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Ross James Carey
The Use of Quoting Strategies in my Recent
Compositions
Volume 1
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy
Produced on acid-free paper
Faculty of Music, the University of Melbourne January, 2017
ORCID I.D. 0000-0002-9277-9829
III
Abstract: This exegesis explores how four types of quotation outlined by musicologist Krystyna
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska – parole and langue quotation, quotation-signatures and quotation-
symbols are employed in short form works to create an individual language rooted in ‘historical
sense’. The influence of nineteenth-century composers who wrote in short forms such as Grieg
and Schumann is mentioned as formative to my explorations in such forms, along with how a
“romantic” style is explored in several pieces. The use of chromatic completion is discussed as a
way of providing compositional balance in Two Rhythmic Duos for two bass clarinets, along
with its use in …infinite song… for piano solo and Baltic Song for clarinet and piano as a
quotation-symbol symbolizing infinity. An analysis of how the various types of quotation are
employed in Hommage à Haydn and …infinite songs (1-8)… for piano solo includes a discussion
on how langue quotation and quotation-signatures are employed as a means of paying homage to
historical and contemporary figures. The use of langue quotation in Tuk Tak Dung for S.A.B.
chorus, where it is employed to imitate three different traditional music styles found in Malaysia
is also explored. An in-depth analysis on how the Fibonacci series is employed to construct the
theme of the ‘Variations’ movement of Two Orchestral Movements also features, along with a
discussion on how the movement’s formal properties are influenced by Fibonacci numbers. A
folio of original compositions includes short form works for solo piano, guitar and harp, and a
range of chamber works requiring from two to four performers. Also included in the folio is a
work for chorus, along with a longer orchestral work. Recorded performances of a number of
folio pieces are included.
V
Preface
The following of my original compositions included as folio pieces for consideration for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy contain elements that were worked on prior to my enrolment in the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in June 2008. These are:
1. The first of Trois valses romantiques (2014) for piano solo, ‘…valse sentimentale…’ is an
arrangement for piano solo of Sentimental Waltz for clarinet in B flat and piano, composed in 1989.
2. The first movement of Trio élégiaque (2014/16) for flute, oboe and bassoon is an arrangement
for flute, oboe and bassoon of the first movement of a withdrawn composition for clarinet in B flat
and harp (or piano), Four New Year Preludes composed in 2000.
3. September Song (2015) for bass clarinet in B flat and piano is based upon an earlier work of
the same title for harp or piano solo, composed in 2000.
4. Baltic Song in versions for clarinet in B flat and piano (2009) and bass clarinet in B flat and
piano (2015) is based upon an earlier work of the same title for piano solo, composed in 2005.
5. The first of Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09) for guitar solo was composed
in 2007.
6. The first of Two Symphonic Movements (2013/16) for orchestra, ‘Fanfares’ was sketched in
short score in 2002.
I acknowledge the generous funding from the Government of Australia in the form of a scholarship
made available to me from June 2008 to July 2010 to enable me to focus on full-time study towards
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne.
VI
Acknowledgements
I would firstly like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my supervisors at the Conservatorium of
Music at the University of Melbourne – Dr. Elliott Gyger, Dr. Andrián Pertout, Dr. Sue Robinson and
Dr. Julian Yu, for their guidance during the course of my studies for this degree. Dr. Gyger displayed
a great deal of patience, along with a calm confidence in my abilities and was always ready with
helpful and insightful comments during the sometimes challenging process of writing the exegesis.
Dr. Yu and his wife Marion Grey were very welcoming to me when I moved to Melbourne during the
early part of my candidature. I would also like to thank Dr. Yu for inviting me to contribute the first
of my ‘…infinite song…’ series for piano solo as a commissioned work for the album of piano pieces
based on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star published by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press in
2016. Both Dr. Pertout and Dr. Robinson have also been very supportive and I would like to thank
them both.
My thanks are due to a number of colleagues and friends whose support was invaluable. Dr.
Jason Kaminski has been an accommodating and understanding friend to whom I have bounced ideas
off at various intervals. Dr. Katia Tiutiunnik, a colleague at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam
from 2012-15 displayed a keen interest in the progress of my study and also kindly helped me with
sourcing various journal articles, a number of which proved invaluable in clarifying my approach
towards my subject matter. Dr. Tazul Tajuddin, also a colleague at Universiti Teknologi MARA has
and continues to be a kind and inspiring mentor and friend. I would also like to acknowledge the Dean
of the Faculty of Music of Universiti Teknologi MARA, Dr. Ramona Tahir, for her continued support
during my time as a Senior Lecturer there from July 2010 to February 2015. Mr. Aiman Mohd Misri
of the Sound and Music Design Academy of Lim Kok Wing University of Creative Technologies,
Cyberjaya assisted me in various ways beyond the call of duty during my year’s teaching at that
institution in 2015-16 towards the end of the period of working on this degree. Thanks are also due to
Dr. Merrill Findlay of Forbes, N.S.W., for her encouragement and the positive energy she channelled
my way towards the beginning of my studies, and to Jill Palmer who has been such a good friend not
only while I was living in Melbourne but also accommodating me during my visits to Melbourne in
2013 and 2016. I would also like to acknowledge Keiko Fujiie, Kazuhito Yamashita and family for
their continued and valued friendship. And finally many thanks to Dr. John Sharpley, Singapore, and
Krisna Setiawan, Surabaya. Your friendship, support and creative connections over the past number
of years have been and continue to be a real source of inspiration to me.
A number of performers have been very supportive of my work in various ways during this
period by commissioning or performing various works that feature in the folio. They are Jeanell
Carrigan, Laila Engle, Dr. Nathan Fischer, Thomas Hutchinson, Kenny Keppel, Toby Pringle, Grant
Sambells, Martyn Smith, Helen Webby, the Aroha String Quartet, the Australian String Quartet, and
the choir of SMK Seafield, Subang Jaya under their director Susanna Saw. I would also like to
VII
acknowledge the help of David Collins at the University of Melbourne for his assistance with
recording several of the folio pieces in April 2016. Other performers I would like to acknowledge are
Daisuke Kinoshita and Kazuhito Yamashita, to whom a number of the folio compositions are
dedicated, and Moira Hurst, for whom the original version of the first of Trois valses romantiques was
written. Ramon Anthin of the Visby International Centre for Composers, Visby, Gotland, was director
of that institution during my stay there in October to November 2005, when the original version of
Baltic Song was written, to whom I would also like to extend my thanks.
I would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of publishers Michael and Kimberly
Davenport, of Alea Publishing, Tacoma, WA, U.S.A., and Gabrielle van Oosterom of Donemus, Den
Haag, the Netherlands. I would also like to thank the executive director of the Centre for New Zealand
Music (SOUNZ) in Wellington, Diana Marsh, who along with her devoted staff, showcase not only
my compositions but also the works of many other New Zealand composers to the wider public.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family, in particular my mother Alison and my late father
Henry for all of their love, encouragement and practical support. I would also like to acknowledge the
kind support of my late uncle Percy, and in particular would like to thank my mother Alison and sister
Jillian for all of their help in different ways over the last few months while completing this degree.
IX
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Introduction 1
The use of ‘Found’ Material, Quotation and Commentating on Other Music 1
Forms of Quotation and Borrowing 3
Historical Sense and the Continuity of Tradition 5
Composing in Short Forms 10
Chapter 2 Uses of Quotation and Chromatic Completion
The Use of Parole Quotation in Lachlan Moods 15
The Use of Langue Quotation in Tuk Tak Dung 17
The Use of a Quotation-signature in Hommage à Haydn 19
The Use of Chromatic Completion in Two Rhythmic Duos and Baltic Song 26
Chapter 3 …infinite songs (1-8)… and Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ 37
Chapter 4 Two Symphonic Movements
Fibonacci Series as the Genesis of the Theme in ‘Variations’ 50
Plainchant as Langue Quotation in ‘Variations’ 62
Further Uses of the Fibonacci Series in ‘Variations’ 66
Chapter 5 Conclusion 67
References 68
Appendix
Published scores and recordings of folio works 70
X
Note: Bars 92-110 of Hommage à Haydn (1909) by C. Debussy appears as a musical example in
Figure 13 on page 24 of this text. Hommage à Haydn is published by Durand & Fils, Paris, 1910.
Chapter 1 Introduction
I started composing in earnest in 1986, the year prior to entering a Bachelor’s Degree
program majoring in composition at Victoria University of Wellington. Ever since, I have been
interested in the possibilities of using my writing as a vehicle for responding to the music I encounter
in my day to day existence. At that time, having graduated from singing in church and school choirs
that consisted largely of my continued studies in classical piano, though I had already begun
performing in the university’s Javanese gamelan; the sounds of the gamelan influenced a number of
my subsequent compositions. Quoting from and writing in the manner of pieces that I was performing
and listening to, either live or on recordings, was one way to creatively engage with a variety of
musical ideas and new compositional and expressive techniques, utilising these within my own
compositional narratives – a practice that has stayed with me, in one form or another, into my more
mature works.
This thesis looks at how quotation, “historical sense” and homage play a role in my more
recent compositions, alongside more abstract techniques such as chromatic completion and the
derivation of materials from the Fibonacci series. In addition, the thesis looks at the importance of
short form pieces within my oeuvre, and how these play an important part in my musical language,
featuring as they do as the majority of the folio works.
The use of ‘Found’ Material, Quotation and Commenting on Other Music
The use of quotation, through directly quoting other music or by alluding to a particular style,
is a well-established and widespread practice. As an introductory overview I will look at some
theorists’ writing concerning quotation and other forms of musical borrowing, illustrating these by
commenting on a number of twentieth century and contemporary composers who have employed the
procedure in their own work.
As has been noted by many commentators, composers have used quotation and other types of
borrowing for centuries. Burkholder1
has devised a typology of musical borrowing. The main
elements of this typology he groups under six main questions, which can be answered in a variety of
ways, depending on how the composer, or in some cases, performer or improviser borrows the
material, and on how this is presented in the subsequent work. These categories are:
1. What is the nature of the relationship (according to type, texture and origin) between the
borrowed work and the new work borrowing from it?
2. Which elements from the existing piece are incorporated into the new piece?
1 Burkholder, J. Peter, ‘Borrowing’. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie and John
Tyrell, 2nd
ed. (London: Macmillan, 2001) vol. 4, 6-7
2
3. How does this borrowed material relate to the shape (form) of the new composition?
4. How is the borrowed material altered in the new piece?
5. What is the musical function of the borrowed material?
6. What are the associative or extra-musical meanings this material may bring into the new work?
Borrowing also includes practices such as allusion, modelling, and paraphrase, among others2.
David Metzer3 in Quotation and Cultural Meaning in Twentieth-Century Music argues that the
original material maintains a strong presence in the work that borrows from it. Any transformations of
borrowed material in the new work are viewed in relation to the original – the latter acting as a
constant point of comparison.
This idea that a new text refers to another pre-existent text, is called ‘intertextuality’4— the
old text becomes a partner in a dialogical structure, at both the level of creation and reception. The
nature of the relationship between texts can vary, according to the composer’s intent and the listener’s
experience. According to Burkholder, when Charles Ives quoted black spirituals or American Indian
tunes in his work, it was what he envisaged to be the substance of the music – its idealism and spirit –
that primarily motivated the composer in his borrowing. This was the quality he wanted the borrowed
music to give voice to in his own work. For Ives, there must be an authentic identification with the
borrowed material – it cannot simply function as an exotic reference.5
A further reason for borrowing material may be as a form of social commentary. When Peter
Maxwell Davies quotes from the aria ‘Comfort Ye’ from Handel’s Messiah in his Eight Songs for a
Mad King (1969) the singer’s grotesque delivery runs directly counter to the message the words
convey. As Metzer suggests, the composer is able here to mock a figure in authority, the mad king of
the title, while the use the distorted quotation to comment on the imposing weight of tradition, and the
stress that can place on contemporary musical life.6 Thus, one vital function of quotation is to act as a
social agent that participates in and shapes cultural discourses.
2 Metzer, David, Quotation and Cultural Meaning in Twentieth-Century Music (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003) 4
3 Metzer 4-6
4 As defined in ‘Word, Dialogue and Novel’ intertextuality is the perception that any text is ‘a mosaic of
quotations’ produced by the interactions of other texts. Kristeva, J., 1986. ‘Word, Dialogue and Novel’. In: T.
Moi, ed. The Kristeva Reader. Oxford: Blackwell, 37. Quoted from European Connections, 13. European
Intertexts: Women’s Wri>ng in English in a European Context. Stoneman, P.; Sánchez-Arce, A-M.; Leighton A.,
eds, 17
5 Burkholder, J. Peter, All Made of Tunes: Charles Ives and the Uses of Musical Borrowing (New Haven and
London: Yale University Press, 1995) 422-423
6 Metzer 1-3
3
Another contemporary composer who has revisited music of the past is Wolfgang Rihm. In
Fremde Szenen I – III, a set of three piano trios composed between 1982 and 1984, Rihm takes the
music of Robert Schumann as his starting point and reconfigures the composer’s musical language,
without ever directly quoting any of it. Looking to Burkholder’s classification, this is an instance of
referring to an existing composer’s style (rather than quoting any of his specific works) and
incorporating various elements seen as typical in the works of that composer, for example melodic
gestures, rhythmic figures, textures or instrumental colours. However, according to Alastair Williams,
Rihm also ‘distorts some stylistic elements beyond which they can signify in their traditional sense’:7
by imitating Schumann’s tone, yet distorting the material, the emotion of the original is tapped but the
music presents itself also as a ‘strange voice or language with which one can become acquainted’.8
What results is a hybrid language, the meaning of which relies on a listener’s familiarity with those
same musical codes which the composer undermines.
As Robert Witkin mentions in his discussion on Adorno a ‘composer works with inherited
musical structures, with the “historical” forms that are the building blocks of the musical culture into
which s/he is initiated’. 9 This engagement with musical forms and structures means composers enter
into a further development of the historically formed musical materials already available to them.
Adorno was critical of philosophies, such as Heidegger’s, that sought to delineate a space outside of
historical entanglement, which he saw as leading to the ‘subject’s loss of all power to hold its distance
from the world and, through its lack of mediated relations with objects, the loss of its power to change
the world and be changed by it’. 10
Having recognised the original material, either as a quotation or, through allusion to stylistic
codes, a listener must confront any associations that arise for them upon hearing the work. A kind of
exchange between the two (the quoted material and subsequent work) ensues. The ways that quotation
and borrowing can be undertaken to shape cultural discourse are potentially numerous, each work
bringing the weighty cultural discourses of the borrowed work into the new one.
Forms of Quotation and Borrowing
7 Hoeckner, Berthold ed., Apparitions: New Perspectives on Adorno and Twentieth-Century Music (New York
and London: Routledge, 2006) 96
8 Ibid, 96
9 Witkin, Robert W., Adorno on Music (London and New York: Routledge, International Library of Sociology,
1998) 13
10 Ibid, 26
4
Krystyna Tarnawska-Kaczorowska in her article ‘Musical quotation: an outline of the
problem’11
outlines four broad points with regards to quotation. Firstly, it ‘constitutes material, or an
idea, that is consciously borrowed’; secondly, ‘it is material which is subsequently subject to
adaptation’; thirdly, ‘it performs certain functions, first of all structural, aesthetic and
semantic/semiotic/symbolic, but also a pragmatic role, when a certain quotation has been adopted as a
theme for variations, metamorphoses or paraphrases’; and lastly, the quoted material is saturated with
meaning, where ‘signifying or symbolic qualities are peculiarly concentrated’.12
She goes on to make
a distinction between two modes of quotation, quotation in the manner of parole and that in the
manner of langue.
These two terms, parole and langue, were created in the early years of the twentieth century
by the Swiss semiologist Ferdinand de Saussure in his Course in General Linguistics13
. According to
Saussure, parole [speaking] relates to the individual execution of language, while langue [language]
‘is both a social product of the faculty of speech and a collection of necessary conventions that have
been adopted by a social body to permit individuals to exercise that faculty’14
. As utilised by
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, parole quotation ‘is quotation of an individual utterance, of a singular code,
one which points to a specific (concrete) work-source’.15
Langue quotation, on the other hand,
‘evokes a certain stylistic convention, as well as someone else’s personal principles, methods, systems
of composing’.16
Two further kinds of quotation which will be relevant when speaking of my compositions are
quotation-symbols and quotation-signatures. Quotation-symbols have a ‘great capacity for meaning,
accumulated over many years. Their message is quite easy to decipher, and they have thus grown to
be universal property.’17
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska gives several examples of quotation-symbols, such
as the initial motive of the Dies irae, Wagner’s “Tristan” motif, and the four-note motif from the
11
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, Krystyna (1998) Musical quotation: an outline of the problem. Contemporary Music
Review, 17:3, 69-90, DOI: 10.1080/07494469800640211. [Accessed 21 December 2013]
12 Ibid, 74
13 de Saussure, Ferdinand Cours de linguis)que générale ed. C. Bally and A. Sechehaye, with the collaboration
of A. Riedlinger, Lausanne and Paris: Payot 1916; trans. W. Baskin, Course in General Linguistics, New York:
Philosophical Library, 1959
14 faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/DeSaussure-Course-excerpts.pdf, 9-13 [Accessed 29 July 2017]
15 Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, Krystyna (1998) Musical quotation: an outline of the problem. Contemporary Music
Review, 17:3, 76
16 Ibid, 76
17 Ibid, 81
5
beginning of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, described as the ‘motive of fate or doom’18
. A further
quotation-symbol she mentions is the major triad, especially when this is presented as an element
foreign to the composition; according to Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, when used this way as the final
chord in Penderecki’s Stabat Mater, it symbolises ‘light, fullness, perfection, a micro-metaphor of
extraterrestrial happiness and glory’.19
I shall argue that certain other abstract compositional
procedures (such as an ascending musical line symbolising eternity or infinity) can also be seen as
quotation-symbols when utilised within certain contexts.
Quotation-signatures are pitch formulae such as “B.A.C.H.”, whereby letters of an
individual’s name are able to be sounded as musical tones. By this means they are able to evoke ‘a
concrete personality taken in his or her physical or spiritual dimension’.20
Quotation-signatures can
frequently be used as a way of paying homage. They can also be used by composers as self-referents
within their compositions, such as Shostakovich’s use of “D.S.C.H.” in certain of his works;
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska referring to this kind of signature as a ‘self-quotation-signature’.21
Historical Sense and the Continuity of Tradition
‘Historical sense’, or some sense of positioning one’s work in relation to tradition, is an
important facet of my compositional practice – something I have been consciously aware of since my
earliest exercises in composition as a teenager. Singaporean artist and poet Tan Swie Hian, in
recalling a conversation with French poet Henri Michaux stated that ‘[as] an avant-garde poet who
read Mediaeval classics, Michaux taught me a poet should have what T.S. Eliot terms as ‘historical
sense’ – in that one should not only perceive the ‘pastness’ of the past but also its presence, thereby
gaining his contemporaneity in time by being traditional’.22
British music commentator Tom Service,
in surveying the output of contemporary Hungarian composer György Kurtàg, states ‘Kurtàg has
composed a huge catalogue that resonates with the music of the past... it... speaks with a fearless
directness that bypasses musical tradition and becomes its own idiom’.23
18
Ibid, 81
19 Ibid, 81
20 Ibid, 83
21 Ibid, 83
22 ‘Thinker Artist Fighter Son’. The Peak Interview with artist Tan Swie Hian. (Singapore: The Peak Magazine,
July 2015) 44
23 Service, Tom, ‘A guide to György Kurtàg’s music’.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/tomserviceblog/2013/mar/12/contemporary-music-guide-gyorgy-kurtag.
[Accessed 22 February 2016]
6
The perhaps confusing idea that one’s music could both resonate with the music of the past
while at the same time somehow also bypassing it seems to correlate in some way to Tan Swie Hian’s
seemingly paradoxical statement regarding gaining one’s ‘contemporaneity in time by being
traditional’. Both point to the importance of tradition not merely as a passive resource to be mined or
copied at will, but rather as something to be actively fully incorporated into one’s very artistic being,
in order to then move beyond it and gain one’s voice; or, as Kurtàg puts it, ‘I discovered that I have
not to imitate, not to be in unison with my time, but to find out who I am.’24
In a number of my own compositions I have utilised source materials and referred to figures
from “tradition” – mainly, but not exclusively, the western classical tradition within which I was
raised – as well as to important contemporary figures. Some of these pieces were written to mark an
anniversary of a composer; others were written in homage to a composer, or relate to specific works
or to specific styles of music, while still others were composed as memorial pieces. A final category
includes more or less “straight” arrangements of traditional tunes, which nevertheless also make room
for some level of compositional “intervention”. The following table illustrates works composed within
these various categories. The work title, year of composition, performance forces and the individual
composer, piece or style of music referred to are stated. Works marked with an asterisk are included
within the folio:
Category Work Title (year of composition/ forces) Dedicatee/reference
Anniversary pieces Meditation on B.A.C.H (2000/ piano solo) J.S.Bach 250th anniversary of
death
Hommage à Haydn (2009/ piano solo)* J. Haydn 200th anniversary of
death
Homage pieces Hommage à Bartòk I & II (2012/ piano solo) Bèla Bartòk
Hommage à Glass (2012/ piano solo) Philip Glass
...infinite songs (1-8)... (2014-15/ piano solo)* Julian Yu; Krisna Setiwan;
John Sharpley; Gareth Farr;
Keiko Fujiie; John Elmsly;
Elena Kats-Chernin; James
Rolfe, Juliet Palmer
Memorial pieces Piano Piece (Memorial) (2000/ piano solo) Jack Speirs
Toccatina (Elegy) (2010/ string quartet)* Ruby Hunter
Meditasi (2016/ trumpet in B flat and piano)* Slamet A. Sjukur
Trio élégiaque (2014/16/ woodwind trio)* Twin Malaysian Airlines
24
‘Forces of history have helped shape György Kurtàg’s uncompromising music’. Jeremy Eichler, interview with
the composer. http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2007/11/11/forces-history-have-helped-shape-
gyorgy-kurtag-uncompromising-music/80XFWB5ft43hVSovXjEJjO/story.html?event=event25 [Accessed 22
February 2016]
7
disasters of 2014
Quotes/ arranges a
specific piece(s)/
(parole quotation)
Tombeau (1993/ violin and piano)
Debussy: ‘La niege danse’
from Children’s Corner for
piano solo (1906-08)
Movt. 5 of Procession, ‘Ave Maria’ (1994/
piano solo and Javanese gamelan)
Liszt: Ave Maria S. 545 for
piano solo (1881)
No. 2 of February Pieces (1996/ piano solo) Sakura Sakura (Japanese
trad.)
