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Martin Lodge  

Aequora tuta silent (all the sea was quiet)

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2006
for viola, alto saxophone and electronic effects

  • Programme Note

    When Virgil penned his great story of national mythology for the Roman state and empire, he called it The Aeneid, since the poem recounts the travels and adventures of Aeneas, a latter day Ulysses. As Aeneas and his fleet are sailing from Carthage toward Italy they encounter a violent storm and seek shelter in the protected harbour of a small island off the coast of North Africa. Here rocky outcrips provide a haven. Aequora tuta silent Virgil writes – the water is calm and silent.
    Friendly sounds echo back and forth across the water between the cliffs.

    Notes taken from Toru, Atoll CD (ACD 143)

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Yvette Audain  

An Irksome Vengeance

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 2009
for clarinet and cello

  • Programme Note

    “I enjoyed playing the first performance of ‘An Irksome Vengeance’ with Yvette. The piece explores quite complex rhythmic patterns at a high level of expertise, calling to mind jazzy and folk-type drive with well-executed lyrical connections. The audience seemed to relate warmly to the work, so I think it is well deserving of future airings." – Katherine Hebley, cellist, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and 175 East

    This piece was largely informed by my involvement in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Remix the Orchestra courses, during which fascinating syntheses of classical and hip-hop musics are created.

    I have an all-encompassing view of music and have never shied away from influences outside the ‘classical’ genre: in this short work can also be heard a fleeting post-grunge-informed bassline and maybe, even, a slight tinge of progressive rock.

    It recently occurred to me that many of us have a rap song from our formative years to which we know, if not ALL the words, at least most (often entirely despite ourselves!). Upon rediscovering Monie Love’s It’s a Shame (chorus originally recorded by the Spinners and written by Stevie Wonder), the phrase ‘an irksome vengeance’ jumped out at me from the lyrics.

    Upon catching up with a former mentor prior to the composition of this work, I was reminded of the concept of a ‘groove-based’ piece, and to this end I have tried not to let the basic pulse abate for too long at a time, so as to create as much continuity as possible.

    Yvette Audain

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Rachael Morgan  

...and yet, not

Duration: 08' 00" Year: 2005
for flute and cello

  • Programme Note

    Angst: an acute but non-specific sense of anxiety or remorse (Collins Concise Dictionary). This is not intended to be an easy-listening, carefree piece. I wanted to portray a deep-seated sense of angst, creating a feeling of uneasiness in the listener. The flute and cello bear a similar angst, at times dealing with this independently, yet always returning to share in their anxiety. Quarter-tone inflections disconcert the harmonies, with tremolo, flutter-tongue and a recurring minor ninth adding to the tension. The material gradually unravels, only to fold in on itself again, remaining unresolved.

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Denise Hulford  

Before the Stars begin to Shine

Duration: 07' 00" Year: 1994
for cello and timpani

  • Programme Note

    Before the Stars Begin To Shine is written for solo violoncello and timpani. The work is a comment on the period of time between the often picturesque part of the day when the sun sets and the stars begin to shine. In southern regions of New Zealand this part of the day is called twilight and is defined as the time between sunset and darkness. Twilight can also mean the period of time when life begins to draw to a close. When twilight is referred to in the context of a day it may have a joyous meaning, but when associated with the penultimate stage of a life cycle it can bring sorrow. This work was written in memory of a dear friend who was drowned on January 2nd, 1994.

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Glenda Keam  

Bite

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1998
for cello and bass clarinet

Maria Grenfell  

Ceol na Fidhle

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 1999
for violin and percussion

Maria Grenfell  

Di Primavera

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1998
for guitar and marimba

  • Programme Note

    ‘Di Primavera’ for guitar and marimba was inspired by a trip to Italy, an astonishing place that overflows with artistry in every aspect of its culture. “Di Primavera” (‘of Spring’) is reminiscent of warm spring breezes inviting a late afternoon thunderstorm in the Tuscan hills, the lusciousness of Botticelli’s painting ‘Primavera’, and echoes of a melodic idea derived from Monteverdi’s fourth book of madrigals.

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Dorothy Ker  

diffracted terrains: duo i

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2005
for bass clarinet and double bass

  • Programme Note

    The first in a series of works with the ‘diffracted terrains’ title, this work exploits the spectrum of relative stability and instability that is inherent in this instrumental combination as a metaphor for proximity and distance, singularity and multiplicity. The series as a whole investigates symmetry and asymmetry in multiple dimensions including space, texture and structure. This preoccupation comes from a variety of sources: in particular [�and�1], which stimulated the notion of ‘diffracted’ space, and the fantastical characterisation of mirrors in Jorge Luis Borges’s story ‘Fauna of Dreams’. Ideas about distorted symmetries are further informed by experiences of feedback and distortion created electronically. diffracted terrains:duo i was composed for Andrew Sparling and Carrado Canonici who gave it its first performance at the Mayfest festival at the University of Hertsfordshire in May 2005.

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Michael Vidulich  

Duet

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1988
for flute and viola, or flute and clarinet

David Farquhar  

Duet

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1972, r. 1988
for harmonica and guitar