll Rat - downloadable PDF 

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