Twelve Little Chorales (recomposition) (1998/
piano solo)
Satie: Douze Petits Chorals
for piano solo (1906)
Fantasy on an Album-leaf by Schumann
(1999/ piano solo)
Schumann: ‘Albumblätter
III’, Bunte Blätter Op. 99 for
piano solo (1832-1845)
Commentary on the Lugubrious Gondola
(1999/ piano solo)
Liszt: La lugubre gondola for
piano solo (1882)
Serenade on Hymn Tunes (2002-2014/
piccolo, tenor saxophone, string quartet)
Various hymn tunes from the
Uniting Church Hymnal
Lachlan Moods (2007/09/ guitar solo)* Debussy: ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’
from Childrens’ Corner
Piano Portrait: Joji Yuasa (2010/ piano solo) Joji Yuasa: Cosmos Haptic
for piano solo (1957)
…infinite song2… (2014/ piano solo)* Krisna Setiawan: VeYeBe for
piano solo (2014)
…infinite songs (1-8)… (2014/15/ piano
solo)*; Concert piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star’ (2015/ flute and piano)*
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Imitates specific
styles (langue
quotation)
Tuk Tak Dung (2011/ S.A.B.)* Malay gamelan; erhu
melodies; Bharatanatyam
vocalisations
…valse oubliée… (2011/ harp solo)* Romantic style
Trois valses romantiques (2014/ piano solo)* Romantic style
Two Symphonic Movements (2013-16/
orchestra)* II. Variations
Plainchant
Arrangements Two Malay Folk Songs (2011/ S.S.A; S.A.,
piano)
Tanjong Puteri, Tudung
Periuk (Malay trad.)
Six Russian Folk Tunes (2016/
violin/viola/violin & viola and piano)
Carol of the Bells, Snow
Maiden, Carol of the Russian
Children, Kalinka, Katushya,
Moscow Nights (Russ. trad.)
Figure 1 Categories of selected compositions relating to tradition
In alluding to other musical styles and specific composers and their work, the above-
mentioned works do so in a variety of ways – through the use of parole or langue quotation, as a
direct homage, by rearrangement, or by means of a dedication. A number of pieces use a variety of
8
quoting techniques other than parole or langue quotation such as quotation-signatures and quotation-
symbols, while other pieces arrange traditional melodies or create a conversation with traditional
styles. Certain works, such as the eight …infinite songs… for piano solo, employ not just one but
combine a variety of quoting techniques. Those works dedicated to composers include homage to
those composers with whom I am personally acquainted (such as the nine composers to whom the
...infinite song... pieces are dedicated, along with composers Jack Speirs and Slamet A. Sjukur) as
well as those I am acquainted with solely through their music (Bach, Haydn, Liszt, Satie, Debussy,
Bartòk, Joji Yuasa, Philip Glass and Ruby Hunter).
In a few of the works a cultural exchange takes place, as in the version of Liszt’s Ave Maria
for Javanese gamelan; here the composer’s bell-like piano textures are transferred to the mellow tones
of sarons, bonangs and gongs25
. A folio work which draws on the sounds of different cultures is Tuk
Tak Dung (2011) for S.A.B. chorus, a commission from conductor Susanna Saw for the S.M.K.
Seafield Secondary School Choir in Subang Jaya, Malaysia. The commissioning brief was for a three-
minute work showcasing Malaysian identity which the school choir could take overseas. Three
different styles of music (two instrumental and one vocal) from the three dominant cultures of
Malaysia (Malay, Chinese and Indian Tamil) are imitated in the work in a choral medium. How I have
aimed to capture each of these music’s particular qualities, by means of creating my own melodies
employing a variety of vocal tones and sung syllables (in the manner of a langue quotation) is
discussed in Chapter 2.
Memorial pieces play an important part in my output (as they do incidentally in Kurtàg’s
oeuvre). These include not only pieces composed in memory to an individual, such as the majority of
the memorial pieces listed above, but also pieces composed to commemorate such events as the
nightclub bombing in Bali in 2002 (Medicine Bundle no. 1: Flower Echoes of Spring, Sun and
Mountainside (2003)26
for piano with percussion, a commission from pianist Ananda Sukarlan) and
the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami (Elegy (2005)27
for string quartet). Three of the folio works are
memorial pieces. Trio élégiaque (2014/16)28
, a three-movement work for woodwind trio was so
named due to the circumstances around the writing of its second movement, composed around the
time of twin Malaysian Airlines disasters of 2014. Toccatina (Elegy) (2010)29
, for string quartet, is
25
Recorded on ‘Tabuah Pacific’, Dan Poynton, piano, Gamelan Padhang Moncar (Auckland: Ode Records, CD
MANU 1514, 1996)
26 Score available from The Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington, New Zealand
27 Den Haag: Donemus 15175, 2016
28 Score available from The Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington, New Zealand
29 Score available from The Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington, New Zealand
9
dedicated to the memory of Australian indigenous singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter30
, whom I had the
privilege to hear in concert as part of ‘The Black Arm Band’ at the 2009 Melbourne International
Festival of the Arts several months before her death in February 2010. Meditasi [Meditation] (2016)31
for trumpet (or cornet) and piano is likewise dedicated to the memory of a celebrated musician, this
time of my acquaintance, Indonesian composer and teacher Slamet A. Sjukur32
. Similar to my other
memorial pieces, both Toccatina (Elegy) and Meditasi do not attempt to create overt links with their
dedicatee’s respective musical styles, but rather are more a record of my emotional responses to their
deaths.
“Historical sense” can relate too to specific memories of our own music-making, and how
these might be revisited and reinterpreted in our composing. Elena Kats-Chernin, one of the
dedicatees of the ...infinite song... series, in talking about her work for recorder and string orchestra
based on Bach’s Two-part Inventions, Re-Inventions33
, states “I was brought up playing [the
inventions] in my early piano lessons and I found the idea intriguing – not only to re-orchestrate them,
but also to give them a different structure and to take them in completely different directions from the
originals”.34
While composing Re-Inventions gave occasion for Kats-Chernin to recall and reinvent
the Bach Inventions from her childhood piano lessons, at times recalled childhood musical
experiences break to the surface of my own compositions, such as the theme from Debussy’s
‘Jumbo’s Lullaby’ from Children’s Corner (1906-08)35
(which like Kats-Chernin’s experience with
the Bach Inventions I had also learnt during my period of piano studies as a child), quoted towards the
end of the folio work Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09)36
.
According to contemporary American composer George Crumb,
30
Ruby Hunter (31 October 1955-17 February 2010) Singer, songwriter and guitarist; member of Ngarrindjeri
Aboriginal Nation
31 Score available from The Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington, New Zealand
32 Slamet A. Sjukur (30 June 1935-24 March 2015) Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2000) and a
member of Akademi Jakarta (2002)
33 Kats-Chernin, Elena. Re-inventions: based on Two-part inventions of J.S.Bach (Sydney: Australian Music
Centre, 2009)
34 Kats-Chernin, Elena. Programme note for Re-Inventions. Quoted by the composer in a personal email
correspondence to the author, 15 September 2009
35 Debussy, C. Children’s Corner (Paris: Durand & Fils 1908)
36 Den Haag: Donemus 14941, 2016
10
“We have come to think of ourselves as philosophically contemporaneous with all earlier cultures. And
it is probable that today there are more people who see culture evolving spirally rather than linearly. Within the
concentric circles of the spiral, the point of contact and the points of departure in music can be more readily
found.”37
The use by composers of a range of quoting strategies, employing a broad variety of quoted
materials from the music of previous eras, as well as their drawing material from other cultures and
genres, is characteristic of the stylistic pluralism common to a great deal of music being written today.
This eclectic approach towards one’s materials is also typical of my compositional approach, which is
partly a reflection of my own varied musical background, but also a desire on my part to be open to a
variety of stimuli and reflect upon and explore these in my work. Writing in diverse styles, bridging
genres, employing quotation in its various forms as well as forming collaborations with other creative
artists (with the often specific demands such collaborations entail) enables me to enter into a wide
ranging and enriching dialogue with the ‘pastness’ of the past, an ongoing conversation that can help
chart future directions in my work.
Composing in short forms
Short form works, lasting anywhere from around one minute to five or six minutes in
performance, form a significant part of my wider compositional output. They also play a prominent
role in the folio works. Why do I choose to work within these particular forms? There are a number of
reasons for this, to do with my compositional influences and musical philosophy, along with more
practical considerations.
One important influence on my compositional career has been my various activities as a
pianist and my explorations of the extensive repertoire written for that instrument, a particular focus
during ten years or so of formal piano study from the ages of eight to eighteen. Along with longer
pieces such as sonatas and sonata movements by Beethoven, Haydn and Schubert, this included
numerous shorter pieces by romantic period composers such as Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin and
Grieg, early twentieth century composers such as Debussy (the Preludes and Children’s Corner),
Ravel (Sonatine) and Bartók (the For Children and Mikrokosmos series, sets of folksong inspired
pieces) along with the Bagatelles of Beethoven and the dance-inspired movements of the French and
English Suites of J.S.Bach. Later on as an undergraduate student in New Zealand I often also
performed my own piano pieces as well as compositions by fellow students and visiting professors,
which created a welcome opportunity to focus more on contemporary repertoire for the instrument.
37
Crumb, G. Music: Does it have a future? In The Kenyon Review (Summer 1980); Quoted in Nils Holger
Petersen (2010) Quotation and Framing: Re-contextualization and Intertextuality as Newness in George
Crumb’s Black Angels, Contemporary Music Review, 29:3, 311, DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2010.535365
[Accessed 22 December 2013]
11
After graduating and a ten-year or so period where I elected not to perform in public, since
December 2004 I have been performing as a soloist and collaborative pianist in various capacities
throughout Australasia and Asia. Initially, my particular focus was on presenting my own and other
contemporary solo repertoire written for the instrument by composers from the Asia-Pacific region;
recently this has increasingly included standard repertoire as well as collaborative playing. My
interest however in presenting a wider variety of contemporary works has not waned; many of these
recitals, such as the four programmes in which I was both curator and performer for in Universiti
Teknologi MARA’s (UiTM) Malaysian Composers’ Series concerts in Kuala Lumpur in 2011-14,
have, out of necessity included disproportionally large numbers of short form works as a way of
showcasing as wide a range of composers as possible.
This practical involvement in presenting contemporary short form works has had an ongoing
influence on my own compositional approach – firstly, it has inspired me to continue to write short
pieces, and secondly, it has inculcated an awareness of the possibilities of the genre in more broad
terms. Along with this practical engagement as a performer I shall now examine further some of the
reasons I am particularly attracted to composing short form pieces, briefly examining two nineteenth
century composers who are acknowledged masters of the genre, Grieg and Schumann.
Grieg, in comparing his compositional philosophy to those giants of the western canon, Bach
and Beethoven, stated “Artists like Bach and Beethoven erected churches and temples on ethereal
heights. My aim in music is exactly what Ibsen says about his own plays: ‘I want to build homes for
the people in which they can be happy and contented.’”38
Implicit in this statement is the sense that,
while Bach and Beethoven created monumental, even awe-inspiring edifices, their works nonetheless
(perhaps as a result of their sheer monumentality) lacked a certain more intimate engagement with a
listener or performer, one with which they could hold a mirror to themselves and their more everyday
concerns.
Samuel Swift, in his preface to the collected Piano Lyrics and Shorter Compositions by Grieg,
writes ‘(Grieg) developed early the power of creating melodies that were expressive and of a beautiful
simplicity, and these he set in a frame of admirably appropriate harmonies.’39
A melodic focus is
indeed the paramount focus in the composer’s short form works, supported by a keen harmonic and
formal sense, factors which are also important in my own short pieces. Leon Botstein, writing about
Schumann, relates that composer’s ‘derision of virtuosity and mere technical proficiency and his
lifelong effort to write for amateurs and children [are] (a) construct of how accessible the
38
Abraham, Gerald, Grieg: A Symposium (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1950), 13
https://pages.stolaf.edu/music242-spring2014/portfolio/musical-dichotomies-in-griegs-string-quartet-in-g-
minor-op-27-i/ [Accessed 3 Dec 2015]
39 Tapper, Bertha Feiring ed: Piano Lyrics and Shorter Compositions, Edvard Grieg (Boston: The Musicians
Library, Oliver Ditson and Company, 1910), vii
12
transformative act of music making in one’s private space could be.’40
The reference to ‘the
transformative act of music making in one’s private space’ is reminiscent of Grieg’s ‘building homes
for the people in which they can be happy and contented’.
The intimacy and immediacy of both composers’ short form works, along with the fact that a
large number of these pieces are accessible to non-professional performers, resonates to a large degree
with my own approach when composing in short forms, which comprise the bulk of the folio pieces.
While a number of my short form works require performers of a professional or near-professional
standard, for example Hommage à Haydn (2009)41
for piano solo, as well as Lachlan Moods for guitar
solo, …valse oubliée… (2011)42
for harp solo and Trio élégiaque (2014-16) for woodwind trio, others
are quite suitable for able amateurs or were expressly designed for amateur and student performers, an
area of music-making I find particularly rewarding. Recent works composed for student performers
include Tuk Tak Dung (2011) and Colours of Life (2013), both commissioned pieces for student
choirs in Malaysia; Petite Suite (2016)43
for clarinet trio which, in its original form, was
commissioned by my sister Jillian for three of her young cello students to perform in their local music
competitions in New Zealand44
; and Supplication (2016) for oboe and piano, composed for the
Australasian Double Reed Society’s composition competition in 2016 and premiered at their
conference in Sydney in October of that year. The brief for the latter piece was to write a short work
featuring a double reed instrument (one of oboe, cor anglais, bassoon or double bassoon) with or
without piano, and up to a difficulty level of around Grade VII, the aim being to enlarge the local
repertoire available to final year 12 students of the respective instruments to perform in their Higher
School Certificate (HSC) exams45
. This ongoing interest in writing for students follows on from
various other pedagogical pieces such as my piano pieces for learners, a number of which have been
40
Botstein, Leo, “History, Rhetoric, and the Self: Robert Schumann and Music Making in German-Speaking
Europe, 1800-1860” in Schumann and His World, ed. R. Larry Todd (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press,
1994), 12
41 Den Haag: Donemus 15192, 2016
42 Den Haag: Donemus 15196, 2016. Recorded on - Helen Webby ‘Pluck’ (Auckland: Ode Records, CD MANU
5144, 2012)
43 Tacoma: Alea Publishing ALEA 1169, 2016
44 As Melodies for 3 (2008) composed with the support of Creative New Zealand/Toi Aotearoa Creative
Communities (Nelson). Available from the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington
45 Already on the selected list for the HSC mandatory topic ‘Music of the Last 25 Years (Australian Focus)’ is a
collaborative composition with Australian composer Katia Tiutiunnik, Una Preghiera (2012) for viola and piano.
See australianmusiccentre.com.au/guides/hsc
13
published in New Zealand46
as well as included on current examination syllabi in both Australia and
New Zealand.47
The attraction I feel towards composing shorter form pieces, including pedagogical works
operates at a number of levels. These include the welcoming quality such intimate pieces provide to
performers and listeners alike, something which Grieg was well aware of and exploited so well in
such works as his Lyric Pieces for piano. Due to their brevity, short form works offer an ideal
template to concentrate on melodic writing and the poetic – as opposed to the more systematic
working out of ideas, for which the sonata form historically provided a durable model, with its
increasing focus especially during the nineteenth century on the ever further development of thematic
materials. An emphasis on the poetic presupposes a certain emotional engagement on the part of both
the listener and performer; while such an engagement can of course be present in longer works,
working with more concise forms I have found to be ideal to succinctly express certain emotional
states, such as the gentle melancholy of September Song (2015)48
for bass clarinet and piano or the
sense of loss present in such pieces as Toccatina (Elegy) and Trio élégiaque.
Along with their ability to engage emotionally, short form works offer a form that is readily
able to encompass humour, a particular quality that is often overlooked (and perhaps undervalued)
when thinking about contemporary art music. Humorous touches feature in …infinite song8… for
piano solo with its somewhat ponderously comical refrains based on the first phrase of Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star, as well as in Two Rhythmic Duos (2009/16)49
for two bass clarinets, both in the
hesitant answering phrases of the first duo, as if the two instruments are working out the best way on
how to engage with each other, and in the second duo’s dogged and ultimately doomed application of
the twelve-tone serial technique, as if the two protagonists were over-compensating for their earlier
uncertainty of engagement with an overly rigid approach.
Formal clarity and focus is also something I value in my work, and I have found that
composing in short forms (with their inevitable constraints) requires that I restrict myself to only those
46
Leapfrog, Simple Song, Sad Song, Black and White Tag, Snake in the Grass, Falling Petals, Sighing in
September, Odd Dodos Do Add, The Giant Awakes!, Lullaby, Jumping in July, c.c.that!, Day’s End (2007) in
‘Sunrise: Music from New Zealand for Young Pianists’ (Wellington: Wellington Piano and Instrumental Group,
2008). Bells (2008) in ‘Take Flight: Music from New Zealand for Intermediate Pianists’ (Wellington: Sunrise
Music Trust, 2010)
47 Black and White Tag (2007) in Beginners grade syllabus (Launceston: St. Cecilia) and Preliminary syllabus
(Tauranga: New Zealand Music Examinations Board); Simple Song (2007), Sad Song (2007) in Preliminary
syllabus (Tauranga: New Zealand Music Examinations Board); Day’s End, c.c.that! (2007), Odd Dodos Do Add
(2007) and The Giant Awakes (2007) in Grade 1 syllabus (Tauranga: New Zealand Music Examinations Board);
Bells (2008) in the Grade 4 syllabus (Tauranga: New Zealand Music Examinations Board).
48 Tacoma: Alea Publishing ALEA 1132, 2015
49 Tacoma: Alea Publishing ALEA 1151, 2016
14
ideas that are absolutely essential. There is little room here for the extravagant gesture; rather, certain
modesty characterises such pieces, with a tendency towards understatement as well as a transparency
of formal qualities. Due to the nature of the genre, short form pieces are ideally suited to be realised
by modest forces such as solo instruments or small instrumental, vocal or mixed ensembles;
composing for smaller forces has been a predominant focus of much of my own recent composition
and is a feature as well of all the pieces included in the folio, with the exception of Two Symphonic
Movements (2013-16). Such an economy of means has certain advantages in purely practical terms; I
have found that shorter form works for solo instrumentalists or small ensembles, in particular those
available to the amateur and semi-professional performer, are somewhat more likely to receive
performances than more technically demanding works written for bigger forces.
Writing in short forms then has been a particular focus in my work that combines a nineteenth
century ideal of melodic, expressive and accessible writing with an original compositional style that is
able to speak to the performers and audiences of today. These works’ conciseness of means and small
instrumental forces, along with their being written for a wide range of difficulty levels, means they
can be accessed by a range of performers, from students or amateur performers to semi-professional
and professional musicians; there is a feeling of satisfaction to me knowing that numerous potential
performers, whatever their technical means, have the opportunity to form their own dialogue with my
compositions as an ongoing process of discovery.
15
Chapter 2 Uses of Quotation and Chromatic Completion
A. The Use of Parole Quotation in Lachlan Moods
Parole quotation, according to Tarnawska-Kaczorowska’s definition ‘[a] quotation of an
individual utterance, of a singular code, one which points to a specific (concrete) work-source’50
is
employed in a number of ways in the folio pieces. These include a fragment of the theme from
Debussy’s ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ from the set of piano pieces Children’s Corner (1906-08) which is
quoted in Lachlan Moods (2007/09) for guitar solo, and the well known children’s song Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star which forms the basis of both the ‘…infinite song…’ series for piano solo
(2014/15) and Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ for flute and piano (2015). …infinite
song2… (2014) for piano solo includes a further example of parole quotation, as it also quotes in
modified form a descending motif found in Krisna Setiawan’s VeYeBe…Where the Stars Twinkle
(2014)51
, itself a short piano piece based on the Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star theme. In each of these
instances the quoted material is employed in different ways according to compositional aims.
In Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09) the first four bars of Debussy’s short
piano piece ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ are quoted towards the close of the third piece of the set. The inclusion
of this excerpt was not pre-planned, but was rather decided upon during the process of composing.
‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’, familiar to me since performing it along with other pieces from Children’s Corner
during the course of childhood piano studies, suggested itself due to the intervallic similarity of the
underlying intervals of its opening few bars to the main theme of the third of Lachlan Moods. Here is
the opening of the third piece:
Figure 2 Lachlan Moods III bars 1-8
50
Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, Krystyna (1998) Musical quotation an outline of the problem, Contemporary Music
Review, 17:3, 69-90, DOI: 10.1080/07494469800640211. [Accessed 21 December 2013]
51 Setiawan, Krisna. “VeYeBe…Where the Stars Twinkle” In Julian Yu (compiler) More Variations on the Theme
of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ for Piano from Composers around the World (Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory
of Music Press, 2016), 48
16
And the fragment of the theme of ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’, as it occurs at bars 95 to 99:
Figure 3 Lachlan Moods III bars 95-103
The starting point of each of these excerpts consists of passages outlining intervals of a major
second in a descending motion, found in my own theme at bar 1 in the form of two melodic seconds
separated by a perfect fifth and at bar 2 by a minor sixth, and in Debussy’s theme (quoted at bars 95
and 96) as the harmonic intervals F-G and C-D. These harmonic intervals continue in the quoted
excerpt underpinning the start of Debussy’s theme proper at bar 97, while they are modified at bar 98
to the progression B flat to a bottom open E string. The introduced theme is arrested at its next
sounding note (the C natural at bar 99), which is held for two full beats supported by the open strings
E-A-D-G. Bars 100 to 103 act as a bridge back to the original material.
Although the similarities between the opening measures of two themes allows the quoted
excerpt to arise seamlessly out of the material surrounding it, the slower tempo and difference in
texture of the Debussy contrasts with the rapid passage work surrounding it, thus helping to place the
material within “quotation marks”, marking it as something introduced. The quotation is substantial
enough that we are able to recognize its source, but of sufficient brevity that the previous momentum
is regained without undue difficulty. Having encountered ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ in this way my own
thematic material can then be retrospectively reappraised through the lens of the introduced theme,
creating an awareness of their thematic links. Despite this, the brevity of the quoted extract means it
has no discernible structural function within the work but rather primarily fulfils an expressive aim,
the quiet flow of the lullaby creating an oasis of calm in the otherwise busy texture surrounding it.
The quote from ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ in Lachlan Moods is able to function in a number of ways.
It contains an aspect of homage, acknowledging the work of a composer who I particularly admire,
Debussy. This particular relationship is explored in another of the folio works, Hommage à Haydn
(2009) for piano solo, which was largely inspired by Debussy’s work of the same name composed in
190952
to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Haydn’s death, and which I shall discuss later on in
52
Debussy, C. Hommage a Haydn (Paris: Durand & Fils 1910)
17
this chapter. Other similar acknowledgments in my works are found in a number of short piano pieces
dedicated to J.S. Bach, Bartòk and Philip Glass (as mentioned in chapter one).
