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Ngā kōrero hou

NZTrio’s Tectonic series features intense and intimate inspection of the fundamental forces that shape environments and communities: Aotearoa’s fraught relationship with the United Kingdom, and the struggle between Cold War superpowers Russia and America. Tectonic Echoes I compares and contrasts the very English sounds of Frank Bridge and the UK’s shining star Rebecca Clarke with NZTrio’s commission from Martin Lodge (NZ), a response to the evolving Māori – Pakeha relationship, and a time-twisting earlier commission from composing patriarch, Ross Harris.

*A special concert including non-New Zealand composers released during the COVID-19 pandemic in support of New Zealand musicians.

Ross James Carey’s Toccatina (Elegy) was written in memory of Australian songwriter Ruby Hunter. Melodies are overlaid on a busy hocketing texture, reaching ever upwards.

Fritha Jameson’s ‘Heurism’, for three flutes, is an exploration of the possibilities of limited material, giving the effect of an object being observed from multiple perspectives.

We finish with the multi-functional virtuosity of Gao Ping’s ‘Si Bu Xiang’ (‘The Four Not-Alike’) for piano and Chinese instruments. ‘Si bu xiang’ is the informal name for the Milu (David’s Deer), a species of deer native to China that has been observed to embody aspects of four other animals, like a four-part Chimera.

In commemoration of ANZAC Day, SOUNZ is proud to present this programme of two pieces. Gillian Whitehead’s ‘Poroporoaki’ (Farewell) is a haunting exploration of taonga puoro improvisations by Richard Nunns. Ross Harris collaborated with poet Vincent O’Sullivan and taonga puoro composer Horomona Horo to create ‘Requiem for the Fallen’, a deeply moving work for tenor, chamber choir, taonga puoro and string quartet, in memory of soldiers who died on the First World War.

These three pieces use found sounds and the spoken word. 

Jack Bewley splices together parliamentary proceedings in a rhythmic ‘trio’ with oboe and marimba. 

Gillian Bibby’s ‘You Can’t Kiss the Tummy of a Caged Lion’ combines disparate texts, including descriptions of the instruments, accounts of Cook’s death and even the letter commissioning the work, while Celeste Oram’s ‘Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra’ is a love letter to Radio New Zealand and the uncompromising exuberance of the youth orchestra.

I always enjoy watching a performance where the musicians are engaging on multiple levels- both with the other musicians in their ensembles, and with the music itself as they push and pull against its framework. I’ve chosen these performances to explore some of the many ways that that kōrero works- from the ‘head down, ears wide open’ performers in a big band or the NZTrio, to the camaraderie that’s obvious in the performances by Sumo or Antipodes. Sometimes the kōrero is present via each performer’s dialogue with the music itself, as in the CODE Quartet or Kevin Field’s band (sometimes known as Dog), which then leads to further interlocking conversations between the musicians.

Guest curator: Nick Tipping

A playlist of New Zealand works that expand the realm of possibility for sonic shape and colour.

Guest curator: Chris Gendall

Gareth Farr's exciting and virtuosic 'Marimba concerto' opens this programme, followed by Josiah Carr's slowly unfolding 'redwood', which is inspired by the redwood pines at the Whakarewarewa forest in Rotorua. We finish with Jeremy Mayall's short 'The Effect of Bundled Sticks on Sound', which transforms the sound of the bassoon with live electronics.

Waerenga-ā-Hika names the East Coast pā that government troops besieged in 1865. 

The defenders were adherents of the new Pai Mārire religion, which opposed British sovereignty and resisted colonial forces throughout the 1860s. 

This tour de force arrangement by Robert Wiremu of Tuirina Wehi’s classic waiata brings together different vocal styles in both te reo Māori and English, mirroring the syncretic nature of the new religion. 

Lilburn’s setting of Denis Glover’s Sings Harry tells the story of an idiosyncratic New Zealander, a man of many voices and outlooks, from grumpy to gracious; to me the penultimate song, Flowers of the Sea, is one of Lilburn’s finest achievements. 

Craigie Hill is a poignant collaborative work by poet-violinist Keir GoGwilt and composer Celeste Oram, reimagining the Scottish folk love song in GoGwilt’s inimitable Starling form. 

Reuben Jelleyman’s Variations and Ross Harris’s In Memory Judith Clark provide short nostalgic pianistic interludes, and the programme ends with Dudley Benson’s epic a capella ‘Kiwi’, combining Dudley’s quirky alt-pop sensibilities with Hirini Melbourne’s original composition, the Anglican choral tradition, and evocations of birdsong.

Guest Curator: Alex Taylor