Chamber ensemble (2-7 players)
Te āhua, te atārangi
For string quartet
Te āhua, te atārangi was the winning work in the 1971 string quartet competition sponsored by APRA, the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation and the New Zealand Music Federation (now Chamber Music New Zealand). It remains unperformed, as does the work Lyell Cresswell entered which was the runner-up.
About the work
Te āhua te ātārangi is an extremely difficult piece.
The title translates as the form (appearance), the shadow, and refers to the form I was experimenting with, in which a series of 4 movements are followed by short interludes that negate the gestures of the preceding movement. So something low and slow might be contrasted with something high and rapid and short.
I think this way of writing might have come from a dream I had as a child, when I looked down the road and saw 2 figures walking towards me from the distance. Suddenly the scene went from colour to sepia and the figures rushed towards me, with a sensation of terror, then back to normal colour and normal pace, then again sepia and rapid movement, and terror. Strange, as I didn’t see a lot of cinema.
Score
Contact me if you would like to see the score.
Te waka o te rangi
For violin, cello, piano and kōauau
Te waka o te rangi was commissioned by NZTrio and premiered by them with Horomona Horo (kōauau) at the Loft at Q Theatre, Auckland on 14 July 2019.
About the work
Te waka ō te rangi is a waka in the sky, whose prow is the constellation Matariki, and whose stern is Tautoru, the belt of Orion.
Every night the captain, the star Taramainuku, trawls with his net to collect the souls of the people who had died that day, and when Matariki sets in May, takes them to the underworld. When Matariki rises again, the souls are released to the heavens as stars.
My piece responds to Horomona Horo’s waiata for kōauau ponga iho (gourd nose-flute) which precedes it, and I have also quoted the refrain of a piece for solo voice which I wrote some time ago. The text of the waiata roughly translates as: ‘People gather to prepare the land, preparing mounds for kumara planting. It’s winter, the rainy season, pools lie everywhere. The small eyes of Matariki’.
Score and recording
Buy or borrow the score from SOUNZ soon.
RNZ Concert recorded the premiere performance.
The river flows on …
For piano trio and Cambodian trio
the river flows on… was commissioned for the O Cambodia project with funding from Creative New Zealand. The first performance was given on 17 March 2011 by NZTrio and Tray So Ensemble at the 2011 Auckland Arts Festival in the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber.
About the work
There is a Cambodian proverb — ‘the rowing boat passes, the river bank remains’ — which to me suggests that isolated events in history, or in a person’s life, eventually pass, while history, or life itself, flows on.
Within the O Cambodia project, I wanted to present a narrative which moves on from the Khmer Rouge times into the future, moving from the hard times that affected every Cambodian who is now over 35, into a profoundly altered world. As much curated as composed, the river flows on … includes several songs and dances in their traditional form.
The first section of the river flows on… is ‘Prophecy’, which presents an ancient saying whose source is not remembered today. The second section, ‘Sokha’s Story’, tells the story of Sokha Mey, who currently lives and works in Wellington. She was a young girl living with her family in a small village near Siem Reap when Lon Nol’s forces were defeated and the Khmer Rogue came to power. The final section, ‘the river flows on…’ places Sokha’s story into the future, where she was able to make a new life for herself in New Zealand.
I am forever grateful to the Niborom Young, Sokun Chiv and particularly Sokha Mey for their invaluable help.
About the project
The O Cambodia project, devised and driven by Jack Body, involved 2 Cambodian and 2 New Zealand composers — Chinary Ung, Him Sophy, Jack Body and me — collaborating to create 4 works to be performed by NZTrio and the Tray So Ensemble — Him Savy, spoken and sung voice, and drums; Him Sophy, tro and spoken voice; and Keo Dorivan, wind instruments.
Instrumentation
The river flows on … is scored for violin, cello, piano, chhing bowl, narrator, soprano, khloy, drums, paipork and sneng.
Score and recordings
Contact me if you are interested in seeing the score.
Buy the CD from all good CD stores.
Listen to an RNZ recording from 2011.
Three bridges to cross PRIVATE
For flute, violin and gongs
Three bridges to cross was composed during my time as a student in Sydney.
About the work
Three bridges to cross is music for a film about about Cambodia published by Australian Broadcasting Corporation and NHK (Japan) in 1966.
Score
The score is in the National Library of New Zealand and can be viewed with my permission.
Tom’s Serenade for Ann Morris
For oboe, violin, viola and cello
At an Auckland Philharmonia fund-raising auction in 2000, one of the orchestra’s most generous sponsors, Dr Tom Morris, bid a substantial sum for a short ensemble piece to be written by the composer-in-residence.
Dr Morris chose the instruments and title. The world premiere was given in November 2001 at the orchestra’s 21st birthday celebrations by the Ensemble Philharmonia in the Auckland Town Hall, where it was played as a surprise for Ann Morris, whose birthday it also was.
About the work
Serenade for Ann Morris spans 4 sections in one movement, of which the second is for strings alone, and the third is an oboe cadenza.
Score and recordings
Buy or borrow the score and parts from SOUNZ.
Tom’s Serenade for Ann Morris — SOUNZ
A recording, released by Rattle CDs, can be bought from SOUNZ and all good record stores.
A recording was also released on a SOUNZfine promotional CD.
Tōrua
For violin and piano
Tōrua was commissioned by Hilary Hahn for her 2010 encores project. She approached 27 composers asking for a piece under 5 minutes for acoustic violin and piano. She premiered my work with Valentina Lisitsa (piano) at the Constella Festival in Cincinnati, USA on 13 October 2011.
About the work
Tōrua, translated from the Māori language has several meanings — it signifies a change in wind or current, it is the name given to a weaving pattern, and in its third meaning of ‘twofold’ or ‘double thickness’ suggests the idea of duet.
Tōrua was written in the wake of the destructive Christchurch earthquake in February, 2011.
Hilary Hahn interviewed each of the composers about the work they wrote for her.
Hilary Hahn and Gillian Whitehead — interview
Scores
The score and part are published by Boosey and Hawkes along with the other 26 encores commissioned by Hilary Hahn.
In 27 pieces: the Hilary Hahn encores — publication
Buy or borrow the score of Tōrua from SOUNZ.
Recordings
Hilary Hahn recorded all the works in this project for Deutsche Gramophon.
In 27 pieces: the Hilary Hahn encores — CD
The work has also been released on 2 other CDs played by other violinists.
A video of Tōrua recorded in 2022 at the World Music Days is also available.