The use of ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ in Lachlan Moods also contains a symbolic aspect. It was
conceived in its original form of four pieces early in 2007 while I was a teacher of piano and
musicianship at the Mitchell Conservatorium of Music in Forbes, a country town with a population of
around 8,000 in the Lachlan district in central-west New South Wales, and from whence the set
derives its name. Children’s Corner was written by Debussy as a set of pieces for his daughter Chou-
chou (then aged 3) as part of her keyboard studies, and alludes to pedagogical works students of that
age might encounter in the course of their studies, such as Fux’s Gradus ad Parnussum which is
lampooned in the first piece of the set, ‘Dr. Gradus ad Parnussum’. Other pieces in the set refer to
children’s toys in their titles – ‘Serenade of the Doll’ and ‘Golliwog’s Cakewalk’. The reference to
Children’s Corner then has an additional function as an aide-memoire to my primary activity at the
time of composition, providing an autobiographical reference within the piece. This background to the
work is noted in the piece’s programme note, meaning these connections are made accessible to the
attentive audience member.
B. The Use of Langue Quotation in Tuk Tak Dung
Langue or stylistic quotation also features in several of the folio pieces. Along with a number
of the …infinite songs (1-8)… for piano solo, it is a feature of Trois valses romantiques (2014) for
piano solo, valse oubliée… for wire-strung harp or harp solo, Tuk Tak Dung for S.A.B. chorus and the
‘Variations’ movement of Two Symphonic Movements (2013/16) for orchestra. The use of langue
quotation in each case varies according to specific aims.
Tuk Tak Dung (2011) for S.A.B. chorus employs sung syllables (mostly pitched but also un-
pitched), hand-claps and passages of melismas to portray through vocal means three of the diverse
musical traditions found in Malaysia – Malay gamelan, traditional-style Chinese erhu melodies and
the vocalisations utilised in South-Indian Bharatanatyam dance. The work was commissioned in 2011
for SMK Seafield School Choir in Subang Jaya, by their director Susanna Saw. My brief was to write
a three-minute piece that this secondary school choir could take on tour to Germany the following
year to promote a distinctively Malaysian identity to audiences there, in order to showcase and
celebrate the country and its distinctive cultures living side by side. In the end however this trip did
not eventuate, with the choir giving the work’s eventual premiere in a fundraising concert held prior
to a trip to a youth music festival Brisbane in early 2014.
Susanna’s suggestion was to represent in some way the three most populous cultural groups
of Malaysia – Malay, Chinese and Indian (Tamil) – in a choral setting. Folksong arrangements, a
useful way of showcasing cultures, were not suitable given the limitations on duration. I proposed
instead the idea of imitating a well-known musical genre (perhaps instrumental) associated with each
18
culture, allocating roughly one minute to each style. Susanna agreed, and together we chose the Malay
gamelan, a traditional erhu melody (or erhu type melody) and the vocal melismas accompanying the
Bharatanatyam dance form to represent the three respective cultures. The piece follows this ordering,
with the middle Chinese section however briefly interrupted by a passage imitating the kendang (two-
headed drum) of the gamelan. Although I could well have chosen specific source materials (in the
form of existing pieces) upon which to base the work, by instead adopting the approach of imitating
each particular style I was allowing a certain freedom towards my materials, one where my own
creative responses could more come into play. This lent its own distinctive flavour to the end result.
The fact that the piece uses no direct quotations of actual gamelan, erhu or Bharatanatyam melodies,
but instead is based on my own constructed melodies and rhythmic patterns which mimic these three
types of music, means the piece is an example of langue quotation, rather than of the parole type.
The respective langue quotations employ a range of different scales and rhythmic patterns, as
well as different tempi and contrasts in texture, so that the three sections are clearly differentiated, an
important consideration for audiences who might be unfamiliar with these particular genres, quite
possibly being exposed to them for the first time. As well, each section uses a particular syllabic text
or vocal delivery I thought best conformed to each style, adding to each part’s particular character.
The first section utilises syllables which approximate the sounds of the various instruments found in a
Malay gamelan ensemble – low ‘dong’ and ‘dung’ for the kempul, with a faster moving and higher
pitched ‘dong, dung’ for the saron, and ‘tak, tak’ for the more staccato sounding ketuk. I was already
familiar (from my undergraduate years in New Zealand performing in a university gamelan) with the
three voiced tones used by Javanese gamelan instructors to indicate the three main tones produced on
the kendang – ‘tak’ for high, ‘tong’ for middle and ‘dung’ for low, and I decided to employ these as
well when imitating these particular percussive sounds. A hummed nasal vocal delivery contrasts with
half and fully open mouthed ‘ah’ for the erhu section, while the final section employs the three sung
syllables ‘ta-ka-da’ in a series of fast-moving phrases to represent the vocal patterns employed to
accompany Bharatanatyam dance. In this last segment of the piece the choir also performs clapped
rhythms which give an added rhythmic intensity to those passages it accompanies, contributing to the
celebratory feel of the work:
19
Figure 4 Tuk Tak Dung bars 75-82
Parole and langue quotation then both play important roles in my work in general and in
certain of the folio pieces, where they act as structural, generative elements as well as symbolically. I
shall now look at the further types of quotation employed in a number of the folio pieces, quotation-
signatures and quotation-symbols, and how these also contribute towards forging an individual style.
C. The Use of a Quotation-signature in Hommage à Haydn
20
Quotation-signatures53
, or pitch formulae such as “B.A.C.H.” and “D.S.C.H.”, whereby letters
of an individual’s name are able to be sounded as musical tones in order, according to Tarnawska-
Kaczorowska to evoke ‘a concrete personality taken in his or her physical or spiritual dimension’54
have featured in a number of my compositions to date, and are a feature in the folio works Hommage
à Haydn and the eight ...infinite songs...both for piano solo. In these pieces, the technique is employed
in order to pay homage to either historical (such as Haydn) or contemporary figures (such as the
various composers of my acquaintance to whom each of the pieces in the …infinite song… series in
dedicated). A further use of quotation-signatures can be found in another short work, Morceau bréve
sur le nom ‘Roland’ for piano solo (1999)55
, commissioned by Diethard Marx for his pianist brother
Roland; here a quotation-signature is constructed out of the first name of the work’s recipient,
forming the basis of the piece’s musical argument.
A short form work from the classical canon that utilises a quotation-signature is Debussy’s
1909 piece for piano solo, Hommage à Haydn, which forms the inspiration for my own short form
piano piece of the same title. Hommage à Haydn was a commission for an issue of La Revue Musicale
de la sociéte musicale indépendante commemorating the centenary of Haydn’s death. Commissioned
alongside Debussy were five other well-known composers of the day – Ravel, Dukas, d’Indy, Hahn
and Widor. Each composer was required to base a short homage on the sequence of notes B-A-D-D-
G, a cipher derived from the letters H, A, Y, D and N (where H in German is equivalent to B natural,
and the notes D natural and G natural stand in for Y and N). This same quotation-signature forms the
basis of my work in the modified form of the nine-note motif HAYN-HAYDN.
My relationship with the music of Haydn began a year or two after starting piano lessons
from the age of nine, when I commenced studying some of the simpler sonata movements and sets of
variations. Later on I came to better comprehend Haydn’s place in the classical canon, through the
breadth and scope of his output, and his importance in the development of the symphony and string
quartet and subsequent influence on other composers. It was, however, largely through my
acquaintance with Debussy’s Hommage à Haydn and in realising its considerable charms, the idea
first came to me of composing my own homage to the prominent classical period composer. I
envisaged my own work as partaking of the clarity and brio of some of Haydn’s quicker sonata
movements. I also modelled it to be in the same proportions as the Debussy work, as I wanted to be
53
Otherwise known as soggetto cavato, an older practice of quotation by aligning note names with proper
names, as practiced by composers such as Josquin des Pres in the Renaissance
54 Tarnawska-Kaczorowska, Krystyna (1998) Musical quotation an outline of the problem, Contemporary Music
Review, 17:3, 83, DOI: 10.1080/07494469800640211. [Accessed 21 December 2013]
55 The original version for piano solo is available from the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington.
A version for clarinet in B flat and bass clarinet in B flat (2016) is published by Alea Publishers, ALEA 1159,
Tacoma, 2016
21
able to be pair my piece with that composer’s earlier homage in a recital programme. It was in this
paired format that the premiere of Hommage à Haydn was given in Penang, in my solo piano recital at
the Malaysian Science University (USM) in March 2009, the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death.
Presenting the two pieces side by side in this way not only gave an opportunity to draw out some of
the commonalities between the two, but also lent a satisfying sense of historical continuity. Included
in the program on this occasion was Haydn’s Sonata in E minor (Hob XVI: 34), further reinforcing
this sense of continuity and an inherited tradition.
It was some years later in 2012 that I discovered that I was not alone in having made the
connection between the commissioned works of 1909, and the 200th anniversary of the composer’s
death in 2009. British pianist Matthew Schellhorn had that year commissioned six composers from the
United Kingdom – Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Michael Zev Gordon, Cecilia McDowall, Colin Riley,
Jeremy Thurlow, and Tim Watts – to write new pieces for piano solo based on the HAYDN motif,
and all six were premiered by him in November 2009 at the Cambridge Music Festival in the U.K.56
.
Schellhorn has also performed the newly commissioned works alongside the original commissions
from 1909, a very similar idea to my own.
Hommage à Haydn is composed in the form of a moto perpetuo and features a relentlessly
moving quaver line employing the HAYN-HAYDN nine-note motif (in musical tones B-A-D-G-B-A-
D-D-G), presented in the treble (with variants) throughout virtually the entire piece. The work is in
fast tempo in the time signature 9/8, with division of 4+5 quavers in the bar; this uneven division of
the bar along with the quick tempo lends it a rhythmically lively feel. The left hand is entrusted with
the bulk of the work’s melodic material, which is subject to constant repetition and variation. As well,
it is tasked with articulating the sustained bass notes which underpin the other two parts. A large
measure of the piece’s effectiveness lies in the interaction between these different voices: anticipating
or delaying motifs in the bass register in relation to the unchanging ostinato in the treble voice allows
the piece considerable rhythmic vitality. By employing varying lengths of phrases, I wanted to avoid
predictability in the work’s phrase structure; this creates a pleasingly organic effect to the unfolding
material. Here are bars 8-12, illustrating the three superimposed lines. A downward step-wise
progression in the bass line through flattened seventh and sixth leads back again at bar 12 via natural
sixth and flattened seventh to the tonal centre of the work, G natural:
56
‘Homage to Haydn’, musolife.com online magazine, (2009), 31 [Accessed 20 January 2013]
22
Figure 5 Hommage à Haydn, bars 8-12
This flowing melodic material leads to a contrasting four-bar passage featuring the right hand
ostinato played staccato combined with tenuto accented quavers in the bass, which are unpredictably
placed relative to the metrical structure, forming syncopated rhythms:
Figure 6 Hommage à Haydn bars 15-18
The more flowing sections alternate with this differently articulated material, which acts as a
kind of refrain to the main musical argument. At each subsequent repetition of this refrain further
quavers in the bass are progressively filled in to take the place of rests, until later on at bars 79 to 82
the left hand consists almost entirely of sounding notes, a few quaver rests unpredictably placed
interrupting the otherwise regular movement:
23
Figure 7 Hommage à Haydn bars 79-82
After a number of varied repetitions of the main melodic material accompanied by the
ostinato motif, I felt I needed to in some way disrupt the musical argument (thus far largely centred
around the work’s tonal centre, G natural) in order to create further variation, but also as a way of
allowing the work to move towards its conclusion. I came to the idea of modifying the ostinato motif,
keeping its melodic contour so it would still be recognisable but varying the notes; this is achieved by
modulating to the use of a mostly whole-tone variant of the motif from bar 92 onwards (this modified
motif is itself occasionally varied according to musical needs, as in bars 93-96). The addition of a
motif largely based upon the whole-tone scale was another way of paying homage to Debussy, known
for his use of the scale in a number of his own compositions. Here is the introduction of the modified
whole-tone motif at bars 92-96:
24
Figure 8 Hommage à Haydn bars 92-96
Along with this varied form of the motif, I also wanted to provide some relief from the
hitherto restricted range of the material thus far centred on the middle and lower voices of the piano.
This is achieved in two ways – through the occasional upward transposition by either one, two or
three octaves of the HAYN-HAYDN motif starting from bars 53, and by both hands together gradually
moving to the upper registers of the instrument from bars 98 to 103. This section leads directly to the
close of the work featuring quiet sustained chords in the piano’s middle register underpinned by bass
pedal notes, reminiscent of a similar passage found at the close of Debussy’s homage, where similarly
voiced sustained chords in the middle register are heard over bass pedals accompanying fragments
from the HAYDN motif in the upper register. By concluding in this way my intention was to create an
“aural signpost” for the listener who would be able to form a link between these chords and the
similar passage in the earlier piece. In both works, these more sustained sections contrast with the
earlier quicker running note passages:
25
Figure 9 Debussy, Hommage à Haydn bars 92-110
Here are the closing three bars of my piece:
Figure 10 Hommage à Haydn bars 107-109
Hommage à Haydn can be seen as ‘homage within homage’ in the way it references
Debussy’s work in which he himself pays homage to Haydn. Revisiting this work written one hundred
years prior to my own created an avenue for a creative re-imagining of “tradition”, both as a means to
comment upon it as well as reinforcing a sense of commonality of purpose with it. Both in its
approach towards an over-arching tradition and in its compositional techniques (which betray a
strongly minimalist influence) Hommage à Haydn partakes of an inclusive approach where
26
quotations, modelling, stylistic reference points and modified materials are freely available for
creative extrapolation and reinterpretation.
D. The Use of Chromatic Completion in Two Rhythmic Duos and Baltic Song
Chromatic completion – ‘the use of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale in a systematic
way’57
is utilised in a number of folio pieces – Two Rhythmic Duos (2009/16) for two bass clarinets in
B flat, as well as …infinite song… (2014) for piano solo and Baltic Song in versions for clarinet and
piano (2005/09)58
and bass clarinet in B flat and piano (2015)59
. In the last two mentioned examples,
chromatic completion is employed within each piece as a quotation-symbol, symbolizing infinity and
dissolving into the sea, respectively. The technique is also employed in several other pieces composed
over the last several years, notably the piano part of The Siege60
(2012/13) for viola and piano, a
collaborative composition with Australian composer Katia Tiutiunnik based on her work for solo
viola, Al-Hisar61
(2001). In this work chromatic completion is employed at certain places in the piano
part as a distancing mechanism from the viola’s predominately modal line. I will examine firstly how
and why the device is employed in Two Rhythmic Duos for two bass clarinets.
In Two Rhythmic Duos the use of chromatic completion in complementary ways within each
piece creates a sense of compositional and aesthetic balance. In the first of the duos, short pieces each
lasting around a minute and 50 seconds, each of the twelve chromatic tones is gradually introduced
over the course of the piece’s entirety, the twelfth and final tone being the very last note we hear. In
the second piece by way of contrast the twelve tones are introduced immediately as a twelve-tone row
in the first two and a half bars in the second bass clarinet part. This row is repeated at various
transpositions in both parts, where it forms the basis of a canon-like chromatically saturated texture.
This contrasting treatment towards chromatic completion in each of the pieces can be said to be the
defining feature of the work.
57
Green, Edward, “Haydn’s Secret ‘Dodecaphonic’ Art”, JMM: The Journal of Music and Meaning 8, winter
2009 [http://www.musicandmeaning.net/issues/showArticle.php?artID=8.6], sec.6.1. [Accessed 21 August
2016]
58 Tacoma: Alea Publishers ALEA 1127a, 2015. This work also exists in a version for violoncello and piano
(2012).
59 Tacoma: Alea Publishers ALEA 1127b, 2015
60 Tiutiunnik, Katia and Carey, Ross James. Creative Journeys: When Composers Collaborate. (Shah Alam: UiTM
Press, 2013) ,43-55
61 Ibid, 57-64. Also published by the Australian Music Centre, Sydney, 2001; the piece exists as well in a version
for solo violoncello (also published by the AMC)
27
This varied treatment towards the use of chromatic completion in each of the pieces can be
explained, at least in part, through looking at my work methods. In the first of the duos my use of
chromatic completion was achieved in an entirely intuitive manner – there was no over-arching pre-
compositional design nor prior twelve-note “row” determining the order in which respective tones
were to be employed; in this respect it follows on, method-wise at least, from other short works of
mine employing the technique where the ordering of the twelve tones was similarly obtained in an
intuitive manner. These include ‘Grasshopper’62
(2008) for piano solo, a short piece in an as yet
uncompleted pedagogical series of pieces for piano, Piano Parade (2007- ), as well as in the
aforementioned piano part to The Siege. The ability to intuit during the process of composition in
these works when the point of chromatic completion is reached indicates a certain sensitivity towards
my materials, this “felt” sense of balance helping explain why I am attracted towards the use of the
technique as a means of obtaining and aesthetic and formal clarity.
In the second duo, by way of contrast to the first, twelve-tone completion is employed in a
much more deliberate way to organise both macro and micro structures. Here the use of a twelve-tone
row in various transpositions over the course of the work creates a completely chromatically saturated
texture, in direct contrast to the first duo’s reference largely to tonal structures. The second duo’s
reliance on the row being presented as a strict canon as well as the piece’s relatively restricted tonal
range creates a further contrast to the first duo, which has a much freer, episodic feel. Although this
second row was not deliberately based upon that of the first piece (by marking the first appearance of
each tone in the first duo, a twelve-tone “row” can be found), the two rows do share certain
characteristics, both intervallic and structural, again illustrating an intuitive aspect to my
compositional methods. This perhaps is not entirely unexpected given that the two pieces were
intended to be presented together and were written one after another relatively quickly. Here are each
duo’s respective “rows”, the numbers under each note indicating the order in which they were
introduced:
Figure 11 Two Rhythmics Duos, I: 12-note row
Figure 12 Two Rhythmic Duos, II: 12-note row
62
First performed at the Asian Composers’ League (ACL) special event, Tokyo, October 2010
28
Both rows start on the same note, G, with the first three tones of the second row (G natural-C
natural-F sharp) an inversion of the opening three tones in row 1 (G natural-D natural-A flat). While
the fourth notes of the respective rows diverge, their fifth notes are identical, albeit with different
spellings – D flat/C sharp. Further similarities include identical notes at the sixth and seventh note
positions but presented in a different order – B and E natural in the first, E and B natural in the
second; a similar relationship exists between the F sharp and C natural found at the eleventh and
twelfth places of row 1 and reversed (C natural to F sharp) as the second and third tones of row 2.
Finally, an identical two-note progression consisting of B flat to E flat at the first row’s eighth and
ninth note positions and the ninth and tenth notes of row 2 further emphasises the similarity.
I shall now illustrate the method in which the row was presented additively in the first duo,
contrasting this with how it was employed in the second. In the first of the pieces the first five tones of
the row (G natural, D natural, A flat, F natural and D flat) are first presented as a motif heard over an
octave and a half range in the first bass clarinet part:
Figure 13 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 1-2
This five-note motif alludes to the two tonal centres explored throughout the piece, G natural
and D flat; its first four notes outlining a G dominant minor 9th chord (without a 3
rd), while the final
three outline a D flat major triad. To these at bar 6 the next three tones of the row are added (E
natural, B natural and B flat), at the point where the first bass clarinet is joined by the second
instrument. The addition here of both B natural and E natural “fills in” the dominant minor 9th chord
to create a G13th chord with a flat 9
th (G-B-D-F-A flat-E), the inclusion of a querying repeated B flat
at bars 7 and 8 functioning as a “wrong” note heard over the D flat in the bass, an example of musical
humour:
Figure 14 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 6-9
29
A further playful exploration ensues based on this material, again featuring motif fragments
and repeated notes:
Figure 15 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 14-18
At bar 26, the ninth tone (E flat) is added in a downward flourish articulated by both
instruments:
Figure 16 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 25-26
This leads on to a section of dance-like phrases employing what is, in effect, a constructed
eight-note scale (omitting the eighth note of the row, B flat) of G natural, A flat, B natural, D flat, D
natural, E flat, E natural and F natural. The episodic nature of the music up until then is replaced by a
more regular four-bar structure, the various motives coalescing into phrase and answering phrase
passed between the two instruments:
30
Figure 17 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 40-48
In the passage above these eight notes are employed as two interlocking dominant minor 9th
chords built upon the two tonal centres of G natural (G-B-D-F-A flat) and D flat (D flat-F-A flat-B-D
natural) respectively, with E natural and E flat used as passing tones. The exploration of a tonal
relationship built around centres a tri-tone apart in this piece prefigures its use in another of the folio
works …valse oubliée… (2011) for three-octave wire-strung harp (or harp) solo. Although not
consciously modelled on the earlier work, …valse oubliée… employs a very similar constructed scale
to Two Rhythmic Duos of G natural-A flat-B natural-C sharp-D natural-E flat-F natural (omitting the
E natural found in the earlier work); as in the duos a relationship is explored based around tonal
centres at the interval of a tri-tone’s distance from each other, G natural and C sharp (or D flat as it is
in the version of the work for piano solo, included as the third of Trois valses romantiques). While the
use of this seven-note scale in …valse oubliée… was largely due to the constraints of the nature of the
instrument I was writing for – the wire-strung harp is unable to be re-tuned during performance,
necessitating the use of one note for each of the seven strings to the octave for the entire duration of a
piece – this very limitation created an interesting compositional challenge when thinking about how to
create recognisable tonal centres with attendant triadic relationships in order to create a mosaic of
inter-linked passages that refer to some of the various textures, melodic motives and harmonies I took
to be typical of romantic style. In both pieces, in particular in …valse oubliée… where the material is
worked through in more thorough-going fashion than the first duo, these tonal relationships are offset
against each other in a relatively sophisticated way.
