Work
Wera
for solo piano
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About
Wera (Te Reo Māori): heat; hot; to be excited, angry, impassioned.
This work draws its inspiration from the geothermal activity in the Coromandel region, where I lived from 2016 to the end of 2022. Two significant locations for me during my Coromandel chapter were Hot Water Beach and the Lost Spring Thermal Pools and Day Spa, the latter of which features a large man-made component but is nonetheless a container for a timeless hot mineral spring. It is from this landscape that I have largely taken inspiration for Wera.
The piece begins with ‘crystal music’ as we walk through a cave lined with crystals and arrive in the ‘amethyst’ cave, so named for its prominent resident crystal. The thermal water bubbles around us, taking us to the ‘crater lake’, the hottest temperature in the spring. We cool down from this into more tepid waters for a more relaxing soak, the sparkle of the crystals remaining with us.
Commissioned note
Commissioned by pianist Sharon Joy Vogan Cawston for the 2024 CD release 'Suite Aotearoa', comprising new work by Aotearoa composers
Dedication note
to Sharon Joy Vogan Cawston