Program - An Evening of New Music

COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT

AN EVENING OF NEW MUSIC QUEENSLAND CONSERVATORIUM MAY 18TH 2022

REFLECTIONS

INGE DEKKER

REFLECTIONS IS A WORK WHICH PORTRAYS DIFFERENT REFLECTIONS IN THE WATER. WATER REFLECTIONS CAN BE DIVERSE, VARYING IN CLARITY AND IN COLOURS, AND THIS PIECE WILL TAKE THE LISTENER ON A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MANY CONTRASTING REFLECTIONS. A QUIET STREAM WITH SMALL RIPPLES BLUR THE EFFECT OF THE REFLECTIONS BUT A STILL RIVER WITH NO RIPPLES SHOW CLARITY OF THE REFLECTION. THE MOVEMENT OF RIPPLES VARYING FROM SMALL AND QUICK TO WIDE AND SLOW IS ALSO DISPLAYED. THESE IDEAS ARE PORTRAYED THROUGH THE CONTRASTING USE OF TEMPO, RHYTHMS AND TEXTURE.

MUSIC FOR SPRING

IMOGEN FERDINANDO

‘MUSIC FOR SPRING’ IS A CONTEMPORARY MINIMALIST PIECE WRITTEN FOR PIANO TRIO THAT EXPLORES REICHIAN RHYTHMS AND SWEET SIMPLE MELODIES. IT IS A PLAYFUL AND INNOCENT PIECE INSPIRED AROUND THE IDEA OF THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING; WHERE NATURE IS AWAKENING FROM A LONG SLEEP AND THERE IS AN AIR OF CHILDLIKE WONDER AND NAIVETY.

OLIVER KING STRING QUARTET NO. 2 STRING QUARTET NO. 2 IS AN ATYPICAL STRING QUARTET COMPOSED IN TWO SHORT MOVEMENTS. THE TWO MOVEMENTS, ENTITLED “FAST” AND “SLOW” RESPECTIVELY, DISPLAY A CONTRAST NOT ONLY TEMPO-WISE BUT IN THE CONSIDERATION OF TIMBRE, DYNAMICS, AND ATMOSPHERE. THE PIECE IS HEAVILY FRAGMENTED IN RELATION TO INSTRUMENTAL MOTIFS AND INTERPLAY, AND BECAUSE OF THIS MAKES USE OF THE MORE CONTEMPORARY CUTAWAY SCORE COMPOSING TECHNIQUE. THERE ARE NO TIME-SIGNATURES AND VERY LITTLE BEAMING RULES, ALTHOUGH DEFINED RHYTHMS ARE OCCASIONALLY PRESENT. THE FIRST MOVEMENT IS FAST AND UPBEAT, QUICKLY CHANGING BETWEEN AGGRESSIVE AND FAST GESTURES, SPRAWLING OUTWARDS TOWARDS A HARSH FINAL ARRIVAL POINT. THERE IS NO SENSE OF HARMONIC “TENSION” AND “RELEASE” PRESENT. INSTEAD, THE MOVEMENT MAKES USE OF TWELVE-TONE AGGREGATES, ATONAL MOTIVIC MANIPULATION AND FREE-TONALITY. THE SECOND MOVEMENT IS QUIET, EXTREMELY SLOW, AND OMINOUS. IT CONTAINS ALMOST DARK AMBIENT SENSIBILITIES. TIMBRAL EXPRESSIONS ARE PASSED BETWEEN INSTRUMENTS SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, AND HARSH IRREGULAR DRONING HARMONIES CREATE AN EXTREME SENSE OF UNRESOLVED TENSION. THIS PIECE MAKES USE OF THE TWELVE-TONE SERIAL TECHNIQUE ALMOST ENTIRELY THROUGHOUT, CREATING TWISTED YET BEAUTIFUL HARMONIC AND MELODIC PROGRESSIONS.