After this more recognisably melodic section the meter of the piece changes from 2/4 to 3/8 at
bar 56 (the contrast between duple and triple meters is important in other folio works, and will be
discussed in the section analysing the composition of the ‘Variations’ movement of Two Symphonic
31
Movements). In this case, the changing from a duple to a triple meter coincides with a change of tonal
emphasis (formed however without adding any further tones to those already in use) away from the G
natural-D flat axis to the tri-tone E natural-B flat (at bar 57), creating a sense of instability and a shift
of narrative, pushing the piece towards its conclusion:
Figure 18 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 55-61
The remaining three tones needed to achieve chromatic completion – A natural, F sharp and C
natural – are finally introduced in the piece’s last four measures, which act as a short coda in 2/4 time
signature. The piece concludes on the last two of these notes, F sharp and C natural, again at the
relationship of a tri-tone from each other:
Figure 19 Two Rhythmic Duos I bars 70-73
The use of chromatic completion over the entirety of the first duo to create balanced melodic
and tonal structures forms a coherent short form work compositional strategy. In the second piece, the
second of the rows forms the basis for a theme in a form of a canon passed between the two
instruments. This theme consists of two complete cycles of the row, the twelfth note of the initial
cycle (A natural) becoming the first note of the subsequent cycle transposed up a major 2nd
. Here is
the theme as first heard in the second bass clarinet at bars 1-5, with the tones of the row numbered in
the order they are introduced:
32
Figure 20 Two Rhythmic Duos II bars 1 -5
The second bass clarinet is joined by the first at the second crotchet beat of bar 5, in a direct
imitation of the theme. The rhythmic interlocking which is a feature of the movement begins with the
second part delayed by a semiquaver rest at beat one of bar 6, in order to create a hocket-like texture
shared between the two instruments:
Figure 21 Two Rhythmic Duos II bars 5-10
This imitative texture continues with the two parts rising and falling together by step in
tandem. Here is an excerpt later on in the piece beginning at the third crotchet beat of bar 24, where
the two parts have already reached their apogee, and are starting their descent, back towards the
register found at the start of the piece:
33
Figure 22 Two Rhythmic Duos II bars 24-30
The piece ends somewhat inconclusively in the same low register of the instruments as at the
start, a somewhat humorous acknowledgement perhaps of the futility of their overly deterministic
approach:
Figure 23 Two Rhythmic Duos II bars 34-39
Two Rhythmic Duos then employs a contrasting treatment of chromatic completion in a
relatively sophisticated way to achieve its compositional goals, achieving a sense of balance both
within each piece and within the set as a whole. It does so in a lightly humorous way, creating an
attractive conversational modal which could be readily explored in further short-form works.
34
A further example of chromatic completion, this time functioning as a quotation-symbol can
be found in Baltic Song (2005/09) for clarinet in B flat or bass clarinet in B flat and piano (2015), in
its original version for piano solo composed when I was in residence in October 2005 at the Visby
International Centre for Composers (VICC) located in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland. This
work, largely written employing a modal language based around a six-tone scale E-G-A-B-C-D,
features an underlying dotted rhythm ostinato in the bass voice of the piano part, evoking the gentle
rhythmic movement of waves on the Baltic Sea:
Figure 24 'Baltic Song' bars 1-20
35
After a number of variations around this material the piece concludes with an open-ended
passage which gradually fills in five of the remaining six tones with the sole exception of A flat (in
order, F sharp, E flat, B flat, F natural, C sharp) mainly in the clarinet part (the F sharp is also sounded
in the piano part). This “near chromatic-completion” (the A flat remains unsounded), in the
programme note accompanying the piece I liken to the melody dissolving into a “twelve-tone sea”:
Figure 25 Baltic Song bars 77-86
This transformation of the material from a firmly articulated tonality to the much more
unstable nature of an open-ended (near) twelve-tone line, an altogether less stable “reality”, creates a
sense of movement, itself a metaphor for the sea, an ever-changing (and perhaps ultimately
unknowable) entity. The inconclusive nature of the close of the piece (enhanced by the use of the
sustaining pedal in the piano part) adds to the sense of dissolution or dissolving and a progression to
something much more nebulous – from the gentle motion of the waves as seen at the surface, to
plumbing the sea’s unknowable depths. The inconclusive, almost questioning use of chromatic
completion here is symbolic of an open-ended process; the sea symbolizing a kind of infinity, an
opening both into the unknown and unknowable.
36
While chromatic completion can be employed for purely musical and aesthetic reasons, such
as the use of the technique in Two Rhythmic Duos, its use in Baltic Song as a quotation-symbol also
indicates its usefulness as a compositional tool to symbolize infinity and a “process of becoming” or
as an opening to the unknown. This symbolic aspect to my use of the technique is further explored in
the first piece of the …infinite song… series, discussed in the following chapter. It can thus be seen as
a useful technique to articulate both musical and extra-musical processes.
37
Chapter 3 …infinite songs (1-8)… and Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’
A folio work bringing together several different kinds of quotation is the set of eight short
piano pieces …infinite songs (1-8)… (2014-15) based on the well-known children’s song Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star.
The first of the set was composed in February 2014. At that time I was approached by my
former PhD supervisor at the University of Melbourne, Julian Yu, to contribute to a project of short
original pieces for piano solo based around the theme, to be published together as an anthology by the
World Humanities Press (WHP) in Hong Kong. Subsequently WHP pulled out of this arrangement,
and the anthology has now been published by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press63
. The
anthology features contributions from sixty-eight composers from eighteen countries, including
China, Australia and New Zealand. The composition brief for the project had just two requirements –
a submitted score should be of around one page in length and the piece needed in some form to make
reference to the theme of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Additionally, a companion recording of the
theme and all sixty-eight variations, along with Mozart’s theme from his 12 Variations on “Ah, Vous
dirai-je, Maman” performed by Australian pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, was released in November
201564
.
Historically speaking, a project with a comparative aim might be Anton Diabelli’s request in
1819 to fifty well-known composers of the day to write a variation on his own original theme,
likewise with an aim towards publication. One of the solicited composers of course ignored the
request for just a single variation – Ludwig van Beethoven, whose 33 Variations on a Waltz by
Diabelli Op. 120 (1819-23), otherwise known as the ‘Diabelli Variations’, is regarded by a number of
commentators as the greatest of all piano works65
.
This project for an anthology of variations based on the tune followed on from Yu’s “The
Young Person’s Guide to Composition: Variations on the Theme of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ for
piano”66
, a primarily pedagogical volume of some 126 variations on the theme, where Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star is employed to showcase a variety of compositional techniques and styles, a
number of the pieces written in the style of well-known composers both historical and contemporary
63
Yu, Julian (compiler). More Variations on the Theme of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ for Piano from
Composers around the World (Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, 2016)
64 Yu, Julian (compiler), Harvey, Michael Kieran (pianist). 70 More Variations on ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’
from Composers around the World. (Melbourne: Move Record Co. MD3405, 2015)
65 Hiroshima, G: Diabelli Variations, LA Philharmonic program notes,
http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/diabelli-variations-ludwig-van-beethoven [Accessed 5 February 2016]
66 Yu, Julian. The Young Person’s Guide to Composition: Variations on the theme of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’
for piano. (Tokyo: Zen-On Music 168424, 2010)
38
(including one where Yu cleverly imitates his own style). Many of the pieces in this set have
imaginative titles, such as ‘Philogamelania’ which combines Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with the
style of Javanese gamelan music. Yu’s guide, while having a primarily pedagogical aim, contains
many attractive pieces which are suitable for public performance, and a number of pianists have
included them in their own recital programs, including me.
Given that I was already familiar with Julian’s Young Persons’ Guide, I readily responded to
the aims of the new project, and composed what was to become the first of the infinite song pieces
...infinite song... (2014), dedicated to Julian as instigator of the project. Subsequently over the course
of the next sixteen months (to May 2015) I wrote seven more pieces following identical specifications
as the first, creating a set of eight short pieces on the theme ...infinite songs (1-8)... (2014-15). While
the original request was for a piece of one page in length, some latitude was given, and all eight of the
original set of ...infinite songs... are between one page and one system long to two pages in length.
…infinite song… (2014)67
is the first of the series. Knowing that the work would be published
as part of an anthology, I felt merely presenting Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (TTLS) with
accompanying harmonies would be much too obvious a compositional ploy (although I did feel free to
adopt this strategy in one or two of my subsequent variations that were not written for the published
album). I began therefore by conducting a formal analysis of the tune, as I felt this might give me
clues on how to proceed compositionally. TTLS has several defining features – firstly, the intervals of
a perfect fifth and major second are a feature of its melodic construction, particularly in the opening
phrase, which is repeated again towards the end of the tune; secondly, repeated notes also feature
throughout; and thirdly, the theme displays a strong sense of step-wise movement, both ascending and
descending – as in the opening phrase’s movement from G natural to A natural and back again, and
descending – the step-wise movement from the dominant at the end of the first phrase to the tonic at
the end of the second as well as the dominant to supertonic movement of phrases three and four. Here
is the theme:
Figure 26 Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, theme
67
In Julian Yu (compiler) More Variations on the Theme of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ for Piano from
Composers around the World (Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, 2016), 94-95
39
Focusing next on how these various structural elements might be utilised compositionally, I
looked towards the first of them, the perfect fifth (C-G) and major second (G-A) of the theme’s first
phrase. I superimposed these three tones to create a three-note chord that I labelled the “TTLS triad”.
I then inverted the chord to create what I labelled the “TTLS inv-triad”, a major second supporting a
perfect fifth (C natural – D natural – A natural). This chord became the piece’s basic building block:
Figure 27 TTLS triad and inv-triad
Drawn towards the sound of this second triad, I considered how the TTLS inv-triad might be
able to be combined with other of TTLS’s structural elements, such as the strong sense of movement
found in the tune’s ascending and descending scale-like passages. I experimented by configuring the
TTLS inv-triad as a series of eleven chromatically ascending chords in the bass register, starting on the
D flat below middle C until the B below middle C, and ending with the TTLS triad (the original form
of the chord) on middle C. This chromatically ascending line of triads became the “TTLS quotation-
symbol”, a symbol of infinity, in that its upward movement over the course of an octave can
(theoretically at least) be repeated ad infinitum:
Figure 28 TTLS quotation-symbol
By symbolically linking the TTLS theme with a sense of infinite movement I was
intentionally referencing the ‘sense of wonder’ we feel when regarding the infinite universe, of course
implicit in the lyrics of the song, and made explicit in my title for the piece.
Through carrying this symbolic dimension, the TTLS quotation-symbol offered a ready-made
framework for the piece – namely, a slowly moving chromatically ascending line above which other,
freely melodic elements could be articulated, to represent musically the idea of infinity within a very
limited time frame (remembering that the piece could only be a page or so long in printed score).
Given the strongly diatonic nature of the original tune, this chromatically ascending line of the TTLS
quotation-symbol (with its attendant chromatic completion) became the defining feature of the piece.
My approach towards the resulting chromatically saturated space would be for it to articulate a fluid
sense of tonality, with each chord of the quotation-symbol forming a temporary tonal axis when
accompanying the attendant melody.
40
The point where chromatic completion is first achieved (i.e. where all twelve of the chromatic
tones have been employed) within the TTLS quotation-symbol is at the seventh chord of the series (G
natural-A natural-E natural) at bar 7. Incidentally, this also marks the point where a separate process
of chromatic completion is achieved in the melodic material found in the treble voice, with the
appearance of the twelfth chromatic tone (C sharp) on the second triplet semiquaver of bar 7. Unlike
the TTLS quotation-symbol this process of chromatic completion within the melodic line was arrived
at entirely in an intuitive manner, once again illustrating sensitivity towards my materials:
Figure 29 ...infinite song... bars 2-7
Achieving chromatic completion simultaneously in both voices towards the work’s mid-point
(it is 16 bars in length) along with the rapid motion of the melodic line at this juncture forms a point
of maximum instability, tonally speaking; from here until the work’s conclusion, the musical line
moves towards establishing a firmer sense of a tonal centre around C natural, the root note of the final
chord of the quotation-symbol.
While composed in an intuitive manner, the melodic line’s features can mostly be seen to
derive, like the accompanying chords, from the first phrase of TTLS. This illustrates how
subconscious processes were important during the process of writing. The melody’s opening three
notes E flat – A flat – G flat (presented at bars 2 to 3) outline a TTLS inv-triad on G flat, while in bars
4 and 5 up until the first crotchet beat of bar 6, the melody outlines interlocking forms of the TTLS
inv-triad (A natural-B natural-F sharp) with a TTLS triad (E flat – B flat – C natural). From there a
sequence of broken chord fifth-based harmonies forms the basis for a freely descending line, moving
41
to the bass clef at bar 9. It is only at bar 10 where TTLS’s characteristic opening repeated-note motif is
first heard in the treble voice above the quotation-signature and secondary line in the bass. This is the
first and only recognisable “quotation” of TTLS in the piece, limited to the first four notes of the
theme:
Figure 30 ...infinite song... bars 9 -10
The introduction of this four-note motif creates a sense of TTLS breaking the surface of the
surrounding texture, rather like a masked character allowing us a glimpse of his or her face part-way
through a fancy-dress ball. The appearance of this opening motif of the theme is a precursor to the
more extensive parole quotations of TTLS in subsequent pieces, beginning from the third infinite song
dedicated to composer John Sharpley, where the TTLS theme is heard in its entirety. This gradual
introduction (or uncovering) of the melody upon which the pieces are based allows listener and
performer alike a sense of discovery. The set as a whole forms a kind of musical journey where the
various types of quotation employed combine together to create the work’s particular character.
Utilising elements derived from the first phrase of TTLS as a quotation-symbol in …infinite
song… allowed for a ready-made scaffolding underpinning a freely expressive melodic line utilising
related melodic elements along with parole quotation. …infinite song… can be seen as successfully
integrating within a short-form work these complementary approaches towards a sourced material
carrying various associative meanings.
The TTLS theme is stated as parole quotation in six of the remaining seven …infinite songs…,
the sole exception being …infinite song2… dedicated to Krisna Setiawan. Here, the link to TTLS is the
quotation in slightly modified form of a motif from another piece composed for the TTLS album by its
dedicatee, VeYeBe…Where the Stars Twinkle (2014). Like the first of the series (dedicated to Julian),
this second piece, along with the remaining six follows a similar dedicatory practice. Each is
dedicated to a composer (or composers) of my acquaintance, all of whom have featured in my musical
as well as personal life in one way or another over the years. In a number of the ...infinite songs... the
choice of dedicatee plays an important role in the various compositional decisions made, influencing
which musical materials (other than the TTLS theme) were chosen as either langue or parole
quotations, or employed as quotation-signatures. Like the first piece of the set, in several others
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(…infinite songs 4, 7 and 8…) the TTLS theme is quoted only in part: while in others, such as
…infinite songs 3 and 6…, the theme is quoted more or less in full.
The parole quotation of TTLS is at times combined with a langue quotation, as in …infinite
song3… where it is presented in a swung, jazz rhythm as a homage to American-born Singapore-
resident composer John Sharpley, and in …infinite song4… where the last few notes of its second
phrase overlap with the start of a passage imitative of the rhythmic complexities of gong kebyar, like
the langue quotation in the previous piece a tribute to its dedicatee, New Zealand composer and
performer Gareth Farr.…infinite song7… offers a further example of langue quotation in the set. Here
the first two phrases of TTLS are combined within a compositional style imitating that of its dedicatee,
Elena Kats-Chernin – at least, the style I am most familiar with from a number of her shorter piano
works such as Half Moon Prelude68
, which, in common with a number of her works itself utilises
langue quotation in containing coincidental references to Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata69
.
In those instances where a quotation-signature or signatures is employed (in four of the
pieces), it is formed out of the various letters of the respective dedicatee’s name, which in some cases
is employed in full, while in two cases only a selection of letters from the composer’s surname are
used. Along with providing a means of forming melodic material, the use of quotation-signatures in
…infinite songs… is a way of paying homage to a number of composers whose work and with whom I
have been acquainted with for, in some cases, many years.
...infinite song3...dedicated to John Sharpley is the first of the series to employ a quotation-
signature. Here the Sharpley quotation-signature features in an extended 12-bar coda (from bar 13)
which forms the second half of the piece. To arrive at the quotation-signature, I looked towards the
dedicatee’s surname (SHARPLEY), creating a motif which mixes standard letter-names (“A” and
“E”) with German letter-names (“(e)S” for E flat and “H” for B natural) and solfege (“R(e)” for D
natural). The letters “P”, “L” and “Y” were discarded, forming a five note quotation-signature based
on the letters S-H-A-R-E:
Figure 31 Sharpley quotation-signature
This Sharpley quotation-signature is presented in the form of a running-quaver ostinato in the
piano’s middle register overlapping with the final phrase of TTLS, the previous phrases of which are
presented in the first part of the work (from bar 3) as a parole quotation in the treble accompanied by
68
Kats-Chernin, Elena. Half Moon Prelude (Sydney: Australian Music Centre (AMC) 2004)
69 Programme note by the composer to Half Moon Prelude at
www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/workversion/Kats-chernin-elena-half-moon-prelude/13284
43
added-tone chords. The quotation-signature features as an accompanying figure underpinning the
final descending phrase of TTLS (G-G -F sharp-F sharp-E-E-D). The extended coda additionally
functions as a prolonged ‘resonance’ of the final sustained F 13
chord with flattened seventh from the
first section, the constant quaver motion of the Sharpley quotation-signature generating a sense of
internal movement:
Figure 32 ...infinite song3... bars 11-17
Another of the series employing a quotation-signature is ...infinite song4… dedicated to New
Zealand composer and percussionist Gareth Farr. This likewise features a quotation-signature
constructed from the letters of the dedicatee’s name (again combining standard and German letter-
names with solfege) which underpins most of the piece as ground bass:
Figure 33 Farr quotation-signature
The use of the Farr quotation-signature in this way was suggested to me due to its similarity
to the TTLS theme (particularly its first four notes G-A-D-E which are similar to the contour of
TTLS’s first phrase), meaning that the two could easily be combined. As well, the Farr quotation-
signature has an in-built tonal bias; by taking its first note, G natural as the tonic, the signature moves
from the tonic (G natural) to dominant (D natural) via the super-tonic (A natural) over its first three
notes, and again to the dominant via the super-tonic over its concluding three notes. This tonic to
dominant feel both within the quotation-signature and over the course of it as a whole (from its first
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to last notes) allowed for a readily-made tonal basis for the piece, one importantly able to be subject to
repetition, a necessary factor for a ground bass. Here it is at bars 4-7 combined with the first two
phrases of TTLS. Both phrases of the tune are modified rhythmically by the prolongation of certain
note values, while the second phrase is also modified melodically by the chromatic alteration of
melody notes. As well, the notes of the second phrase are combined with harmonic intervals of a
minor second, perfect fourth and perfect fifth sounding below the melody line:
Figure 34 ...infinite song4... bars 4-7
This rhythmic and melodic modification of the theme creates a destabilising effect, allowing
for the introduction of further introduced material in the form of a langue quotation imitating the
rhythms of Balinese gong kebyar, quoted here in homage to Gareth, a founder director in 2003 of
Wellington’s Balinese gamelan ensemble Gamelan Taniwha Jaya, with whom he also performs and
composes. The repeating harmonic interval of a perfect fifth first presented at the third crotchet beat
of bar 7 as repeating semiquavers in the treble continue over the next several measures as a series of
rhythmically irregularly repeated intervals, imitative of the brilliant sounds of gong kebyar. Here are
bars 10-11 from this imitative section:
Figure 35 ...infinite song4... bars 10-11
…infinite song4… thus combines three types of quotation – parole (the TTLS theme), langue
(the imitation of gong kebyar) underpinned by a quotation-signature of the dedicatee’s name,
allowing it to allude to multiple layers of meaning.
The next piece in the series ....infinite song5... is dedicated to Japanese composer Keiko
Fujiie, and like …infinite song3… it features a quotation-signature of its dedicatee based on the letters
of their surname. Once again standard letter names are combined with German spellings and Solfege:
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Figure 36 Fujiie quotation-signature
The Fujiie quotation-signature is stated only once, at bar 10, where it functions purely as a
passing gesture embedded within the surrounding melodic material:
Figure 37 ...infinite song5... bars 8-12
The concluding E flat of the quotation-signature in the treble is additionally combined with a
TTLS triad (reappearing here after being first presented in …infinite song…) in the bass voice; the
TTLS triads continue in both voices in bar 11, and in combination with a TTLS inv- triad from bar 12.
Initially I had conceived of each of the pieces as stand-alone entities, and they are able to be
performed as such, but by the stage of writing the fourth and fifth …infinite songs… I was more aware
of the possibilities of presenting the pieces as a set; the re-introduction of the fundamental building
block of the first of the series (the TTLS triad with its inversion) here was a conscious strategy to
create an aural bridge to the earlier piece, thus further reinforcing the feeling of the pieces as a unified
whole.
The final piece in the series ...infinite song8... is dedicated to Toronto-based husband and
wife composers James Rolfe and Juliet Palmer. It employs not one but two quotation-signatures
based, respectively, on each of the dedicatee’s first and last names, and like the other quotation-
signatures employed in the set similarly combines standard and German letter-names with solfege.
Every letter is assigned a musical tone except for the initial “J” and “P” of the Juliet Palmer quotation-
signature. In constructing the two quotation-signatures I discovered each coincidentally uses the same
46
five notes – A natural, C natural, D natural, E flat and E natural, meaning that they were easily
combined. These five notes suggested to me a tonality centred on A minor – both signatures outlining
an A minor tonic triad featuring both natural and flattened fifths (A-C-E flat-E natural), along with the
subdominant, D natural. D along with E flat mostly functions in the piece as a passing note between E
natural and C natural.
In the piece the two signatures are used in complementary ways, James’ as a repeating
ostinato figure in the bass with Juliet’s forming the main melodic line in the treble. Additionally,
unlike the use earlier in the series where the signatures are employed solely in a horizontal fashion,
the Rolfe quotation-signature includes a vertical aggregate of its last four letters (C-A-F-E flat) first
heard in the bass voice at the last crotchet beat of bar 4. This forms an F dominant seventh chord in
second inversion punctuating the otherwise horizontal lines. The material formed from the two
quotation-signatures is broken up by a one bar modified statement of TTLS’s first phrase progressing
to flat 6 and ending on flat 5, first presented at bar 5, which recurs in the piece as a kind of refrain
interrupting the main melodic phrases. Following this, the two-bar phrase first presented at bars 3-4 is
repeated at bars 6-7 transposed down a major second:
Figure 38 ...infinite song8... bars 3-7
Like the Farr quotation-signature encountered in …infinite song4… the Palmer quotation-
signature bears certain similarities to the TTLS theme. Firstly, the two intervals of a major sixth which
feature as motives at bar 3 – from middle C to A and from E flat to the C above – connect the
quotation-signature thematically to the TTLS triad, the outlying notes of which also outline a major
sixth. Another feature of the Palmer quotation-signature is the four note step-wise descending
progression (E natural, E flat, D natural and C natural) first presented in the treble voice from the last
quaver of bar 3 to the third quaver of bar 4. This progression is made by connecting the last three
47
notes of the signature (E, E flat and D) with the first (C); an identical progression is found from the
third to the sixth notes of the Rolfe quotation-signature, both being reminiscent of those phrases of
TTLS which likewise feature a similar, step-wise descending motion. This mostly chromatic step-wise
movement suggested a kind of playfulness to me, and indeed the piece is the most playful and
humorous of the eight.
