Sub Navigation

Search Music:

Search for music by typing a word or phrase in the box below or by selecting one or more categories from the list on the side.

Or search for products by selecting an option below, and typing a word or phrase in the box above

  • Scores
  • CDs and DVDs
  • Downloads
  • Education Resources

Jonathan Besser  

Around

Duration: 01' 00" Year: 1978
short work for 12 unspecified instruments, standing in a circle

David Hamilton  

Hymn No. 2

Duration: 08' 00" Year: 1978, r. 1989
for chamber ensemble

Noel Sanders  

Natural Kinds

Duration: 18' 00" Year: 1975
for chamber ensemble

  • Instrumentation
    2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 2 trumpets, 2 tubas, 2 amplified cellos
  • Programme Note

    " This is a work I would really like to hear one/some day. Would it sound as gritty and as nutty as I think? Scor’d down to the last, wind ensemble with 2 solo celli and with Goethe’s Elective Affinities in mind"

Kit Powell  

Stone Poem

Duration: 10' 00" Year: 1976
for two wind quintets and two speakers with stones

Jack Body  

The Caves of Ellora

 Year: 1979
for piano and brass ensemble

Gillian Whitehead  

The Children of Rangi and Papa

Duration: 20' 00" Year: 1977
tone poem for chamber ensemble

John Charles  

The God Boy

 Year: 1975
music for film

  • Instrumentation
    2 flutes, trumpet, 6 violas, 2 cellos, double bass, harpsichord, percussion

Dorothy Buchanan  

The Lost Tune

Duration: 05' 00" Year: 1979
for chamber ensemble

  • Instrumentation
    piano, flute, clarinet, horn, bass, bassoon, guitar, violin 1, violin 2, viola and cello

John Rimmer  

The Ring of Fire

Duration: 18' 00" Year: 1976
for 16 players

  • Instrumentation
    flute (alto flute, piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinet, bassoon, 2 horn, trumpet, trombone, percussion piano, 2 violin, viola, cello, double bass
  • Programme Note

    The Ring of Fire was commissioned in 1976 by the Music Federation of New Zealand for the visit to New Zealand of the London Sinfonietta. In 1977 the work received a Silver Scroll award for the best concert composition of that year by the Australasian Performing Rights Association.

    The Ring of Fire is an expression which refers to the volcanic activity which rings the Pacific Ocean. The initial idea for this piece sprang from the desire to create an instrumental extension of the composer’s electronic piece White Island, where the sounds convey images of the island’s volcanic energy and intensity. These sounds were then refined and extended to represent an aural image of the wider area of the Pacific.

    The musical material of The Ring of Fire consists of two main contrasting styles of writing. There is music which is an extension of environmental sounds, and music which has a ‘theme’ aspect in its use of specific musical ideas. The contrast of ‘sound’ and ‘theme’ is thus vital to the composition of the work.

    The Ring of Fire consists of five inter-related sections, each with its own subtitle which expresses the mood of the section. The first, Volcanic Birth, presents a dramatic awakening and is scored for a small ensemble of alto flute, double bass, percussion and muted brass. The second section, Thermal Dance, is a lively rhythmic affair. The third section Whakaari (White Island) presents a play of sounds derived from the environment of this foreboding place. Then follows the main climactic section Lahar, where the musical activity rotates around the ring of players. A Lament featuring solo piccolo and small ensemble concludes the work.

    This performance was recorded in 1984 as part of the Asia Pacific Festival in Wellington. The original recording was noise reduced by Wayne Laird of Atoll Records.

  • Availability

Edwin Carr  

The Twelve Signs: An Astrological Entertainment

Duration: 28' 00" Year: 1974
for orchestra without strings