Work
Pastorale
for clarinet and chamber orchestra
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About
While the piece follows in a large part a pastoral ideal, darker elements at times emerge within the musical flow. I was thinking about the less savoury aspects of our 'clean green' country, the hidden (and not so hidden) consequences of land clearances and modern farming practices which are not in harmony with the environment. This lends the piece an almost elegiac quality, aided by the solo clarinet's distinctive timbre and a repeated chorale heard near the end of each movement.
Commissioned note
Written for the Waitakere City Orchestra with funding from Creative NZ
Dedication note
To Brigid Bisley, Donald Nicholls and the Waitakere City Orchestra
Performance history
06 Aug 2005: First performed by Waitakere City Orchestra, with Donald Nicholls (clarinet), conducted by Brigid Bisley at the Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre, Waitakere City, Auckland on 6 August, 2005.