…infinite song8…’s strongly unified sense of expression largely is a result of the limited
means employed to create its musical syntax. The humorous quality of the work particularly evident
in the modified first phrase of TTLS used as a refrain in the piece, along with the use of syncopated
and swung rhythms creates a foil to some of the less extroverted numbers that preceded it. It is
through working with a variety of compositional approaches and freely combining the four types of
quotation that interest is able to be sustained over the course of the …infinite songs (1-8)… ten-minute
duration, despite its apparently less than promising initial material.
TTLS also forms the basis for Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ (2015) for flute
and piano. This was composed soon after the completion of …infinite songs (5-8)… in May 2015 and
is dedicated to Japanese flutist Daisuke Kinoshita. Like a number of the infinite song pieces this work
makes extensive use of TTLS melodically and additionally utilises both the TTLS triad and TTLS inv-
triads which form the basis of the accompanying piano part. In Concert Piece the theme of TTLS is
generally used in a freer manner to generate melodic lines than in the …infinite song… series, perhaps
as a result of having a less restricted canvas upon which to work (in terms of duration) as well as due
to my wanting the piece to be more overtly virtuosic, at least for the flute part; the piano part is very
much in accompanying mode throughout. The piece is in two connected parts, slow-fast. Here is the
opening of the first section, marked Andante. The TTLS inv-triad is presented as accompanying
harmonies in the piano part, above which the flute explores melodic material derived from TTLS’s
first and second phrases:
48
Figure 39 Concert Piece on 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' bars 1-8
This material is gradually developed, moving from the opening centred on the flute’s lower
range and the middle of the piano’s range to encompass both instruments’ entire range, along with a
much wider dynamic range than is employed at the start of the piece. In the second half of the piece,
marked Allegro scherzando (beginning at bar 72), the TTLS triad and inv-triad again form the basis of
the accompanying piano part, while the wide-ranging flute part freely elaborates on elements from the
theme in a brilliant study. Following are the opening two bars of this section. Here, TTLS triad and
inv-triads combine in the piano part, over which the flute articulates a firstly downwards then
upwards moving melodic line, the perfect fifth of the opening phrase of TTLS transformed into its
inversion, a perfect fourth. Augmented fourths also feature, as do major and minor thirds, inverting
the major sixth encompassing the outer notes of TTLS’s opening phrase:
Figure 40 Concert Piece on 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, bars 72-73
49
Along with Concert Piece and the first eight …infinite songs…, further explorations of TTLS
in the form of eight further …infinite songs… have been added up to November 2016 (up to …infinite
song16…), and my intention is to augment the number further70
, creating an open-ended series of
pieces that can be added to as I see fit, much in the manner of grouped open-ended series of pieces
added to over a number of years, such as Berio’s Sequenzas or Ligeti’s Etudes for piano. The eight
additional pieces, like the initial set, are dedicated to composers and performers of my acquaintance
and employ a range of quoting devices, which, along with the continued use of the TTLS theme in one
guise or another helps create a sense of continuity across the series as a whole.
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At the time of final submission of this exegesis, a total of 25 additional …infinite songs… have been added to
the original eight, forming a complete set of 33 short pieces lasting around an hour in performance. In the
manner of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the first of the set (however in this case slightly varied) is reprised at
the work’s conclusion.
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Chapter 4 Two Symphonic Movements
Standing somewhat apart from the rest of the folio, both in terms of scale and technique, is the
orchestral work Two Symphonic Movements (2013/16). In this work my aim was to explore self-
contained musical ideas on a larger canvas. While the references to musical tradition are less overt
both the first movement, ‘Fanfares’ as well as the second movement, ‘Variations’ employ langue
quotation at times, forming a point of contact with the ideas explored in the other folio works. In
‘Fanfares’ this takes the form of short fanfare-like motives and passages found throughout the
movement, while in ‘Variations’ the langue quotation is in the form of a plainchant-like melody stated
in the last section of the piece. Both movements additionally utilise the Fibonacci series to create
certain melodic and structural parameters.
A. Fibonacci series as the Genesis of the Theme in ‘Variations’
‘Variations’, the second of Two Symphonic Movements consists of a theme and 26 variations,
totalling around thirteen minutes in performance. The theme’s particular qualities, both formally and
pitch-wise, arose largely through a process of applying relationships found in the Fibonacci series to
its melodic and structural parameters. The compositional process will be illustrated through
examining the theme’s evolution through a series of working drafts, including mentioning which
elements from an otherwise discarded first draft were eventually incorporated into the finished theme.
I will also examine how the Fibonacci series is used in several other ways in the movement, primarily
structurally.
I chose to write this movement as theme and variations as I felt it provided a ready framework
upon which contrasting musical material could be presented within a regular, repeating structure. It is
a form I am familiar with and also fond of, largely thanks to early explorations of sets of variations for
piano, mostly from the classical period, culminating in my exploring as a young adult Beethoven’s
Diabelli Variations and Bach’s Goldberg Variations, both superlative examples of how a
straightforward theme, given imaginative treatment, can generate a wealth of contrasting material and
form the basis of large-scale works. As my intention was to write an orchestral movement of at least
ten minutes in duration, my aim was similarly to find a theme which had the potential to be developed
imaginatively over a relatively large scale, both harmonically and melodically.
‘Variations’ was sketched in short score fairly quickly over a period of several weeks at the
end of 2012 and the start of 2013, and orchestrated some time later, partly in 2015 and completed in
2016. The initial sketches consisted of one largely discarded draft followed by a definitive draft. To
start with, I composed a chorale-like theme which I labelled ‘Hymn’, experimenting with additive
phrases of varying lengths, this being one way I thought it possible to avoid a less interesting
foursquare structure. I began with a simple phrase of five bars in length in 3/4 time signature in the
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natural minor mode (minor without a raised seventh), following an ascending and descending pattern
a perfect fourth away from its tonic note, A natural:
Figure 41 ‘Variations’, ‘Hymn’ theme, first phrase
This first phrase was followed by an answering phrase, a varied repetition of six bars
duration:
Figure 42 ‘Variations’, ‘Hymn’ theme, second phrase
The theme was further developed in its third phrase of seven bars in length, which featured in
its opening the rhythmic figure found in bars three and four of the second phrase:
Figure 43 ‘Variations’, ‘Hymn’ theme, third phrase
Just as the second phrase mimicked the first, the fourth phrase was a variation upon the
previous phrase, an eight-bar variant ending on the dominant:
Figure 44 ‘Variations’, ‘Hymn’ theme, fourth phrase
In the second half of my theme (phrases five to eight) these phrase lengths were employed in
reverse order, i.e. 8, 7, 6 and 5 bars in length, creating a kind of arch form to the theme as a whole.
Following this ‘Hymn’ theme I sketched a number of variations, beginning with one in 2/4
time signature. These in the main present the melody (or a variation of the melody), coloured by
varied harmonic progressions. Formally, my focus was still on creating variation in the number and
duration of phrases. I was aware that although my melody consisted of phrases of unequal lengths, I
still was relying on an eight (4+4) phrase structure, which I felt was too regular to sustain interest over
the course of the entire piece. To provide some sort of relief from this eight-bar structure, each
subsequent pair of variations, beginning with the second and third up until the 14th and 15
th, was
52
shorter by a single phrase than the preceding pair. In this scheme, variations two and three each
contained seven phrases (being one less than the eight phrases found in the theme and variation 1),
variations four and five, six phrases each (one less than seven), and so on until variations 14 and 15
contained just one phrase each. I chose which of the original eight phrases to remove sequentially
without relying on any particular method.
As well, to provide metrical contrast, for each paired variation (following on from the
example of the theme and the first variation), one was in the time signature of 3/4 while the other was
in 2/4, each pair being in the proportion of 3:2 or 2:3 (and thus approximating the ‘Golden ratio’,
which the Fibonacci series is a measure of in ever-increasing accuracy). This metrical contrast
between triple and duple time signatures became an important part of the ‘Variations’ movement in its
definitive form. Here is the start of the third variation, in 2/4 with the theme in the bass register, and
answering triadic harmonies in the treble:
Figure 45 ‘Variations’, initial draft, beginning of variation 3
While the first few variations followed a minor mode-based language, very quickly (starting
from the fourth variation) an increasingly chromatic language was employed. To illustrate, here are
the first five bars of variation nine:
53
Figure 46 ‘Variations’, initial draft, beginning of variation 9
The first draft of ‘Variations’ ended with a passage based around the interval of a third
doubled at the octave, in an orchestral tutti of around two minutes in length employing a freer kind of
durational scheme. Similar passages were to feature towards the end of the final version of the
‘Variations’, where they form a counterpart to the ‘plainchant’ theme.
The following table illustrates the formal schema of the first draft of the variations up to and
including variation 15. Whether the variation is in 2/4 or 3/4 time signature, the number and length of
phrases, as well as elapsed duration are mentioned:
Theme/Variation no. Time signature Length of phrases (in bars) Elapsed duration
Theme (Hymn) 3/4 5+6+7+8+8+7+6+5 0’58”
Var. 1 2/4 5+6+7+8+8+7+6+5 1’37”
Var. 2 3/4 5+6+7+8+7+6+5 2’26”
Var. 3 2/4 5+6+7+8+7+6+5 2’59”
Var. 4 3/4 5+6+7+8+7+6 3’43”
Var.5 2/4 5+6+7+8+7+6 4’12”
Var. 6 2/4 5+6+7+7+6 4’35”
Var. 7 3/4 5+6+7+7+6 5’10”
Var. 8 2/4 5+6+7+6 5’28”
Var. 9 3/4 5+6+7+6 5’55”
Var. 10 3/4 5+6+7 6’15”
Var. 11 2/4 5+6+7 6’29”
Var. 12 3/4 5+7 6’43”
Var. 13 2/4 5+7 6’52”
Var. 14 3/4 5 6’58”
Var. 15 2/4 5 7’02”
Figure 47 Theme and variations, initial draft, formal schema to variation 15
In the end I didn’t follow this particular formal construction, though a schema such as this
featuring diminishing phrase lengths I felt to be not without interest – in my initial draft it provides a
means to intensify the musical narrative, with more “information” being conveyed within ever shorter
54
time frames both in terms of the amount (more frequent use of shorter note values) and nature
(increasing chromatic) of the material. I ended up employing a scheme featuring regular repetition of
phrase lengths where each variation follows the exact same phrase structure as found in the theme.
This new theme’s structural basis was, as in the ‘Hymn’ tune, an additive scheme.
Although my ideas had flowed well, upon completing the draft score I felt somewhat
dissatisfied. In particular, I wasn’t particularly happy with the relatively simple modal constructions
and harmonic progressions which seemed too close to a traditionally “western” harmonic language.
Intuitively I felt I wanted to break away to a more linear way of writing, one which could perhaps
reference other traditions, such as the Middle Eastern modes I was working with contemporaneously
in The Siege for viola and piano, a collaborative piece with Australian composer Katia Tiutiunnik
incorporating her work for viola solo Al-Hisar (2001) (the ‘Variations’ movement was drafted during
a break from composing this work). As well, although I had achieved what I considered to be an
interesting kind of formal structure, I was not so satisfied with the regular 4+4 phrase construction of
the theme which formed its basis. This, along with my reliance on a somewhat conservative harmonic
language, meant I needed to reassess my materials and find a pathway towards developing what could
be, for me, a more satisfying kind of musical syntax.
I began by going back to the theme’s construction. Using my draft theme as a basis I
experimented by modifying its melodic contours to include more “black notes”. The use of a vaguely
minor/major tonality (due to the use of both C natural and D flat in the second phrase) along with a
restricted pitch range I thought created the more (superficially as least) “eastern” kind of sound I was
aiming for. Here is the modified theme, presented as four repeated phrases of respectively 5+6+7+8
bars:
Figure 48 'Variations' theme, second draft
I then composed a counter-melody an octave above the main theme utilising the same tones as
found in the theme (A, C, D flat, E flat, G). By emphasising the third crotchet of each bar this counter-
theme creates an “off-beat feel” to the main melody, creating a strongly rhythmic counterpart to it:
55
Figure 49 'Variations' theme, second draft with countersubject
The use of paired variations consisting firstly of a statement of the theme (or a variation upon
the theme) followed by theme and counter-theme ended up being employed extensively in the first
part of the first section (from the statement of the theme up until variation 13) of the completed work.
As my aim for ‘Variations’ was to pair it with an already sketched orchestral piece ‘Fanfares’,
I considered if there were elements from the earlier piece I might be able to draw upon when
composing the new movement. ‘Fanfares’ at certain points employs the Fibonacci Series to create
some of its melodic and structural material. Could perhaps the Fibonacci series be applied in some
way compositionally in this new movement? The 4+4 eight-phrase structure still seemed problematic,
so I first experimented by modifying this to a five-phrase structure (five and eight both being
Fibonacci numbers). I kept the arc of increasing and decreasing number of bars found in the eight-
phrase structure of the original draft, modifying this to an arch-form of 5+6+7+6+5 bars (totalling 29
bars in all), with the third phrase of seven bars acting as the mirror point.
I then looked at the melodic materials I was using. Having intuitively arrived at a process of
beginning the theme with a small number of tones (two) and building up the number in subsequent
phrases, which created a kind of organic growth to the melody, I noticed that phrases one to three
56
followed the Fibonacci series, in terms of the number of tones employed – the first phrase contains
two notes (A natural and C natural), the second three (the first two notes plus G natural), while the
third phrase utilises five notes (adding D flat and E flat). I considered whether the subsequent phrase
or phrases might also reference Fibonacci numbers in the number of tones they employ. If so, the
fourth phrase should use eight different tones in total (adding another three to the five already in use).
Thirteen tones (the next Fibonacci number in the series) wouldn’t be possible for the fifth and final
phrase, as this would be more than the twelve chromatic tones available within an octave, so I figured
upon five notes (already in use) for the final phrase of five bars, creating a kind of “asymmetrical
symmetry” to the melodic structure’s pitch material.
To determine what the remaining three tones should be, I again looked towards the Fibonacci
series. I considered if the series in some way could be applied to the makeup of the essentially self-
made eight-note mode I was in the process of constructing as the basis of my theme. By counting the
number of semitones between each of my melody notes, I thought perhaps it might be possible to
limit myself to intervals that related solely to Fibonacci numbers, making a correspondence between
how many semitones were found within each melodic interval with a Fibonacci number. The initial
interval of a minor third (A to C) in the first phrase is three semitones (a Fibonacci number); the next
interval, from C to D flat is one semitone (1 being the first and second numbers in the Fibonacci
series). Later on, the note successions A to G and D flat to E flat both outline an interval of a major
second (two semitones), while the concluding G to C (an interval of a perfect fourth) is five
semitones, 2 and 5 both being Fibonacci numbers. These intervals I could keep, if I were to allow a
correspondence to numbers found in the Fibonacci series.
However, the other intervals in my theme as it currently stood did not follow this “Fibonacci
rule”, including the two larger intervals found in the third phrase, a major sixth (9 semitones) and
major seventh (11 semitones). I therefore set about to modify this phrase by restricting myself to
smaller intervals of one, two, three or five semitones; in fact, this results in a more pleasing melodic
line. Instead of an E flat in the phrase’s second bar, I employed G natural, thus creating an interval of
a perfect fourth (five semitones) to the following C. Later on I placed a G flat between G natural and
D flat, creating a minor second (one semitone) leading on to a downward moving perfect fourth,
leading again by a leap of a perfect fourth and a chromatic step to G natural. Through this process I
arrived at my modified third phrase:
Figure 50 'Variations' theme, third draft, third phrase
The fourth phrase followed a similar process of filling in the spaces between notes while
checking they met the “Fibonacci rule”. This phrase utilises the additional tones of B flat, F natural
57
and E flat added to the five tones already employed, making eight in total. The phrase ended up being
strongly directional, moving mostly by step from a high D flat to a low A (the theme’s tonal centre)
below middle C, with the upper octave’s C, B flat and A repeated at the lower octave:
Figure 51 'Variations' theme, third draft fourth phrase
With the completion of this phrase I had found, more or less by default, the eight-note scale
upon which the movement is based:
Figure 52 'Variations', eight-note constructed scale
I discovered my constructed scale had a link to the Fibonacci series. By numbering F natural
as ‘one’ and counting the series upwards from this starting point by semitone, so that G flat is ‘two’
and G natural ‘three’ etc., six of the eight tones of the scale, that is, six of its eight notes (with the
exception of B flat and E flat) could be represented by the first seven Fibonacci numbers. In this
numbering the second F natural is discounted, as it repeats at the octave as “13”:
Figure 53 'Variations', constructed scale following Fibonacci numbers
Upon completing the fourth phrase, I added a final five-bar phrase, again following the
dictates of my rule, as well as making sure it utilised five of the tones from my scale, to complete the
5+6+7+6+5 bar construction. To confirm the prevailing tonal centre, as well as for the purposes of
symmetry, I wanted the melody to finish on the original starting note of A 440; this was achieved
through a leap of a minor seventh from middle C to the B flat above, an example where the
“Fibonacci rule” is not followed (when creating rules such as this I allow for the odd exception if it
makes musical “sense”). Although the following note (G flat) is a major third from the preceding B
flat (and thus also note following the rule), the progression to the final A natural creates an augmented
second (three semitones) relationship with the G flat in bars 3 and 4, if the intermediate B flat is
considered as an upper passing tone to the A:
58
Figure 54 'Variations' theme, third draft fifth phrase
At this juncture I looked once again at my melody and considered whether its total number of
bars could also make reference to a Fibonacci number. At present the melody came to a total of 29
bars; the next Fibonacci number above 29 is 34. To arrive at 34 bars I would need to add another five-
bar phrase to my existing five phrases, creating an asymmetric arch structure of 5+6+7+6+5+5 bars.
Here then is the complete and final version of the theme: the additional phrase, a variant of the
original fifth phrase and placed directly before it creating a more “finished” feel to the melody:
Figure 55 'Variations', completed theme
In arriving at my theme I had consistently applied the Fibonacci series to a number of
parameters: to determine which intervals could be employed, how many notes should feature in each
phrase, as well as to the theme’s total number of bars. Compared with my first thematic draft, this
second theme, as well as being more compact than the first (which on reflection seemed overlong), I
felt was of more interest due to its tighter construction and well directed melodic contours. I was
particularly happy with what was I felt a sustained arc of melody over the whole of its six phrases,
moving from its first note to its last in what seemed a natural and logical manner. Unlike the melody
of the first draft the melody has a modal feel yet avoids an obviously major/minor tonality, hinting at
interesting opportunities to develop it further musically. Maintaining a firm tonal centre (A natural)
around which the musical material coalesced gave me a strong unifying factor to work with in
subsequent variations. Most importantly, the modal feel of the theme and its lack of obvious harmonic
59
referents liberated me to think primarily in a linear, melodic way, and to get away from my
predominant mode of thinking in melodies accompanied by triadic harmonies (a result perhaps of my
extensive keyboard training). Focusing on a linear way of writing was also a primary aim in the
composition of The Siege.
My next step compositionally was to revisit my earlier sketch of theme and counter-theme
(reproduced as Figure 9), modifying this to fit the form of my expanded melody. I intentionally
restricted the counter-theme to the eight-note mode, again following the “Fibonacci rule” albeit here
within the smaller range of an octave. An exception to this is the G flat to B flat at the end of the third
phrase (a major third, or four semitones), positioned to allow me to move in two steps from G flat to
the upper D flat. This exposition of theme and counter-theme became variation 1 in the finished work:
60
Figure 56 'Variations', Variation 1 (theme and counter-theme)
The second to the thirteenth variations are presented in the same manner as the theme and
first variation – that is, as a variant of the melody in each even numbered variation and the same
varied melody with a counter-melody in each odd numbered variation. Variations 12 and 13 differ
61
only in that they add to material already introduced in variations 10 and 11, thus creating a four
variation set (or double-pair). While all thirteen variations utilise the eight-note mode derived from
my application of the Fibonacci series, the “Fibonacci rule” of allowing only melodic intervals of 1, 2,
3, 5 or 8 semitones was set aside from the second variation onwards. This relaxing of the rule
permitted me to expand the possible range of intervals employed horizontally, allowing for intervals
such as a major third, diminished fifth and minor and major sevenths, all of which feature, for
instance, in the second variation. By combining a strict adherence to the mode without any
proscriptions on their use meant I engendered a much greater variety of possible thematic material
than might have otherwise been possible.
An example of this is the eighth variation, which along with the ninth is in the form of a
waltz, an older European dance form that seems quite a stylistic leap from the preceding material. It is
a form however which I am obviously attracted to, featuring as it does in works such as …valse
oubliée… and Trois valses romantiques. The measures in the first and second phrases all begin with a
strong downbeat, in the manner of a traditional waltz. Alongside this accompanying figure the melody
(in the treble) features a syncopated rhythmic line with the melody notes falling on every third beat,
masking the downbeat somewhat:
Figure 57 'Variations', variation 8 (beginning)
Although the intervals found in the melodic line in this variation initially conform to my
“Fibonacci rule” soon other intervals outside of the rule, such as the major sixth, perfect octave and
major ninth found at the close of the melody line in example above, feature. The accompaniment from
the start allows for any possible melodic interval within the eight-note mode; in the passage above,
these include intervals of an augmented fourth, major sixth and major and minor sevenths, along with
those intervals already found in the theme.
An example of a variation in the time signature of 2/4 is the tenth variation, which provides
the basis for the following three variations. Although in a different time signature from the theme the
62
melodic contour is largely the same; the compression of the thematic material (into a duple time
signature), along with a slightly faster tempo and the inclusion of smaller note values (quavers) gives
the music a sense of greater momentum, although the original 34 bar structure is maintained. The
addition of the melodic intervals of a major third at the end of the third and fifth phrases and major
sixth at the start of the second phrase provides needed variety to the melodic line:
Figure 58 'Variations', variation 10
The theme and first 13 variations are followed by variation 14, a fanfare for brass, and a
central section of three slower variations (variations 15 to 17) featuring expressive solos for trumpet
(16) and cor anglais (17). A bridging variation (no. 18) for muted brass, low flutes and tubular bells
leads to a further bridging variation (no 19) featuring rocking thirds in the treble over a passage of
mainly ascending thirds in the bass, this time in the natural minor mode (coincidentally the mode of
my initial sketches for the movement). This sets the scene for the introduction of a langue quotation in
the form of a plainchant-like theme (also in the natural minor mode), announced in variation 20.
