Music
Three windows on the weather
For spoken voice, piano and bassoon
3 poems by Greg O’Brien
The first performance was given by Greg O’Brien (voice), Emma Sayers (piano) and Ben Hoadley (bassoon) at St Paul’s Cathedral on 8 October 2008 during the Otago Arts Festival.
About the work
Three windows on the weather was written after a 6-day visit to Dusky and Doubtful Sounds in Fiordland in October 2007. 10 artists — poets, visual artists, a composer and a film-maker — travelled on the Breaksea Girl to create work as a fundraiser for the Caselberg Trust, who are restoring the Broad Bay, Dunedin house of Anna and John Caselberg for use as an artist’s residence.
The work sets 3 poems: Henry in Fiordland, Wet Jacket Arm and Shift in the Wind.
The first section concerns Richard Henry, who was possibly New Zealand’s first conservationist. He rescued kakapo and other endangered birds, creating a sanctuary on Resolution Island, until, several years later, he saw a stoat swimming nearby, and realised the sanctuary was compromised. ‘Wet Jacket Arm’, makes reference to the threatened biodiversity of the Fiordland region, and the last poem ‘Shift in the Wind’ refers to a gale we experienced one night on the Breaksea Girl.
Wet Jacket Arm can be performed on its own.
Scores and recordings
Buy or borrow the score from SOUNZ.
Three windows in the weather — SOUNZ
A recording by Ben Hoadley, Emma Sayers and Greg O’Brien has been released twice.
Moon, Tides and Shoreline — book and CD
Listen to this work online.