TERRAIN

MADDY RYAN-KERR

PERFORMED BY SOLO VIOLIN, ‘TERRAIN’ IS A PIECE THAT MIRRORS THE EXPERIENCE OF EXPLORING UNKNOWN LANDFORMS. THROUGH THE USE OF VARIOUS VIRTUOSIC TECHNIQUES POSSIBLE ON THE VIOLIN, UNFAMILIAR TRAILS, UNEXPECTED CONTOURS AND UNPREDICTABLE PATHS ARE UNCOVERED AS A NEW LANDSCAPE IS EXPLORED.

"MODE SIX" FOR SOLO PIANO

LUKA ISON

MODE SIX IS AN IMPRESSIONIST COMPOSITION NAMED AFTER O N E O F M E S S I A E N ’S M O D E S O F L I M I T E D T R A N S P O S I T I O N . T H I S PARTICULAR MODE UTILISES A ‘WHOLE-WHOLE-HALF-HALFWHOLE-WHOLE-HALF-HALF’ INTERVAL, WHICH CAN BE DESCRIBED AS A C WHOLE-TONE SCALE WITH AN ADDED F NATURAL AND B NATURAL. THE SYMMETRY INHERENT TO THIS MODE GIVES IT AN UNUSUAL TONALITY, WHERE NO NOTE REALLY CAN BE PERCEIVED AS THE TONIC. THIS PIECE IS MY ATTEMPT TO DEMONSTRATE THE HARMONIC POSSIBILITIES OF THIS MODE. NOT ONLY CAN THE WHOLE TONE SCALE BE UTILISED, BUT WITH THE ADDED CHROMATIC INCREMENTS, INTERVALS SUCH AS THE PERFECT FOURTH AND FIFTH CAN BE USED, GIVING THE ABILITY TO USE MAJOR AND MINOR CHORDS. DESPITE ITS LIMITATIONS, THIS MODE ALLOWS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF TONAL MOODS AND COLOURS WHICH FIT PERFECTLY WITH THE P I E C E ’S IMPRESSIONIST STYLE.

STRING QUARTET NO. 1 "VIEWS FROM FAR AWAY"

WILLIAM PIPE

“VIEWS FROM FAR AWAY” IS MY FIRST PIECE TO PREMIERE IN THE CONSERVATORIUM. THIS THREEMOVEMENT STRING QUARTET ILLUSTRATES THE EXCITEMENT, WORRIES AND WONDERS OF A PERSON IN A NEW AND CHANGING WORLD. IT ALSO COMES TO REPRESENT MY OWN TRANSITION INTO THE WORLD OF THE CONSERVATORIUM, MOVING FROM FAR AWAY TO BEGIN MY OWN MUSICAL PATH. WHILE THE PIECE DOES NOT HAVE ANY DIRECT MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS, I COMPOSED IT WITH THE STYLE OF LATE ROMANTICISM IN MIND.

BOBBY C.H. HUEN 茗靈

THE SPIRITS OF TEAS FOR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE

菊花茶 C H R Y S A N T H E M U M - 無知的化身 T H E I G N O R A N C E I I . 普洱 P U ' E R - 混沌的化身 T H E C H A O T I C I I I . 日本抹茶 J A P A N E S E M A T C H A - 平靜的化身 T H E C A L M I V . 烏龍 O O - L O N G - 賢明的化身 T H E W I S E V . 小種 S O U - C H O N G - 高貴的化身 T H E N O B I L I T Y V I . 壽湄 S H O U - M E I - 傲慢的化身 T H E E L I T I S T I.

THROUGH GIVING TEAS THEIR OWN PERSONALITIES, THE PIECE METAPHORICALLY EXPLORES THE JOURNEY OF HUMANITY. ALL STARTED FROM BEING IGNORANT, WHICH BRINGS TO THE WORLD DISASTER. WHEN ORDER IS REESTABLISHED, WISDOM DEVELOPS. NONETHELESS, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT TURNS THOSE WHO ARE "WISE" ONCE AGAIN TO THE IGNORANCE WHEN THEY INVENTED ELITISM. THE CYCLE IS TO BE CONTINUED, AS WE CAN STILL SEE IT AROUND US.