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13 was inspired by the Renaissance art I saw while studying and travelling in Italy in 2009 – 10. I was taken with the bold depictions of martyrs with the attributes of their lives and deaths.

13 is a set of 13 variations on a theme first presented by the organ. Each variation is based on one of the thirteen present at the Last Supper. The details of their lives are often sketchy, and sometimes sit somewhere between fact and legend. The order is as follows:

Theme
Var. I
St Simon Zealotes – Revolutionary; went to Armenia and Persia; sawn in half.
Var. II
St Thomas - Doubted Christ’s wounds; went to India; pierced with lance.
Var. III
St Philip – Sober-minded; went to Greece and Phrygia; crucified upside-down.
Var. IV
St Bartholomew - Honest; went to Armenia; flayed alive.
Var. V
St Jude Thaddeus – Farmer; went to Syria and Armenia; clubbed to death.
Var. VI
Judas Escariot – The betrayer; eternally punished; hung himself.
Var. VII
St James the Great – Fiery temper; ‘Son of Thunder’; Judaea; beheaded.
Var. VIII
St James the Less – Brother of Christ; Jerusalem and went to Egypt; thrown off temple.
Var. IX
St Matthew – Tax collector; accompanied by an angel; Ethiopia and Persia; martyr.
Var. X
St Andrew - The first-called; went to Ukraine and Black Sea; crucified on saltire.
Var. XI
St John – Author of Revelations; ‘Son of Thunder’; went to Asia Minor; died of old-age.
Var. XII
St Peter – Holder of the keys to the Gates of Heaven; went to Rome; crucified upside-down.
Var. XIII
Apotheosis

• Anthony Young: 13 - Theme and Variations - hardcopy score 

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Orchestrated from the 2010 original, for soprano and piano.

• Stephan Prock: Cages for the Wind - hardcopy score 

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This work was written as part of a series of composer workshops organised by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, for works for organ and orchestra. The Auckland Town Hall organ had been restored and refurbished, returning it to its original splendour as a magnificent concert organ. Six composers were invited to write works for organ and symphony orchestra during 2012, for performance in 2013.

For this work I proposed a work that would contrast percussive sounds with the sound of the organ.

The title appealed to me through its various meanings and associations. Firstly as “a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail”. Surely if anything could be said to be a musical embodiment of a “fire-breathing monster” it would be the pipe organ! A second definition suggests a ‘chimera’ might be seen as a “grotesque monster having disparate parts”, and also as a “vain or idle fancy”. These last two definitions perhaps relating to the disparate nature of sounds available on the instrument, and the somewhat free-form of the work.

Musically the work contrasts a syncopated one-bar rhythmic idea with more flowing melodic material presented by both the orchestra and the organ. In the final bars the two powerful forces battle for supremacy with the organ having the last word!
I was delighted to be paired with organist John Wells for this project, a musician and fellow composer who I admire greatly (and whose daughters I had taught!). His advice and support were very much appreciated.

-David Hamilton

• David Hamilton: Chimera - hire set 

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• David Hamilton: Chimera - hardcopy score 

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The composer writes: "Movements 3, 4, 5 and 6 were written before Edward (Harper) died, but he was already ill with cancer and the whole concerto was written under the shadow of this.

The first movement, Funeral March, opens with a sequence of low six-note chords in the piano. These chords provide the basis for the complete concerto and are treated in various contrasting ways in each movement. The orchestra becomes an extension of the piano, sustaining these chords and taking them where the piano can’t go. The concerto is not a confrontation between soloist and orchestra – the piano is more like another section of the orchestra. A slow throbbing, but varying, pulse runs through the Funeral March – first in the harp, sometimes the timpani, sometimes pizzicato and, at the climax, with brass and woodwind. In the following tranquil Adagio the six-note chords are turned into serene melodic lines with quiet sustained chords in the strings. The first scherzo is short, fast and restless. The central movement, Addolorato (distressed, grieved, upset), is, in turn, slow and reflective (in the piano), and querulous and disturbing (in the orchestra), posing questions rather than offering solutions. The second scherzo is fast, light and fleeting – with a hushed centre. The second Adagio is composed of slow, unsettled and quiet chords leading to an angry outburst at the climax, and the pace in the final presto is only interrupted briefly with some reference to Adagio 1."

Extract from a review by Michael Tumelty for “The Herald” in Scotland, 19 March 2012.: “Stars of the night were Lyell Cresswell, for his volcanic, volatile Piano Concerto, and pianist Stephen de Pledge for his powerhouse delivery, with its sledgehammer force and shockingly steel-like clarity in the poignant, reflective moments in the music.”

• Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; computer-set 

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• Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra; computer-set 

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• Lyell Cresswell: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra 

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The concerto, in one movement, begins in darkness but soon ascends into lighter worlds as the tempo increases. The personality of the cello – romantic, nostalgic, cheeky, irreverent and even wild imbues the work with a wide range of moods and characterisation.

