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Chris Watson  

about nothing...really

Duration: 07' 00" Year: 2010
for flute, B flat clarinet, guitar and cello

Score Sample
  • Programme Note

    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.

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Peter Scholes (composer)  

Antikythera

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2006
for flute, 2 bass clarinets and double bass

  • Programme Note

    Antikythera is an island between Greece and a larger island called Kythera. It is the site of a very significant archeological find in 1901. The object was a complex piece of clockwork machinery designed to calculate astronomical positions It has been dated to 150-100 BC.

    The device is remarkable for the level of miniaturisation and complexity of its parts showing a craftsmanship comparable t that of 18th century clocks.

    The music seeks to convey the interaction between the components of the clockwork mechanism and the idea that this think has lain dormant for 2000 years and has been carefully reconstructed.

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Rachel Clement  

Feeblebeast

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 2000
for bass clarinet, bass trombone and percussion

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Emma Carlé  

Go Go Gadget Arms

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1999
for three violins and Javanese gamelan instrument (bonang)

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Stephan Schulz  

Kacapi/Suling

Duration: 08' 00" Year: 1989
for treble recorder, guitar, viola and cello

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John Rimmer  

Kakapo Reborn

Duration: 09' 00" Year: 2002
for bass clarinet, bass trombone, cello, double bass

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David Hamilton  

Slides 6

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1986
for flute and three percussionists

Score Sample
  • Instrumentation
    Percussion 1. c# crotale, one timpani, suspended cymbal; Percussion 2: vibraphone (motor off); Percussion 3: 4 rototoms (med or large) C# D# G# B
  • Programme Note

    Written at the 1986 Cambridge Music School and premiered there, this work utilises flute with 3 percussionists: C# crotale, one timpani, suspended cymbal, vibraphone 4 roto-toms. Two particular uses of glissando occur in the music – the flautist is called upon to execute a tremolo while overblowing to produce an upward rush through the upper harmonics; and the percussionist is asked to place the crotale upside down on the timpani head then to strike the crotale sharply and manipulate the timpani pedal – this causes the crotale pitch to fluctuate.

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Anthony Watson  

Three Bagatelles

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1971
for violin, viola, cello and bassoon

  • Programme Note

    This work was written in 1971 while Watson was the first Mozart fellow at Otago University. It is, in fact, one of his last completed work before his tragically early death in 1973. The three Bagatelles consist of two scherzos framing a slow movement, sub-titled ‘ostinato’ (repeating bass pattern). Each is quite short but typically complex in style, compressing many motifs and counterpoints into short time frame. They show Watson’s interest in serialism which was apparent in his 3rd String Quartet, as well as a Bartokian sound-world in places. The unusual combination of instruments suggests the work was written for specific performers. According to Gordon Skinner, the bagatelles have only been performed once before in 36 years. They are dedicated to artist Michael Smither, who was Hodgkins fellow at the same time as Watson was Mozart Fellow. Following Watson’s death, Smither wrote in a tribute: He was pedantic, spiky, intolerant, abusive and at times quite crazy with drink and depression, yet he was one of the most sympathetic, real men I have ever met, and I loved him.

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Shen Nalin  

Water net

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1984, r. 2008
for harp quartet and soprano

  • Instrumentation
    two violins, harp, cello and soprano
  • Programme Note

    Water Net was composed in 1984, based on a very attractive text by the famous lyricist Chen Feng. It describes in beautiful terms the scenery of the Sichuan countryside. At that time, I was with a TV crew working in Sichuan. I felt very pleased to find myself in the environment described in the poem and was thus motivated to compose this music.


    On 12th May 2008 at 14:28pm a tragedy shocked China and the world. The massive earthquake wiped out tens of thousands of lives and destroyed millions of homes. The Sichuan Conservatory of Music Mianyang Arts College in Mianyang City suffered badly with serious damage to lecture rooms, theatres, music studios and office buildings.
    “Bring back the music!” is the rallying cry of every musician who has ever been with associated with the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. In New Zealand, its former students Qu Yong, Gao Ping and I came up with ideal of “music to the rescue” concert to show our support. On 14th August 2008 6:10pm, this concert was hold at the Soundings Theatre, Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington. I revised this bountiful piece particularly for “music to the rescue” – a fundraising concert – in 2008.


    Shen Nalin

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Dorothy Freed  

Wellington Letter

Duration: 06' 00" Year: 1980
for quartet and narrator - incidental music for poems

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