B. Plainchant as Langue Quotation in ‘Variations’
An example of langue quotation in ‘Variations’, the plainchant-like melody introduced in
variation 20 is in 2/4 time signature, and utilises the identical 34-bar structure (in the division of
5+6+7+6+5+5 bars) as the theme and other variations. As my primary concern was the creation of a
freely flowing melodic line, this structure is utilised in a free manner, with phrases at times bridging a
double bar line, as at bars 18-24. The accompaniment in the bass continues the passage in thirds heard
in the previous variation:
63
Figure 59 'Variations', Var. 20 (Plainchant theme)
These two elements continue in the next variation, Variation 21, along with the addition of a
countermelody presented an octave above the main plainchant melody; later on in Variation 22 a
chiming, bell-like figure is added, with the accompanying passage in thirds doubled at the octave
below, creating a four-part texture with each part presented at different registers, creating a clear
demarcation of musical lines:
64
Figure 60 'Variations', Variation 22, beginning
The plainchant-like melody, as well as the ‘bell-like’ figure reminiscent of the tolling of a
church bell both overtly reference Christianity. Both the chords accompanying the plainchant theme
and the ‘bell’ motif feature the interval of a third. Along with making reference to the threefold
division of the movement, the number 3 also has a symbolic dimension – in symbolising the Christian
doctrine of the Holy Trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, thus dovetailing with the overtly
Christian symbolism of the plainchant theme.
While these Christian elements were not part of the piece in its planning stages, nor was the
work envisaged as being overtly “religious”, at least at the outset, I found that in the process of
writing the plainchant-like melody seemed to flow quite naturally out of the materials I found myself
working with (specifically the change to the A natural minor mode and the passage in thirds at
Variation 19, both also unplanned at the outset). By quoting a plainchant-like melody I was of course
aware that such a melody would carry various religious or spiritual significations. Musically speaking,
both the modulation to the natural minor mode and the introduction of the plainchant theme create a
needed sense of relief from the restrictions of the much more chromatic (and angular) preceding
material. They together offered a renewal of my materials and a firm basis for the ensuing variations.
65
What, however, are the extra-musical effects of the inclusion of a plainchant, specifically its
allusion to Christianity?
A characteristic of plainchant according to Alistair Hardie is that ‘its modality and non-
metrical rhythms contrast with subsequent music, which is mostly articulated by a defined key and
metre, because chant predates these dimensions’.71
Hardie goes on to make the link between chant’s
predating these dynamic fields with God who ‘precedes and is distinct from time’72
. He further states
that contemporary American composer John Adam’s use of Hildegard’s O quam preciosa in his
‘Nativity-oratorio’ El Niño might therefore parallel God transcending time, in the way that ‘the chant
[is not only] distinct from most of the remaining material’s metre and pitch-centre, as God is distinct
from the temporality of creation, but both chant and God also predate the dimensions by which their
respective temporalities might be defined.’73
The appearance of plainchant (or more correctly, my plainchant-like theme) towards the end
of the ‘Variations’ movement then can be seen as transcending the material that precedes it, as that
material is overtaken and transformed by something which is distinct from it as well as in some sense
predates it. Although not expressed overtly in the work title (unlike Adam’s El Niño or ‘The Child’,
obviously referring to the Christ child), this statement of plainchant in the Variations movement can
nevertheless be seen as partaking in some sense of a broadly religious (and transformative) sentiment.
A Christian, theological reading of the work might be that the transformation from the earlier material
employing a constructed (“restricted”) mode to the “natural” minor parallels draws a parallel with our
finite lives and the all-encompassing, infinite (in terms of time and space) “naturalness” of God’s
expression.
This use of the minor mode as well as the simple nature of the melody, is somewhat
reminiscent of the original sketch for the movement (‘Hymn’), as is the use in the bass register of
triads without fifths, first encountered in variation 9 of the initial draft (employing chords without
fifths at this point also meant being able to avoid unwanted parallel fifths due to the frequent step-
wise progression of the bass line). Both furnish examples of how earlier sketches can be re-imagined,
allowing for the creative re-use of otherwise to be discarded material. The melody with its
accompanying chords in thirds, following on the earlier format of melody and countermelody, is
presented with a counter-melody in variation 21; while the Christian or religious aspect is further
highlighted in the following variation, variation 22, where the alternating figure from A natural to C
71
Hardie, Alistair (2010) Musical Borrowing as Incarnation: A Theological Reading of Hildegard’s O quam
preciosa in John Adam’s El Niño, Contemporary Music Review, 29:3, 294 DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2010.535363
[Accessed 22 December 2013]
72 Ibid, 294
73 Ibid, 302
66
natural played on the tubular bells are reminiscent of the sound of church bells calling a congregation
to prayer.
C. Further Uses of the Fibonacci Series in ‘Variations’
The Fibonacci series is referenced in a number of other ways in ‘Variations’. Although their
use is undoubtedly commonplace, while employing only duple and triple time signatures (2/4 and 3/4)
throughout the movement, in so doing I was conscious of the fact that 2 and 3 both are numbers found
in the Fibonacci Series. As already mentioned, the theme and first variation, along with the other
variations in the first section up until variation 13 are presented in pairs; each pair consists of one
variation in duple and the other in triple time (or vice versa) expressed as a 2:3 or 3:2 ratio, this being
the roughest approximation of the Golden section.
Form-wise, the movement is divided into three main sections – the first section consisting of
the theme and first 13 variations; the second section the middle five variations – the brass fanfare
(14), three central slow variations (15-17) and the first bridging variation (18); while the third and
final part is from the introduction of the natural minor mode at variation 19 (the second bridging
variation) until the end (variation 26), eight variations in total. This threefold division makes reference
to the Fibonacci series in a number of ways. Firstly, 3 is a Fibonacci number, while the total number
of variations, 26, (2x13) also references the series (2 and 13 likewise being Fibonacci numbers). The
division of the work (separating the theme from the threefold division of the variations) is in the ratio
of 1:13:5:8, with a further division (1+3+1) of the central section of five variations – all Fibonacci
numbers.
A further structural division making reference to the series is in variation 14, a fugal fanfare
for brass. The various entries of the instruments are spaced according to numbers of the series – the
first and third trumpets enter at intervals of one and three bars respectively after the second trumpet; a
longer spacing of 16 bars (2x8) occurs before the entry of the first trombone, followed by the second
trombone three bars after this and the bass trombone two bars after the second trombone (and five
after the first), with the tuba the last to enter in the following bar. Following the Fibonacci series to
determine entry points in this way created a pleasingly irregular method of layering the various
melodic lines; the addition of the lower instruments towards the variation’s end permits an
intensification of the material, out of which the first of the slow variations (variation 15) emerges.
The use of the Fibonacci series thus plays an important part in the ‘Variation’ movement of
Two Symphonic Movements, where it forms a useful tool in helping determine a number of the
melodic and structural aspects of the work.
67
Chapter 5 Conclusion
My compositional practice reflects an eclectic approach towards the wide range of borrowed
materials I feel free to utilise within it. This eclecticism extends to the variety of performers I elect to
write for, from students to community groups to semi-professional and professional performers, as
well as in the range of music I choose to play as a performer. Each of these in turn has had an
influence upon my compositional style, forming different strands of experience I am able to draw
upon when creating new works.
Having particularly concentrated on short form pieces during the course of the PhD, I expect
to continue to write such pieces into the future. This ongoing exploration of short form works has
begun with the completion of the …infinite songs… series74
, several short pieces for oboe and piano75
,
a Little Suite (2016-17) for solo guitar76
and a set of variations for piano four hands77
. Other interests
are in composing further for voice, and the possibility of composing an oratorio, a form with which I
have hitherto left unexplored. This particular interest has been sparked by performing and singing
recently in Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah as well as contemporary American composer,
Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna. I imagine approaching this in a contemporary way that can allow
the exploration of diverse spiritual traditions, possibly combining sourced and my own original texts.
A work for violin and small ensemble is envisaged, taking the form of linked episodes exploring the
ideas around infinity (already touched upon in the …infinite song… series), the cosmos and a
particular interest of mine, Vedic astrology.
From the beginning of my compositional career while studying at Victoria University of
Wellington, an emphasis was placed on inculcating the awareness and appreciation of a variety of
compositional approaches found within diverse traditions, while equipping one with the technical and
expressive means to help realise one’s compositional vision. These qualities have stayed with me
throughout my career and have informed my work, including those pieces written while studying for a
PhD. Exploring a number of quoting strategies along with paying homage to other composers and
traditions are but some of the many ways I am able to acknowledge the creative connections to others
across a range of geographical and historical boundaries, lasting forms of acknowledgement that can
bear fruit into my future creative pursuits.
74
…infinite songs… (2014-17) for piano solo
75 Reverie (2016) and Burlesque (2016) for oboe and piano, both dedicated to Thomas Hutchinson
76 Composed at the request of Dr. Nathan Fischer for inclusion of an anthology of contemporary guitar pieces
to be published by UiTM Press, Shah Alam
77 Nine Variations on a Balletti by Giovani Giacomo Gastoldi (2017) for piano four hands
68
References
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https://pages.stolaf.edu/music242-spring2014/portfolio/musical-dichotomies-in-griegs-string-quartet-
in-g-minor-op-27-i/
Botstein, Leo. “History, Rhetoric, and the Self: Robert Schumann and Music Making in German-
Speaking Europe, 1800-1860” in Schumann and His World, ed. R. Larry Todd (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1994), 3-46
Burkholder, J. Peter. All Made of Tunes: Charles Ives and the Uses of Musical Borrowing (New
Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1995)
Burkholder, J. Peter. ‘Borrowing’ in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley
Sadie and John Tyrell, 2nd
ed. (London: Macmillan, 2001) vol. 4
Debussy, Claude. Children’s Corner (Paris: Durand & Fils, 1908)
Debussy, Claude. Hommage à Haydn (Paris: Durand & Fils, 1910)
de Saussure, Ferdinand. Cours de linguistique générale ed. C. Bally and A. Sechehaye, with the
collaboration of A. Riedlinger (Lausanne and Paris: Payot, 1916); trans. W. Baskin, Course in
General Linguistics (New York: Philosophical Library, 1959; New York: McGraw-Hill Book
Company, 1966) faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/DeSaussure-Course-excerpts.pdf
Dunsby, Jonathan and Goldman, Jonathan eds. The Dawn of Music Semiology: Essays in Honor of
Jean-Jacques Nattiez (Rochester: University of Rochester Press (Eastman Studies in Music), 2017)
Eichler, Jeremy. ‘Forces of history have helped shape György Kurtàg’s uncompromising music’
(interview with the composer). http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2007/11/11/forces-history-
have-helped-shape-gyorgy-kurtag-uncompromising-
music/80XFWB5ft43hVSovXjEJjO/story.html?event=event25
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winter 2009 [http://www.musicandmeaning.net/issues/showArticle.php?artID=8.6], sec.6.1.
Hardie, Alistair. (2010). Musical Borrowing as Incarnation: A Theological Reading of Hildegard’s O
quam preciosa in John Adam’s El Niño, Contemporary Music Review, 29:3
Hiroshima, G. Diabelli Variations, LA Philharmonic program notes,
http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/diabelli-variations-ludwig-van-beethoven
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(New York and London: Routledge, 2006)
‘Homage to Haydn’, musolife.com online magazine, (2009), 31
Kats-Chernin, Elena. Half Moon Prelude (Sydney: Australian Music Centre, 2004)
Kats-Chernin, Elena. Re-inventions: based on Two-part inventions of J.S.Bach (Sydney: Australian
Music Centre, 2009)
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kurtag
Setiawan, Krisna. VeYeBe… Where the Stars Twinkle. In Julian Yu (compiler), More Variations on
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Shanghai Conservatory of Music Press, 2016), 48
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70
Appendix
Published scores and recordings of folio works
Baltic Song (2005/09/15) Tacoma, WA: ALEA 1127a, 1127b, 2015
Hommage à Haydn (2009) Den Haag: Donemus 15192, 2016
…infinite song… (2014). In Julian Yu (compiler) More Variations on the Theme of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star’ for Piano from Composers around the World (Shanghai: Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Press, 2016), 94-95
Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09) Den Haag: Donemus 14941, 2016
Reverie (2009) Den Haag: Donemus 14942, 2016
September Song (2000/15) Tacoma, WA: Alea Publishers ALEA 1132, 2015
Two Rhythmic Duos (2009/16) Tacoma, WA: Alea Publishers ALEA 1151, 2016
…valse oubliée… (2011) Den Haag: Donemus 15196, 2016 Recorded on Helen Webby ‘Pluck’.
Auckland: Ode Records, CD MANU 5144, 2012
Ross James Carey
The Use of Quoting Strategies in my Recent
Compositions
Volume 2
Folio of Compositions I
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy
Produced on acid-free paper
Faculty of Music, the University of Melbourne January, 2017
ORCID I.D. 0000-0002-9277-9829
III
Contents
...infinite songs (1-8)… (2014-15) for pianoforte solo 1
Hommage a Haydn (2009) for pianoforte solo 23
Trois valses romantiques (2014) for pianoforte solo 35
Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09) 61
Reverie (2009) for guitar solo 73
…valse oublie e... (2011) for three-octave wire-strung harp or harp solo 81
Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ (2015)
for flute and pianoforte 93
Supplication (2016) for oboe and pianoforte 109
Baltic Song (2005/2009) for clarinet in B flat and pianoforte 119
Baltic Song (2015) for bass clarinet in B flat and pianoforte 129
September Song (2015) for bass clarinet in B flat and pianoforte 139
Meditasi (2016)
for trumpet in B flat or cornet in B flat and pianoforte 147
Two Rhythmic Duos (2009/16) for two bass clarinets in B flat 155
Trio élégiaque (2016) for flute, oboe and bassoon 163
Toccatina (Elegy) (2010) for 2 violins, viola and violoncello 185
Tuk Tak Dung (2011) for S.A.B. chorus 209
IV
List of Recordings of Folio Works
1. …infinite songs (1-8)… (2014-15) for piano solo. Ross James Carey, piano. (10’34”)
2. ‘…valse vermillon…’ from Trois valses romantiques (2014) for piano solo. Ross James
Carey, piano. (2’43”)
3. Reverie (2009) for guitar solo. Nathan Fischer, guitar. (3’11”)
4. …valse oubliee… (2011) for three-octave wire-strung harp solo. Helen Webby, three-
octave wire-strung harp. (7’06”)
5. Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ (2015) for flute and piano. Laila Engle, flute;
Ross James Carey, piano. (4’41”)
6. Supplication (2016) for oboe and piano. Thomas Hutchinson, oboe; Jeanell Carrigan,
piano. (5’11”)
7. Baltic Song (2015) for bass clarinet and piano. Kenny Keppel, bass clarinet; Ross James
Carey, piano. (3’22”)
8. September Song (2015) for bass clarinet and piano. Kenny Keppel, bass clarinet; Ross
James Carey, piano. (3’45”)
9. Toccatina (Elegy) (2010) for 2 violins, viola and cello. The Aroha String Quartet. (6’16”)
Recording locations and dates:
Composition Seminar, Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne 21 April 2016 (1, 5)
Melba Hall, Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne, 22 April 2016 (2, 7, 8)
Galeri Tuanku Nur Zahariah, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 16 March 2013 (3)
Albany St. Studio, Dunedin, 2012 (from the commercial release Helen Webby: ‘Pluck’, CD Manu
5144, Ode Records, Auckland) (4)
Australasian Double Reed Society (ADRS) NSW Composition Competition Final and
Concert, ADRS Conference, Sydney Grammar School, Darlinghurst, 1 October 2016 (6)
Aroha String Quartet in association with the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ) and
Concert FM, St. Andrews on the Terrace, Wellington, 15 October 2015 (9)
Ross James Carey
…infinite songs (1-8)… for Pianoforte
Composed between February 2014 and May 2015
Premiere (nos. 1 & 2): 2 November 2014 (Universiti Teknologi MARA Composers’ Series, Kuala
Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Premiere (nos. 1-8): 2 July 2015 (Somervale Retirement Facility, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga,
New Zealand)
Australian premiere: 21 April 2016 (School of Music, University of Melbourne, Australia)
SE Asian premiere (nos. 1-8): 22 August 2016 (La Salle College of the Arts, Singapore)
All performances – Ross James Carey
Duration: c. 10’00”
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
1. to Julian Yu
2. to Krisna Setiawan
3. to John Sharpley
4. to Gareth Farr
5. to Keiko Fujiie
6. to John Elmsly
7. to Elena Kats-Chernin
8. to Juliet Palmer and James Rolfe
...infinite songs (1-8)... (2014/15) are eight short variations for piano solo on the theme of Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star. The first of the set ...infinite song... was composed in February 2014 at the invitation of Julian
Yu for inclusion in an album of especially composed pieces by 69 composers from around the world
which all in some way feature the well-known theme. The album was published by the Shanghai
Conservatory of Music Press in 2016. A CD recording by Australian pianist Michael Kieran Harvey of
all 69 works accompanies this album, as well as having being released in its own right on
Melbourne’s Move label in 2015.
Each of the infinite songs is dedicated to a composer (or composers, in the case of the eighth piece of the
set) of my acquaintance. Each of the dedicatee(s) is referenced through various quoting strategies –
parole and langue quotation, and quotation-signatures (transliteration of names into musical tones).
Additionally, the first piece of the set utilises a slowly ascending line of triads in the bass, forming a
quotation-symbol representing infinity.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star expresses an underlying sense of wonder at the vast universe of which we
are a part, which is why I gave my pieces the title …infinite songs...
...infinite songs 1 and 2...received their first performance by the composer as part of the ‘Piano Stars’
concert at the Universiti Teknologi MARA Composers’ Series held at the Kuala Lumpur Performing
Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2014. The first performance of ...infinite songs (1 -8)…
was given by the composer at the Somervale Retirement Village, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, New
Zealand on 2 July 2015, with further performances by him at the University of Melbourne in April
2016 and the La Salle College of the Arts, Singapore, in September of the same year.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
John Elmsly is a composer resident in Auckland
Gareth Farr is a composer, percussionist and Balinese gamelan performer resident in Wellington
Keiko Fujiie is a composer resident in Nagasaki
Elena Kats-Chernin is a composer and pianist resident in Sydney
Juliet Palmer and James Rolfe are composers resident in Toronto
Krisna Setiawan is a composer and pianist resident in Surabaya
John Sharpley is a composer and pianist resident in Singapore
Julian Yu is a composer resident in Melbourne
INSTRUMENTATION
Pianoforte solo
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
p
bring out melody; as though improvised
mp p
Very free and gentle
e = c.84
pedal free
mp mflightly
Più mosso e = c.92
5
p mp
lungaRall. A tempo
7
3
To Julian Yu
Ross James Carey(2014/15)
...infinite songs (1-8)...Variations on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' for Pianoforte
...infinite song...Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
33
6
p
mp
p
9
mfmp
mp f piùp p mp
Tempo primo12
molto tenuto
pp
clearly
mp 15
p
5
3
3
5
l.v.
Shah Alam,4 Febr 2014
3
7
ppmp p piùp
Very free and gentle e=76
p
mp p piùp mf
5
p f p espress. mf pp
8
ppp mp decresc.
14
1/2
5
To Krisna Setiawan
Another variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
...infinite song2...
Motif derived from 'VeYeBe' (2014)by Krisna Setiawan
l.v. 5
53
5 3
8
mf mp lyrical
Gentle swing q = 84
con pedale
5
cresc. mf p cresc. f
rall.9
(until end) the tenuto melody notes are heard above the accompanying texture
mp p
Più mosso q = 100
13
(e)S
pp legato
H A R(e)(PL) E(Y)
To John Sharpley
...infinite song3...A further variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
3
2
14
24
5
10
melodia poco marcato
mp
q = 60
Gp
A R(e) E (u)T H F A R(e) R(e)
mf p
5
mf p cresc.
8
mf mp cresc.
10
to Gareth Farr
...infinite song4...Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3
33 3
3
12
f
12
mf p mp p
14
mp piùp sotto voce pp
17
ppp molto ten.
21
3
3
3 3
3 3
3
3 3
3
Kuala Lumpur7 Febr 2015
13
p mp p
Andante q = 76 rit. A tempo
mp p mp p cresc.
4
mf p mp
F
mf
U(t) j(m)I
f
(m)I E(s)
7
3rd
mf p
11
To Keiko Fujiie
...infinite song5...Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
14
p
Con moto q = 84 rit. q = e
mp mel. poco marcato mf
Maestoso q = 425
e sim.
mp p mp
e = q 10
p cresc.
Tempo primo15
To John Elmsly
...infinite song6...Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
3
grad raise ped.
16
f p melodia poco marcato
Allegro q = 160 molto rit. A tempo
con pedale
f p
molto rit. A tempo4
mf piùp sub ff sub p mf
7
fff f marc. mf f
Meno mosso q = 13211
Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
to Elena Kats-Chernin
...infinite song7...
1
53 1
5
2
35
24
35
24
235
245
2
4
1 5
4
5
18
ff f mp espress. p
molto rit. e = q Andante q = 8414
piùp ppp
Tempo primo q = 16017
mp p
q = 40
20
una corda
Repeat ad lib.Poco a pocodeaccel. e dim. tre corde
Mt. Maunganui14 May 2015
19
p sempre poco tenuto
Moderate swing
(J)A M(i) E eS R(e) (d)O L(a)FE(s)
(J)U(t) L(a)(m)I E(s)(u)T (P)A L(a) M(i) E(s) R(e)3
f p mp p
5
f p mp
8
f p mf mp
11
...infinite song8...Variation on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
to Juliet Palmer and James Rolfe
20
f p f p
14
mf decresc. p
17
p
mff p f
20
decresc. mp
23
p pp
26
decresc.
D.S. al segno
Mt. Maunganui15 May 2015
21
Ross James Carey
Hommage a Haydn for Pianoforte
Composed in February 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn
Premiere: 7 March 2009 (Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia) – Ross James Carey
Duration: 2’50”
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Hommage a Haydn (2009) was composed in February 2009 as a commemorative piece to mark the
200th anniversary of Haydn’s death. The title quotes Debussy’s solo piano piece Hommage a Haydn
composed in 1909, itself a commissioned work written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
composer’s death one hundred years previously. Debussy’s short homage was the initial inspiration
for me to compose my own homage to the classical master.
Like the Debussy, my piece utilises the HAYDN quotation-signature (in musical tones B-A-D-D-G) as
the basis for its musical material. A modified form of this motif (HADNHAYDN) forms the ostinato
heard as a moto perpetuo in the treble throughout most of the piece. The left hand elaborates various
melodic lines presented above several step-wise pedal points. Formally, the piece follows a cyclic
form. The HADNHAYDN motif eventually modulates to a whole-tone variant followed by a series of
sustained chords which, as in Debussy’s homage, signal the work’s close.
The first performance was given by the composer at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang on 7 March
2009. Hommage a Haydn is published by Donemus Publishers, Den Haag, the Netherlands.
INSTRUMENTATION
Pianoforte solo
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
p
h_q._q = 38
e sim.
4
mf
7
mp
10
13
2 1 3 5 3 1 5
for PianoforteRoss James Carey
(2009)
Hommage à Haydn
31 34 1
2 1
3
2 1 2
4
5
21
25 31
2 315
27
più p
85
p
Poco meno mosso87
89
pp
A tempo (tempo primo)92
mf p mf p mf p
94
Gradually raise the pedal
Half Ped.