• Harris: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra; computer set 

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• Harris: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra; computer set 

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Earthquake: 22.2.11 began as a project after the September 2010 earthquakes struck Christchurch and surrounding districts. I was interested in capturing the peculiar sonic properties of the earthquakes – the unnatural preparatory calm, the low pitched boom, the change in air pressure, the accelerating rhythms, the creaks, the rattles, the cracks, the climactic shuddering of the building one was in, the decay of sound, and the silence before the cacophonous response of voices, alarms, telephones, sirens, police cars, ambulances, fire trucks and helicopters.

I successfully applied for Creative New Zealand funding to compose such a work for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and set to work late in 2010.

The earthquakes hadn’t finished though. On February 22, 2011, in New Zealand’s worst natural disaster since the 1931 Napier earthquake, a 7.2 earthquake centred on Christchurch killed 185 people and caused inestimable damage to the city’s buildings and infrastructure. Composing a dispassionate response was no longer appropriate; indeed, composing anything at all about the event seemed wrong, almost exploitative, in the face of the human tragedy.

I stumbled upon Gary McCormick’s poem Earthquake 22.2.11 shortly after he wrote it as a white-hot response to the devastation. I empathised with his anger and his railing at the randomness of the event. Even so, it took almost a year before I felt ready to set Gary’s poem to music. The catalyst was a further round of earthquakes beginning on 23 December 2011, in which further damage, including the destruction of our previous home, a beautiful Victorian dwelling I had helped restore in the 1990s, occurred to the city. Something like 10 quakes of magnitude 5 or more occurred while I was composing the score.

• Norman: Earthquake: 22.2.11; computer set 

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• Norman: Earthquake: 22.2.11; computer set 

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• Philip Norman: Earthquake (demo); audio 

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The concerto is composed in the form of a three-part tone poem. Each movement is intended to evoke a different color and aspect of New Zealand scenery, and may stand on its own as a separate performance work.

The first movement, The Domain of Clouds, depicts the ever-shifting mottled whites and pastel greys that sometimes swan, sometimes rage past the composer’s window high on a hilltop overlooking Wellington Harbour. While such colors have inspired the delicacy or harshness of the orchestration, the wayward mood of the New Zealand skies has dictated the progression and development of thematic material.

• Thomas Goss: Harp Concerto - hardcopy score 

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This work is named after the beautiful Huia Bay near the entrance to the Manukau Harbour.

While not necessarily directly programmatic, this piece evokes a day at Huia. The opening chords suggest the morning mist across the bay, and then the following organ solo, sunrise. Some bird song and a variety of weather (ranging from bright sunshine to the odd thunderstorm) follow, and the piece ends in a contemplative mood watching the day’s last rays of sun through the clouds. I’ve been very inspired by the light at Huia, reflected in the water and on the hills, and its constant changes, sometimes very subtle and other times more striking. I have also wanted to capture the spirit of a certain Indra Hughes who lives there, to whom the piece is dedicated.

It is an unashamedly Romantic work in style and scope, and although I have given the organ a prominent solo part it is also used as a member of the orchestra in places. I have been very interested in the juxtaposition of the orchestral woodwind with the organ (also a woodwind of sorts) and the new colours created by combining various solo stops with the orchestral winds. I was also keen to explore the quieter end of the organ’s dynamic range and the many subtle shades of sound that are possible, resisting the temptation to let the organ “roar” except in one or two climactic moments.

• Ben Hoadley: Huia - hardcopy score 

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Mahuika for organ and orchestra was, like several of my pieces, given a title in its infancy. In the way that a child grows into her name over time, Mahuika has developed a particular character during the process of writing. The work is not programmatic, but the origins of its name have come to influence the work: Mahuika, a Maori fire goddess, is awakened into her full terrifying extreme, utilising the full range and capacity of both the Auckland Town Hall organ and the Auckland Philharmonia. Mahuika evokes the sense of a young teenage goddess full of ideas and vitality but without the opportunity to yet develop and explore them fully.

The work has the potential to mature into a full-scale organ symphony of around 30-40 minutes: if anyone is in a position to fund her to grow further please contact me to discuss.

• Chris Adams: Mahuika - hire set 

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In this work, the first movement uses two Basque melodies (one of which is a Basque lullaby whose text contains only Basque nonsense words) for the first group and a “Bulgarianized” version of a Hungarian folk melody for the second in this short sonata form. The second movement is an arrangement of a 14th century melody by Guillaume de Machault, and the last owes something to Scandinavian folk music (the obscure title refers to a favorite Finnish dill-infused salad dressing that I like to make on occasion).

Matthew Davidson

• Davidson: Music for Viola and Orchestra 

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• Davidson: Music for Viola and Orchestra; computer-set 

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• Matthew Davidson: Music for Viola and Orchestra; computer-set 

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