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John Drummond  

And Grandmother Played Bridge

 Year: 1981
lyrics and music for a masque from the memoirs of Nicholas Zissermann

Kit Powell  

Christophorus

Duration: 45' 00" Year: 1981, r. 1982
Christmas cantata for baritone, children's chorus, wind orchestra and percussion

  • Instrumentation
    Solo baritone, childrens' chorus Orchestra: 2222; 2220; timp., perc.(2), pno, organ; no strings. Uses slide projections
  • Programme Note

    The first version was written in 1981 collectively with Andre Fischer, a pupil at the Kantonsschule Zürcher Unterland in Bülach. It is a setting of words from an advent calendar by Max Bolliger. It is scored for baritone soloist (Christophorus), children’s chorus and wind orchestra, with percussion. The work was performed twice in December 1981.

    Christophorus tells the story of St. Christopher, a very strong man, who is searching for an ogre who rules the world. Each year, instead of finding the ogre, he finds a child in distress. In the eighth year, still searching, he meets Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. During the night, when Jesus is born, the child speaks to him and says he has met the ogre seven times already. Christophorus now knows what the ogre is, but is much less sure of his ability to conquer lt.

    The characters of and the children whom he meets are dressed in costume, but do not act. The Cantata is, however, illustrated by a series of slides which are shown during the whole performance.

    In 1982 in Christchurch I revised Christophorus and translated the text into English. It was performed for a season before Christmas of that year, with James Dames singing the part of Christophorus. This revised version has double wind, piano, organ and three percussionists, plus the children’s chorus. A recording was made.

  • Availability

Philip Norman  

Fresh Revolving Pleasures

Duration: 2h 00' 00" Year: 1981
a chamber musical

William Dart  

Give us a Kiss

Duration: 50' 00" Year: 1981
a musical for 4 actor-singers, narrator and piano

  • Programme Note

    A song-drama exploring gay rights, written at the time when there were moves around New Zealand to pass the Homosexual Law Reform Bill. Many of the songs are based on true incidents and are presented in a cabaret format. The show toured the country in 1982 under the auspices of the New Zealand Student Arts Council.

  • Availability

Chris Cree Brown  

Music for Limbs

 Year: 1981
electroacoustic music for dance

Kit Powell  

Piece of Four

Duration: 45' 00" Year: 1981
A music theatre piece for four players

  • Instrumentation
    For four players each with four found instruments, as well as live electronics

Gillian Whitehead  

Requiem

Duration: 20' 00" Year: 1981
for mezzo soprano and organ

  • Programme Note

    Undoubtedly, this is one of Whitehead’s more unusual collaborations. The work, intended for five dancers and organ, with soprano added at the composer’s request, was to have been performed in five cathedrals around Britain during the summer of 1982. Due to the cancellation of the dance component however, the work received performance in only one of the cathedrals – Carlisle – but was later presented with a solo dancer, Bronwyn Judge, at the 1987 Sonic Circus in Wellington. The singer on that occasion was Glenys Taylor and the organist Douglas Mews. The composer initially delayed beginning work on the piece, since her sister was expecting a baby, and a Requiem did not seem an appropriate preoccupation. The successful birth was however followed by two close-family deaths and it was these which provided the composer with the emotional impetus to proceed with the composition. (Programme note by Emma Carle and Jack Body).

  • Availability

Chris Cree Brown  

The Evening Post

 Year: 1981
music theatre for 10 soloists and (150+) choir

Chris Cree Brown  

Two Maui Legends

 Year: 1981
music drama for Intermediate school children