33
Ross James Carey
Trois valses
romantiques for Pianoforte
Composed in 1989 (no. 1), 2008 (no. 2) and 2011 (no. 3). Numbers 1 &3 arranged for pianoforte
in February 2014. Number 2 revised in February 2014.
Duration: 10’00”
Copyright © 2014 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
I. ...valse sentimentale...
II. ...valse vermillon...
III. ...valse oubliee...
Trois valses romantiques (2014) look towards nineteenth century “romantic” style for their inspiration.
The first and third in their own ways explore the romantic ideal of the nineteenth century European
waltz, while the second is gently ironic in tone.
...valse sentimentale...’s sweeping melodic lines combine with an expansive accompaniment to evoke a
bygone era. In blending a “sentimental” melody with jazz harmonies however the piece also creates
other musical associations. ...valse vermillon... features an off-beat ostinato accompaniment in the bass
and triadic and seventh-chord harmonies in the treble that never quite seem to settle. In ...valse
oubliee..., titled after Liszt’s set of four piano pieces Valses oubliees (1881-84), fragments of dance-like
melodies centred round various tonal centres move freely within various typically Romantic period
pianistic textures. These half-suggested melodic lines relate to both memory and forgetting, hence
the title ...valse oubliee... (...forgotten waltz...).
...valse sentimentale... is a version for piano solo of Sentimental Waltz (1989) for clarinet in B flat and piano.
The piece also exists in versions for cello and piano (2012) and bass clarinet and piano (2015). The
versions for clarinet and bass clarinet are published by Alea Publishing, Tacoma, WA, USA. ...valse
vermillon... (2008, revised 2014) was originally conceived as part of an album for learner pianists, Piano
Parade. ...valse oubliee... (2011) for three-octave wire-strung harp was a commission from New Zealand
harpist Helen Webby, and is included on her 2012 CD release ‘Pluck’. It was arranged for piano solo in
2014 and also exists in a version for three-octave toy piano.
INSTRUMENTATION
Pianoforte solo
PERFORMANCE NOTES
In ...valse sentimentale... all grace notes preceding a downbeat should be played at a leisurely speed, i.e.
they must certainly not be rushed. In ...valse oubliee... the given metronome marks should be followed as
far as possible, but considerable freedom can be allowed in the rubato passages as marked (pressing on,
holding back, a tempo).
Where particular sustaining pedal marks are given these should be followed. In ...valse sentimentale...
and ...valse vermillon... the use of the performance directions con pedale and sempre con pedale generally
means one pedal to each whole bar. At times, a lighter or half-pedal may be deemed to be more
appropriate according to the performer’s discretion.
Although grouped as a set of three, the pieces are also able to be performed individually, in which
case they should be known under their respective titles.
Copyright © 2014 Ross James Carey
p
Slow waltz tempo q = 56
p
Sempre con pedale
4
mp
Trois valses romantiques
I. ...valse sentimentale...Ross James Carey
(2014)
for Pianoforte
3 3 3
3
3
33
41
pmp
Ironic h. = 44
con pedale
mf
7
12
p
18
II. ...valse vermillon...
The third crotchet beat in the LH accompanyingpattern should be played slightly after the beatcreating a 'lop-sided' feel to the waltz rhythm.
48
mp
86
mf p
92
mp p piùp
98
pp
Meno mosso h. = 35104
molto ten.
con ped.
mp p
Lent q = 66108
senza ped.
una corda
51
p dolce
Andante q = 72
mp
7
mf
12
p pp
16
tre corde
(holding back)
(a tempo)
III. ...valse oubliée...
(holding back) (a tempo)
(pressing on) (a tempo)
(pressing on) (a tempo)
(holding back)
grad. raise ped.
52
p
Più Andante q = 6320
mp
25
mf f p
30
pp
Poco Più mosso q = 84
35
(pressing on) (holding back)
(a tempo) (pressing on)
(holding back)
(a tempo) (holding back)
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
1/2
una corda
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
53
37
piùpp
39
mp mf
Tempo primo q = 72
42
mp p dolce
Rall.46
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 33
3 3 3 3
3
tre corde (holding back) (pressing on)
54
più p
Allegretto q = 100
51
cresc.
Poco a poco accel.
55
sub p mp
Rit.59
mp
p sfz p cresc.
Più mosso q = 120 Accel.63
55
f mp p
Meno mosso q = 78 Rit.
79
pp
q = 8483
86
88
5
una corda
3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3
1/2
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
33
3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
57
più pp sfz mf
Allegretto q = 116
90
mp mf
93
rfz
97
mp
Poco Meno mosso q = 100
100
tre corde
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
58
ppiù p
106
mp p
Meno mosso q = 80110
piùp
Rall.
116
q = 69
120
pp
(holding back)
(a tempo) (holding back)
3
3
3
3 3
59
Più mosso q = 210123
mf mp
Con moto q = 156 q = 142
130
p più p
q = 120 q = 100
135
Andante q = 69141
mp
senza pedale
una corda
1/2
tre corde
60
Ross James Carey
Lachlan Moods Three Pieces for Guitar
Composed in February 2007 and October 2009
Premiere: 4 September 2011 (The first Kalari-Lachlan River Arts Festival, Forbes, New South
Wales, Australia) – Grant Sambells, guitar
Duration: c. 6’00”
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09) is a set of three contrasting vignettes for solo guitar.
The first of the set, with the indication ‘Gently rocking’ features a cyclically repeated melody
coloured by major and minor triads. The second piece, marked ‘Contemplative’ is somewhat darker in
tone, while the virtuosic finale, marked ‘Vivo’ features a running theme built around the intervals of
parallel melodic major seconds. Towards the end of this last piece, a brief quotation from Debussy’s
piano piece ‘Jimbo’s Lullaby’ from the set Children’s Corner (1906-08) is heard.
The first version of Lachlan Moods was composed as a set of four pieces in the town of Forbes in
Central New South Wales in early 2007. In a subsequent revision in Melbourne in 2009, I retained
only the first of these four pieces, while adding two newly composed ones, creating a set of three
pieces. Lachlan Moods takes its name from the Lachlan River, which flows through the town of Forbes
and gives its name to the surrounding district.
Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar is dedicated, in friendship, to guitarist Kazuhito Yamashita.
Lachlan Moods received its first performance by Australian guitarist Grant Sambells at the first Kilari-
Lachlan River Arts Festival in Forbes, New South Wales on 4 September 2011.
Lachlan Moods is published by Donemus Publishers, Den Haag, the Netherlands.
INSTRUMENTATION
Guitar solo
Copyright © 2011 Ross James Carey
mp cantabile p
Gently rocking q. = 68
I.
mp piùp mp
5
mf p
9
mp p f
13
p mp piùp p
rit. A tempo17
Lachlan Moods Three Pieces for Guitar
Ross James Carey (2007/09)
To Kazuhito Yamashita
65
mp p mp p
21
piùp mf f
25
mp p
29
mf piùp
rit.
33
p pp
Poco meno mosso rit.
37
tasto
ord.
pont.
> >
>
tasto
ord.
tasto
66
p espress.
Contemplative q. = 60
II.
cresc. mp p
5
mp mf p
10
cresc. f dim.
rall.14
p mp
Poco più mosso q. = 6917
mf p sotto voce mp
rall.21
f mp p
Tempo 1 q. = 6024
67
cresc.
28
mfp
33
mp p
rit. A tempo
36
cresc. mp p piùp
40
mf mp f
44
p mf mp
49
cresc.f
accel. rit.53
tasto
> > pont.4
4 4 4 4 4
tasto ord.
4 4
tasto
ord.
4
4 4
4
68
p
Vivo q = 104
III.
cresc.
4
mp p
8
cresc. mp p
11
cresc. mf p
15
cresc.
18
f p
rit.21
mp
Meno mosso q. = 6025
mf p
30
pont.
ord.
pont.
ord.
69
cresc. f
36
mp p
41
mf p
rit. Tempo I q = 10447
51
mp p cresc.
54
mf p
58
cresc. mp p
61
cresc. f
65
pont.
ord.
pont.
ord.
pont.
ord.
70
dim. p cresc.
68
f dim.
72
p mp piùp
Poco meno mosso76
p mp
Tempo I q = 10480
mf mp
83
p cresc.
86
mf
89
dim.
p
92
>
>
tasto
71
mp
mf
f
Andante q = 7695
p mp p
rit.100
p f
Tempo I q = 104 Poco più mosso q = 116
104
107
p mf
110
f
Più mosso q = 132112
p
115
cresc.
118
f ff
121
Debussy: 'Jimbo's Lullaby' from Childrens' Corner
ord.
pont.
ord.
72
Ross James Carey
Reverie for Guitar
Composed in November 2009
Premiere: 30 November 2012 (Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysian Composers’ Series, Kuala
Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) – Nathan Fischer, guitar
Second performance: 28 March 2013 (Galeri Tuanku Nur Zahirah,Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Shah Alam, Malaysia) – Nathan Fischer, guitar
Duration: 3’00”
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Reverie (2009) for guitar solo was composed in Melbourne towards the end of 2009, around the same
time as the second and third of Lachlan Moods – Three Pieces for Guitar (2007/09). The work’s melodic
movement through various tonal centres parallels the freely flowing thoughts experienced during the
wonderfully idle state of an afternoon reverie.
Reverie is dedicated, in friendship to Kazuhito Yamashita. The first performance was given by
American guitarist Nathan Fischer on 30 November 2012 at Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Malaysian
Composers’ Series, held at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre. The same performer gave a
subsequent performance of the piece at Galeri Tuanku Nur Zahirah, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah
Alam on 28 March 2013.
Reverie is published by Donemus Publishers, Den Haag, the Netherlands.
INSTRUMENTATION
Guitar solo
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
p mp p mp mf
Andante q = 74
p mp p mf
5
pmf
9
mp p mp p
14
mp p mp mf
18
dim. p
Meno mosso A tempo22
Ross James Carey(2009)
ReverieTo Kazuhito Yamashita
for Guitar
3 3
pont.
> > >
tasto ord.
77
mp p mp
26
p mf
accel. Più mosso30
p
Tempo primo rit.
35
piùp cresc. f
Meno mosso Accel. Più mosso39
mp p mf
Tempo primo43
f p mp
47
p mp p
accel.51
pont.
tasto
ord.
78
mf p f mf
rit. Meno mosso
56
mp cresc.
Tempo primo60
mf p mp
rit. A tempo65
mf p mp p
rit.69
piùppiùp
p
A tempo74
p pp
Meno mosso78
pont.
tasto
ord.
pont.
ord.
3
3
pont.
ord.
pont.
ord.
tasto
ord.
79
Ross James Carey
…valse oublie e… for Three-octave Wire-strung Harp or Harp
Composed in November and December 2011
Premiere: 9 October 2012 (Otago Festival of the Arts, Cathedral of St. Paul, Dunedin) – Helen
Webby
Further performances: 11 September 2013 (Dr. John Gallagher Concert Chamber, University of
Waikato, Hamilton); 13 September 2013 (Adam Concert Room, Te Koki New Zealand School of
Music, Wellington); 14 September 2013 (Te Manawa Gallery, Plamerston North); 4 October
2013 (Music Theatre, School of Music, University of Auckland) – Helen Webby
Duration: 5’30”
Copyright © 2011 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
...valse oubliee... takes its title from Liszt’s series of four piano pieces of the same name (Valses oubliees 1-4
S.215) composed between 1881 and 1884. Meaning “forgotten waltz” ...valse oubliee… features fragments
of waltz-like material presented in the form of a mosaic of inter-linked passages employing various
textures, melodic motives and harmonies that are typical of romantic style.
Given that the wire-strung harp is unable to be re-tuned during performance, the piece is written
employing an unequally spaced scale (G-Ab-B-C#-D-Eb-F) that in its construction enables various
tonal centres to be explored in the course of the work.
...valse oubliee... was commissioned by New Zealand harpist Helen Webby, for inclusion on her CD
release Pluck featuring newly commissioned pieces for harp and harp and voice by ten New Zealand
composers, released in 2012 on the Ode label. ...valse oubliee... was composed with the support of
Creative New Zealand/Toi Aotearoa in Shah Alam, Malaysia in November and December 2011.
...valse oubliee... received its first performance on 9 October 2012 by Helen Webby at St. Paul’s
Cathedral, Dunedin, New Zealand as part of the 2012 Otago Festival of the Arts.
...valse oubliee...is published by Donemus Publishers, Den Haag, the Netherlands.
INSTRUMENTATION
Three-octave wire-strung harp or harp solo
Copyright © 2011 Ross James Carey
p
Andante q = 72
7
mp
12
p
16
mp
Più Andante q = 6320
holding back - -
a tempo
Composed for Helen Webby for inclusion on her CD 'Pluck' with support from Creative New Zealand/Toi Aotearoa
...valse oubliée...for Three-octave Wire-strung Harp or Harp
Ross James Carey(2011)
holding back - - - a tempo pressing on - - - - - a tempo
pressing on - - - - - - - - - - a tempo
holding back - - - - - - - -
pressing on - - - holding back - - -
85
25
mf p
30
pp
Poco Più mosso q = 8435
37
39
a tempo pressing on - - - - - -
holding back -
a tempo holding back - - - 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3
86
mf mp
Tempo primo q = 7242
p più p
Rall. Allegretto q = 10047
cresc.
Poco a poco accel.52
sub p
57
mp
mp
Più mosso q = 12061
holding back - - pressing on -
87
cresc.
Accel.65
mf
Vivo q = 14269
f mp p
Più vivo q = 15672
piùp mf
Rit. q = e Meno mosso q = 78
76
mp
Rit. 80
5
88
pp
q = 8483
86
88
piùpp
90
sfz mf mp
Allegretto q = 11692
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
33
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
33 3
33 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3
3
89
mf
95
mp
Poco Meno mosso q = 100100
p più p
106
mp
Meno mosso q = 80110
113
p
holding back - a tempo
holding back - - a tempo holding back - - - -
3
3
3
3 3
harmonics (sounding 8va)
90
Rall. q = 69118
piùp
Più mosso q = 210123
mf mp
Con moto q = 156 q = 142130
p
q = 120 q = 100135
Andante q = 69141
piùp
dampened
ord.
91
Ross James Carey
Concert Piece on
‘Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star’ for Flute and Pianoforte
Composed in May 2015
Premiere: 21 April 2016 (School of Music, University of Melbourne, Australia) – Laila Engle,
flute; Ross James Carey, piano
Duration: c. 4’30”
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ (2015) for flute and piano was composed in Mount
Maunganui, Tauranga, New Zealand in May 2015 directly after the completion of ...infinite
songs (1-8)... (2014/15) for piano solo which, as does Concert Piece, references the theme Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star. Concert Piece combines this universally loved children’s tune with jazz-
infused harmonies derived from Twinkle, Twinkle’s first phrase, making particular use of a triad
(with its inversion) consisting of a whole tone superimposed with a perfect fifth. The piece
takes the form of a brilliant concert study in two contrasting parts – an introductory Andante
and concluding Allegro scherzando.
Concert Piece on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ was given its first performance by Laila Engle, flute,
and Ross James Carey, piano, at the Composition Seminar at the School of Music, University
of Melbourne on 21 April 2016. The piece is dedicated in friendship to flutist Daisuke
Kinoshita.
INSTRUMENTATION
Flute, Pianoforte
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
p
Andante h = 60
p sempre poco ten.
con ped.
cresc. mp p
6
mp p
11
mp
cresc. mf mp mf
15
cresc.
mp
to Daisuke Kinoshita
Concert Piece on 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'
Ross James Carey(2015)
for Flute and Pianoforte
3
3
97
pp p mp pp
62
pp ten. p
mp p mp
66
mp p
pp p ppp
69
mp p ppp
mp leggiero
Allegro scherzando h = 8272
mp leggiero, poco tenuto
3
3 3
3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3
101
cresc.
87
cresc.
mp p
90
p
mp
cresc. mp p
93
cresc. mp p
con ped.
mp p mf cresc.
96
mp p mf cresc.
3 3
3
103
dim. p
133
dim. p
cresc.
137
cresc.
mf p cresc. molto fff
140
mfp cresc. molto fff
3 3
3
3
211
53
3
3
107
Ross James Carey
Supplication for Oboe and Pianoforte
Composed in July 2016
Premiere: 1 October 2016 (Australasian Double Reed Society conference, Sydney Grammar
School, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia) – Thomas Hutchinson, oboe; Jeanell Carrigan, piano
Duration: c.4’00”
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Supplication for oboe and piano features an expansive, expressive melodic line heard over the whole of
the oboe’s range, accompanied by insistent harmonies in the piano part. A feature of the work is the
combination of major and minor tonalities throughout, giving the piece its particular character. Later
on melodic material made up of the interval of a perfect fourth features, leading on to the motif of a
falling perfect 5th heard in the accompaniment at the piece’s close.
The title, ‘Supplication’ (or ‘Prayer’) need not be thought of as relating to any specific religious
tradition but rather as being indicative of any heartfelt request or petition. In its harmonic and
melodic language Supplication is somewhat related to Meditasi (2016) for trumpet (or cornet) in B flat
and piano, composed to the memory of Slamet A. Sjukur.
Supplication was composed as an entrant to the Australasian Double Reed Society (ADRS), (NSW
Branch) Composition Competition 2016 in Cyberjaya, Malaysia in July 2016. It received its first
performance at the ADRS conference, Sydney Grammar School, Darlinghurst, Australia on 1 October
2016 by oboist Thomas Hutchinson and pianist Jeanell Carrigan.
INSTRUMENTATION
Oboe, Pianoforte
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
p mp p
Andante espressivo h = 62
p sempre ten.
con pedale
mp p cresc. mp p
8
cresc. mp p
mp p mp
14
for Oboe and PianoforteRoss James Carey
(2016)
Supplication
Composed as an entrant to the Australasian Double Reed Society (NSW Branch)Composition Competition 2016
3
113
mf fff
89
mp cresc.fff
f
93
mf mp
p mf p
Meno mosso h = 5698
p mp
piùp pp
rit.
103
p piùp pp
3
3 3
3
3
3
118
Ross James Carey
Baltic Song for Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
Composed in October 2005 and February 2009
Duration: c. 3’00”
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
The original version of Baltic Song, for piano solo, was composed in October 2005 while I was a
composer in residence at the Visby International Centre for Composers, located in the historic town
of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland overlooking the Baltic Sea. The piece was recomposed for
clarinet in B flat and piano in Melbourne in 2009, with subsequent versions for cello and piano (2012)
and bass clarinet and piano (2015).
Over a rocking accompaniment, the lyrical line of the solo instrument outlines a spacious melody
before dissolving into an eleven-tone 'sea' at the piece's close.
Baltic Song is published in versions for clarinet in B flat and piano and bass clarinet in B flat and piano
by Alea Publishing, Tacoma, WA, USA.
INSTRUMENTATION
Clarinet in B flat, Pianoforte
Copyright © 2009 Ross James Carey
mf p mf
Slowly, but with a sense of movement
p
p mp
9
mf piùp pp
16
mf
p
p piùp pp
cresc. mf
22
cresc. mf
Ross James Carey
(2005/09)
Baltic Songfor Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
123
Ross James Carey
Baltic Song for Bass Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
Composed in October 2005 and February 2009. Arranged in October 2015.
Duration: c. 3’00”
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
The original version of Baltic Song, for piano solo, was composed in October 2005 while I was a
composer in residence at the Visby International Centre for Composers, located in the historic town
of Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland overlooking the Baltic Sea. The piece was recomposed for
clarinet in B flat and piano in Melbourne in 2009, with subsequent versions for cello and piano (2012)
and bass clarinet and piano (2015).
Over a rocking accompaniment, the lyrical line of the solo instrument outlines a spacious melody
before dissolving into an eleven-tone 'sea' at the piece's close.
Baltic Song is published in versions for clarinet in B flat and piano and bass clarinet in B flat and piano
by Alea Publishing, Tacoma, WA, USA.
INSTRUMENTATION
Bass Clarinet in B flat, Pianoforte
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
mf p mf
Slowly, but with a sense of movement
p
p mp
9
mf piùp pp
16
mf
p
p piùp pp
cresc. mf
22
cresc. mf
Ross James Carey
(2005/09/15)
for Bass Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
Baltic Song
133
Ross James Carey
September Song for Bass Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
Composed in September 2000 and October 2015
Duration: c. 4’00”
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTES
September Song (2015) for bass clarinet in B flat and piano is based on an identically named piece for
harp or piano solo composed while I was Mozart Fellow at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New
Zealand in September 2000. The piano part of the current work quotes this earlier piece in full. Over
a series of parallel ninth chords in the piano, the bass clarinet articulates a spacious melody.
September Song was completed in October 2015 in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The harp original was
dedicated to harpist Helen Webby, and was given its first performance by the dedicatee at the
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand in October 2000. This version for bass clarinet
and piano is published by Alea Publishing, Tacoma, WA, USA.
INSTRUMENTATION
Bass Clarinet in B flat, Pianoforte
mp sempre cantabile cresc.
Andante q = 50
mp cresc.
basso sempre ten.
Copyright © 2015 Ross James Carey
mf mp
6
mf mp
cresc. mf
rit.12
cresc. mf
September Song
Ross James Carey
(2000/15)
for Bass Clarinet in B flat and Pianoforte
143
p cresc.
A tempo17
p cresc.
mf p
22
mf dim. p
cresc. f
28
cresc.f
p ten.cresc.
rit. A tempo32
p cresc.
144
Ross James Carey
Meditasi for Trumpet or Cornet in B flat and Pianoforte
Composed in February 2016
Premiere: 13 July 2016 (New Zealand Brass Bands Championships, Mission Estate Winery,
Napier) – Toby Pringle, cornet; Martyn Smith, piano
Duration: 3’15”
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Meditasi [Meditation] (2016) for trumpet or cornet in B flat and piano was composed in Cyberjaya,
Malaysia in February 2016. It is dedicated to the memory of Slamet A. Sjukur. Meditasi consists of a
simple melodic line played by the trumpet accompanied by composite major and minor chords in the
piano part. Later on, various short fanfare-like motives are echoed between the two instruments,
leading to the piece’s conclusion.
Meditasi was highly commended in the first SOUNZ (Centre for New Zealand Music) Brass
Composition Prize held in association with the Brass Band Association of New Zealand (BBANZ)
and the Composers’ Association of New Zealand (CANZ) in 2016. It received its first performance by
Toby Pringle (cornet) and Martyn Smith (piano) at the National Brass Band Championships at the
Mission Estate Winery in Napier, New Zealand on 13 July 2016.
Meditasi is published by the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington.
INSTRUMENTATION
Trumpet (or Cornet) in B flat, Pianoforte
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
p
Adagio espressivo q = 86
p sempre ten.
con pedale
mp pcresc.
7
cresc.
mf p mp p
12
mf pl.v.
