These preludes, also know as Six Little Preludes, have varied origins: the first two were written in 1973 for piano student of mine (Ruth Konise) to perform in piano competitions, the third being written as a student exercise around the same time. A couple of years later when I was studying composition with Victor Legley at the Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium in Brussels I was asked to compose pieces for use as sight-reading test; these were re-worked to produce the final three pieces of the set.
‘Voices of Tane’ (1976) was the first piece I wrote on my first return to New Zealand after nine years away. It was written for my sister, Joyce Whitehead, to play at the Registered Music Teachers’ Conference in Auckland that year. A series of seven short piano pieces, written with children in mind (although some of them are difficult for children to play), was written for my godson, Kit Boyes. There is little to say about the pieces themselves except that the last repeats the first, the third has to do with birdsong, the fifth with the wind, and the sixth consists of nine ideas that the pianist plays in whatever sequence she or he wishes.