Ross James Carey(2016)
In memory of Slamet A. Sjukur
Meditasifor Trumpet in B flat and Pianoforte
3
3
3
3
3
151
p mp
47
p molto ten.mp
l.v.
più p
52
più p
l.v. l.v.
mp f mp mf f
57
f mf fmp mp
mute
open
3
3
mute
open
mute
Cyberjaya4 February 2016
3
154
Ross James Carey
Two Rhythmic Duos for Two Bass Clarinets in B flat
Composed in 2009. Arranged for two bass clarinets in 2016.
Duration: 3’40”
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
I. Allegretto (crotchet = 90)
II. Always measured (crotchet = 63)
In Two Rhythmic Duos the focus is on the rhythmic interplay between the two instruments. In number
I, a widely spaced melodic line is explored in a lively, playful manner. The second piece is more
measured, a rhythmic canon forming the basis of the interweaving melodies.
Two Rhythmic Duos is an arrangement of Two Pizzicato Preludes for two celli, composed in 2009 for cellist
Rachel Atkinson in Melbourne, Australia. This is a companion piece to Two Rhythmic Etudes for two
celli, written in 2006 for Ukrainian cello duo 'Duo Violoncellissimo'. This revised version for two bass
clarinets under the title Two Rhythmic Duos was completed in Cyberjaya, Malaysia in 2016 and is
published by Alea Publishers, Tacoma WA, USA.
INSTRUMENTATION
`
2 Bass Clarinets in B flat
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
p mp p
Allegretto q = 90
I.
p mp p
mp p mf
9
mp p mf p
p mp pp cresc.
17
mf pp cresc.
mp cresc. f mpp
25
mp f p mf p
mp p
31
mp mf p
Ross James Carey(2009/16)
Two Rhythmic Duosfor Two Bass Clarinets in B flat
3
3
3
3
3
3
3 3
3
3
3
3
3
159
più p f p
39
più p mf mp
f p mp mf
45
mf mp mf
mp mf p mf
51
p mf p mf
p mf p mf f mp p
58
p mf p mp f p
mp p
66
mf
mf p più p
70
p mf p più p
3 3
3
3 3
3 3
3 3
160
p poco ten.
Always measured q = 63II.
p poco ten.
poco
6
poco
a poco cresc.
9
a poco cresc.
13
17
mf
mf poco
20
poco
161
Ross James Carey
Trio ele giaque for Flute, Oboe and Bassoon
Composed in May and June, 2014 and July and August, 2016
Duration: 11’30”
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
I. Gently flowing-Piu mosso-Tempo I
II. Allegretto- Piu mosso-Tempo I
III. Risoluto-Poco piu mosso-Piu mosso-Tempo I-Piu mosso-Tempo I-Poco meno mosso-Meno mosso
Trio e legiaque for woodwind trio is in three short movements. The title Trio elegiaque refers principally
to the elegiac character of the second movement, which was composed around the time of the twin
Malaysian Airlines disasters (MH370 and MH17) of 2014. The unusual and tragic circumstances of
both incidents were very much on my mind while composing this movement. The third movement,
added two years later in 2016 shares an elegiac feeling while being rather more declamatory in tone.
The flavour of the first movement, by way of contrast, is somewhat pastoral.
Trio e legiaque is dedicated to Dr. Leroy Osman and ‘Chamber Music Merida!’ of Merida, Yucatan,
Mexico in response to the call for scores for the inaugural 2016-17 La Hacienda Xcanatun concert
series. This dedication is in appreciation for Dr. Osman’s initiative in founding this series.
INSTRUMENTATION
Flute, Oboe, Bassoon
Copyright © 2016 Ross James Carey
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
p mp p mp p
Gently flowing q = 102I.
p mp p
p
mp p p mp p mp p mp
6
mp p p mp p
mp p mp p mp p mp
p mf cresc.
12
mf cresc.
p mf cresc.
Ross James Carey
(2014/2016)
Trio élégiaquefor Flute, Oboe and Bassoon
To Dr. Leroy Osman and Chamber Music Merida!
167
f mp p
18
f mp piùp
f mp piùp
cresc. mf
23
p cresc. mf
p poco marc. cresc.mf
p
Più mosso q = 10827
p mp espress.
p
30
3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
168
33
36
mf p
mp espress.
39
42
3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3
3
3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
169
mf
45
p cresc.
48
cresc.
poco marc. cresc.
f piùp
rit. Tempo I
51
f piùp
f piùp
p
56
mp p mp
p mp p mp p
3
3
3 3
3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
170
piùp
60
p piùp p
mp piùp p piùp p piùp
p
63
piùp piùp p piùp p piùp
p piùp
piùp pp
66
p piùp pp
dim. pp
p mp p mp p mp cresc.
Allegretto h = 78II.
p mp p mp cresc.
p mp cresc.
171
mf espress. p
7
mf mp p
mf mp p
cresc. mf
12
cresc. mf
mp p mp p mp p mf
p
18
p
espress. mp
mp p mp p mp
23
mp p mf p mp piùp
mp p mf p mp piùp
3
3
3 3
3
172
mf p mp p
29
p
p
mp mf mp
accel.34
mp p
p
f mf dim.
Più mosso h = 86
38
f mp
mf mp
mp dim. p
43
mp espress.
p
3 3
3
3
3
3
3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3
173
49
p
piùp
p cresc.
54
mp p cresc. mp
p cresc. mp
mp cresc.
59
p mp
dim. p
mf
64
cresc. mf
cresc. mp
3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3
33
3 3 33
3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
174
mp
69
mp espress.
p mp espress.
cresc. mf
74
mf p
mf mp
mf cresc. f
79
mp cresc. mf
mf cresc. f
ff mf
84
ff
mf
3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3
3
3 3
3
3 3
3
3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 33 3 3 3 3
175
mp cresc. f mp
89
mp cresc. f
p cresc. mf mp
mf mp p
94
mp mf mp
dim. p
99
piùp mp espress.
piùp
103
p piùp
dim.piùp
33 3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3
3 3 3
3
33
176
p cresc. mp mf
Tempo I h = 78
107
pcresc. mp
p mp p mp p mp mf
mp pmp
piùp
113
mf p mp p
p mp piùp
mf
118
mf
p mf
mp p
122
mp p
mp p
177
cresc. mf f
126
cresc. mf f
cresc. mp f
mf
130
mf
mf
dim.
134
mp
dim.
p
137
dim. p
p
3
3
3
3
3 3 3
178
f mp
Risoluto q = 106
III.
fmp
f mp
f mf mp
8
f mf mp
f mf mp
p mp p
16
mf p
p
cresc.
accel.22
cresc.
cresc.
3
3
179
mp
Poco Più mosso q = 120 accel.29
mp
mp
mf
Più mosso q = 15037
mf mp
cresc. ff
accel. h. = 8045
cresc. ff
cresc. ff
mf f mp mf
rit. Tempo I q = 106
53
mf f mp mf
mf f mp mf
180
p mp
61
p mp mf
p mp
p mp p f mp f
68
p mp p f mp f
p mp p f mp f
mp cresc. f mf cresc.
accel.76
mp cresc. f mf cresc.
mp cresc. f mf cresc.
f ff
Più mosso q = 16883
f ff
f ff
181
mp p
rit.89
mp p
mp p
fmp
f
Tempo I q = 10696
f mp f
f mp f
mf f
104
mf f
mf f
mp mf p mp
Poco Più mosso q = 132111
p mp p mp
p mp p mp
182
mf f
rit. A tempo rit.
118
mf f
mf f
mf f mf mp
Poco meno mosso q = 92
124
mf f mp
mf mp
mf mp p mp
Meno mosso q = 86129
p mp mf p
p
p mp p piùp
rit.134
piùp
piùp
3
3
3
183
Ross James Carey
Toccatina (Elegy) for Two Violins, Viola and Violoncello
Composed in February 2010
Premiere: 29 August 2010 (Australian String Quartet (ASQ), ASQ National Composers’ Forum,
Elder Hall, University of Adelaide, Adelaide)
New Zealand premiere: 26 October 2015 (Aroha String Quartet, St. Andrews on the Terrace,
Wellington)
Duration: c. 5’30”
Copyright © 2010 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Toccatina (Elegy) (2010) for string quartet was composed directly after the passing of Australian
singer-songwriter Ruby Hunter in February 2010. Ruby Hunter was one of Australia’s most beloved
indigenous singer-songwriters. I heard Ruby perform alongside her partner Archie Roach as part of
the ‘Black Arm Band’ at the 2009 Melbourne International Festival of the Arts and was struck by her
charismatic and powerful performance. Upon hearing of Ruby’s death a few months later and reading
the inspiring story of her life, I composed this work dedicated to her memory.
The piece is in ternary form. The A section features a hocket-like texture from which impassioned
melodic lines spiral ever upwards. The B section features melodies over gently moving triadic
harmonies. The piece concludes with a sense of affirmation and hope in a G Major tonality.
The premiere of the work which was broadcast around Australia by ABC Classic FM was given by
the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) at the first ASQ National Composers' Forum, in the Elder Hall
of the University of Adelaide on 29 August 2010. A subsequent performance broadcast by Radio New
Zealand Concert was given by the Aroha String Quartet at St. Andrews on the Terrace, Wellington
on 26 October 2015. The latter performance along with a studio recording of the work was made in
conjunction with the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ) and Radio New Zealand Concert.
Prior to the public performances of the piece members of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
(APO) had given a semi-public performance of the work at a ‘Friends of the APO’ gathering in
Auckland on 11 June 2010.
Toccatina (Elegy) is published by the Centre for New Zealand Music (SOUNZ), Wellington.
INSTRUMENTATION
2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello
Copyright © 2010 Ross James Carey
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Violoncello
p
Con Moto q=108
p
p
p
3
5
Ross James Carey(2010)
Toccatina (Elegy)to Ruby Hunter
for 2 Violins, Viola and Violoncello
189
mf p
63
mf p
decresc. mp p
decresc. mp p
p sotto voce, flautando
Meno Mosso. Dolce e cantabile q=9066
p sotto voce, flautando
p sotto voce, flautando
mp
70
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 33 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 33 3 3 3 3
3 3 33
199
74
78
mp
p sotto voce, flautando
81
3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 33
3
3 3 33 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3 3
3 3
3 3 33 3 3 3
200
mp p
Rall. A tempo84
mf p
mp p
mp mp
87
mf
91
mf
f
mf
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 33 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 33 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 33
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3 3
201
decresc.
94
f decresc.
mf decresc.
decresc.
mp pmp molto cantabile
97
mf p
mp p
mp p101
mp molto cantabile
3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
53 3 3 3 3 3
3 3
33
3 3 33 3
3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3 3
3
3 3
3
3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3
3 3
3
3
3 3
3 3
3 3 3
3
3 3 33
202
cresc. mf mp
105
cresc. mf
p mp
109
p
mp molto cantabile p
mf
Rit. Tempo Primo q=108113
mp p
mp p
mp
3
3
3
3
3
3 3 3 3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 33
3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3
3 33 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
3
3
3 3 3 3 3
3
3
33 3 3
203
mf cresc.
128
mf cresc.
mpmf
espress.
cresc.
mp cresc.
f
130
f
f
f
ff
132
ff
ff
ff
3 3
33
3 3
3 3
3 3
3 3
3 3
33
206
f mp p
134
f mp p
f mp p
f mp p
cresc. f
Rall.139
cresc. f
cresc.f
cresc.f
p
Meno mosso q=72143
p
p
p
207
Ross James Carey
Tuk Tak Dung for S.A.B. Chorus
Composed in 2011
Premiere: 4 March, 2014 (SMK Seafield Secondary School, Subang Jaya) – SMK Seafield Choir,
conducted by Susanna Saw
Further performance: 6 November 2015 (33rd Asian Composers’ League Conference and Festival,
Abelardo Hall, University of the Philippines, Manila) – Himig Sanghaya Chorale, conducted by
Mary Katherine Trangco
Duration: 3’15”
Copyright © 2011 Ross James Carey
PROGRAMME NOTE
Tuk Tak Dung (2011), a commission from the SMK Seafield School Choir, Subang Jaya and their
conductor Susanna Saw, was envisaged as a work that the choir could take overseas in order to
showcase to foreign audiences a distinctively Malaysian identity. Tuk Tak Dung does this by means of
the voiced and sung imitation of a representative artistic tradition from each of the three main
cultural groupings of the country. These are, in turn, the Malay gamelan, a Chinese folk-like melody
played on the erhu and the vocal performance accompanying the South Indian Bharatanatyam classical
dance. Tuk Tak Dung depicts these three distinctive voices alongside each other, in a celebratory way.
The title of the work, Tuk Tak Dung, refers to some of the vocalisations utilised in the piece to illustrate
various percussive sounds able to be elicited from the kendung, the double-headed drum of the Malay
and Javanese gamelan.
The first performance of the piece was given by the SMK Seafield School Choir at a fundraiser at
SMK Seafield School, Subang Jaya in advance of their visit to Brisbane of 20 - 27 March 2014. A
subsequent performance was given on 6 November 2015 by the Himig Sanghaya Chorale conducted
by Mary Katherine Trangco at the opening concert of the 33rd Asian Composers’ League (ACL)
Conference and Festival, Abelardo Hall, the University of the Philippines, Manila.
INSTRUMENTATION
Soprano, Alto, Bass
PERFORMANCE NOTES
In the Malay section of the piece, selected instruments of the Malay Gamelan are divided amongst the
voices. Each voice is allocated one instrument of the ensemble along with the kendung (double-sided
drum). The kempul (resonant struck gongs) are taken by the basses, the ketuk (a staccato percussive
instrument) by the altos, and the saron (a struck metallophone usually taking the main melody) by
the sopranos.
Note-heads indicated with a cross are used to imitate both the percussive sounds of the kendung and
certain of the Bharatanatyam vocals in the final section. Passages utilising these note-heads are mostly
shared amongst the three parts and should be sung to the marked syllables as given. They are notated
as being high, medium or low-pitched. These indications should be thought of as approximate only.
Passages in the middle section marked with the indications 'soft ah' and 'full ah’ are to be sung using
a half open and fully opened mouth, respectively.
In the third section at bar 104, one option is for the choir to divide into two, with the clapping part to
be performed as a hocket, each section taking alternate notes, with one on the on-beat note and other
on the off-beat note.
Copyright © 2011 Ross James Carey
SOPRANO
ALTO
BASS
Steady and sonorous q = 112
Tak
p
tak tak tak
Dong
p
dung dong Dung dong dung
mp
Dong
p
dung dung dong Dung
mp
dong dong dong
p5
tak tak tak tak Tak
p
Dong dung dong dung
Dong dung dung dong Dung dong dong
mf
dung Dung dong dong dung
p8
tak tak tak tak tak tak tak
Dong
mp p
Dung dong dong
MALAY: GAMELAN
Tuk Tak DungWritten for the SMK Seafield Choir, Subang Jaya and their director Susanna Saw
Ross James Carey
(2011)
for S.A.B. Chorus
(Ketuk)
(Kempul)
(Saron)
215
Dong dung dong Dung dongdung dong
mp
Dung dong dung
p11
Tak tak tak Tak tak Tak tak Tak
Dung dong dung Dong
mf
dung
mp
Dung
p
Ah ah ah
mp
ah
mf15
Ah ah
mp
ah
mf
Tak
p
tak tak tak tak tak
Ah
mp
ah
mf
Tak Dong Tak Dong dong tong
Hmmn
p
hmmn hmmn
Flowing q = 128
19
Hmmn
p
hmmn
(Kendung)
CHINESE: ERHU MELODY
(Hum with a nasal sound)
(Hum with a nasal sound)
216
mp
hmmn
p
Hmmn
24
hmmn
mp
hmmn
p
hmmn Hmmn
mp29
Hmmn
p
hmmn Hmmn hmmn Hmmn
Hmmn hmmn
mf
hmmn hmmn
decresc.33
mf
Hmmn hmmn
decresc.
Hmmn
mf
hmmn hmmn
decresc.
(Hum with a nasal sound)
217
p37
p
Hmmn
mp
hmmn
hmmn
mp
Hmmn
Ah
mp
ah ah Ah ah ah ah Ah
f
ah
42
Ah ah ah ah Ah ah Ah
f
hmmn Ah ah Ah ah ah
f
ah ah
Ah ah ah Ah
mp
Ah
mf
ah Hmmn
p46
ah ah Ah
mf
ah ah
p
Hmmn
Ah
mp
Ah
p
Hmmn
(soft ah) (full ah)
(soft ah)
(full ah)
(soft ah)
(full ah)
(soft ah)
(soft ah)
div.
(soft ah)
218
Tong
mf
dong dung tak dung Tak tong
Very lively q = 14451
Tong
mf
tong dung tak dung Tak tong
Tak
mf
dung dung dong dung dong dung
dung Ta
p
ka- Tak Ta ka- tak
cresc.
tak dung tong
53
dung Ta
p
ka- Tak Ta ka- tak
cresc.
tak dung tong
Tong
p
tong tong
cresc.
tong tong tong Dung tong dung
f
Dung
f
Tak
p
tak tak
cresc.
tak tak dong dong dung dong
Accel.55
Dung
f
Tak
p
tak tak tak
cresc.
tak
Tak
p
tak tak
cresc.
tak tak tak Dung tak Dung
f
dong Tak
p
MALAY: GAMELAN (KENDUNG)
219
dung
f
Tak
mp
tak tak Tong tak
57
Dung dung dung dung Tong tong dung dong
Tak tak tak
cresc.
tak Tong tong Dung dong
Dung
f
Dong dong dung dung dong Tak
ff
Tak tak Tak Tong Tong
q = 152
58
Tak
f
Dong Dung Dong dung dong Tak
ff
Tak tak Tak Tong Tong
Dung
f
Ta ka- Dung tak Dung Dong Tak
ff
Tak tak Tak Tong Tong
A little slower q = 13661
Hmmn
mp
hmmn hmmn
CHINESE: ERHU MELODY
220
Ah
p
ah ah Ah
mp
ah ah
cresc.
ah ah ah ah Ah
f
ah
Rall.
64
Ah
p
ah ah
mp
ah ah ah
cresc.
Ah ah Ah
f
ah ah
p
Ah
cresc.
ah ah Ah
f
ah ah
Ah
più f
ah Ah
mf
ah ah ah ah
mp
Hmmn
Flowing q = 128
68
più f
Ah
mf
Ah
mp
più f
Ah
mf
Ah ah
mp
Hmmn Ah ah
mp
ah Ah
pRall. Slower q = 112
71
Hmmn hmmn hmmn Ah ah
mp
ah Ah
p
Hmmn hmmn hmmn ah
p
Ah
(soft ah) (full ah)
(soft ah) (full ah)
(soft ah) (full ah)
(soft ah)
(soft ah)
(soft ah)
221
Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
p
ka- da da- ta ka- da
Lively and bright h = 116
75
Ta
mp
ka- dung dung ta ka- dung Ta
p
ka- dung dung Ta ka- dung
Ta
mp
ka- dung dung ta ka- dung Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da-
Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
p
ka- da da-
79
Ta
mp
ka- dung dung ta ka- dung Ta
p
ka- dung dung
Ta
mp
ka- dung dung ta ka- dung
mf
Ta ka- da- ta ka- da-
ta ka- da Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta ka- da- ta ka- da-
82
ta ka- dung ta ka- Ta Ta
mp
ka- dung dung
Ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
p
ka- dung dung Ta
mp
ka- dung dung
INDIAN: KATHAK
3 3 3 3
3
3 33
3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3
222
ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
p
ka- da da- ta ka- da
85
ta ka- dung Ta
p
ka- dung dung Ta ka- dung
Ta ka- dung Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da-
Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mp
ka- dung dung Da Ah
cresc.88
Ta
mp
ka- da da- ta ka- dung Ta
mf
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta
mp
ka- da- ta ka
cresc.
- da-
Ta
mp
ka- dung dung ta ka- dung Ta ka- dung dung ta ka- Ah
cresc.
ah
Ah Ta
f
ka- ta- ka- da- Ta ka- Da da- ta ka- ta- ka- da
92
Ah ah Ta
f
ka- ta- ka- da- Ta ka- Da da- ta ka- ta- ka- da
ah Ta
f
ka- ta- ka- da- Ta ka- Da da- ta ka- ta- ka- da
3 3
3
3 33
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3
223
mf
95
Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mp
ka- da da-
Ta
mf
ka- dung dung ta ka- da Ta
mp
ka- dung dung
Ta
mf
ka- dung dung Ta ka- da Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da-
98
ta ka- da Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da-
Ta ka- da Ta
mf
ka- dung dung ta ka- da
ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mf
ka- dung dung Ta ka- da
101
Ta
mp
ka- da da- ta ka- da Ta
mp
ka- da- Ta
Ta
mp
ka- da da ta ka- da Ta
p
ka- Ah
Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
p
ka- Ah
clapping (everyone)
3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3 3 3
33
3 3
3 3 3 3
224
f
Faster h = 128
104
Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mf
ka- da da-
Ta
mf
ka- da da- ta ka- da Ta ka- da da
Ta
mf
ka- da da- Ta ka- da Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da-
107
ta ka- da Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da-
Ta ka- da Ta ka- dung dung
ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mf
ka- dung dung
109
ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ta
mf
ka- da da- da
p
- Ah
cresc.
ta ka- dung Ta
f
ka- da- ta ka- da- ta
mp
ka- da- ta
cresc.
ka- da-
ta ka- dung Ta ka- da da- Ta
p
ka- Ah
cresc.
3 3 3 3
3
3
3 3
33
3 3
3 3 3 3
225
112
Ah Ah Ah Ah Ta
f
ka- da- da ta ka-
Ah ah Ta ka- da- ta ka- da- Ah Ah Ta
f
ka- da- da ta ka-
Ah Ta ka- da da- Ah Ta
f
ka- da- da ta ka-
Ta ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Tak
116
Ta ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Tak
Ta ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Ta ka- ta- ka- da Tak
ta
cresc.
ka- ta- ka- tr r- r- r- ta- ka- da Tak tak da Hi
ff
yo!!-
118
ta
cresc.
ka- ta- ka- tr r- r- r- ta- ka- da Tak tak da Hi
ff
yo!!-
ta
cresc.
ka- ta- ka- tr r- r- r- ta- ka- da Tak tak da Hi
ff
yo!!-
3 3 3 3 3 3
(rolled) (shout)
(rolled)
(shout)
(rolled) (shout)
226
© 2016 Ross James Carey
Flute 1
Flute 2
Flute 3/Piccolo
Oboe 1
Oboe 2
Clarinet in B 1
Clarinet in B 2
Bassoon 1
Bassoon 2
Horn in F 1
Horn in F 2
Horn in F 3
Horn in F 4
Trumpet in B 1
Trumpet in B 2
Trumpet in B 3
Trombone 1
Bass Trombone
Tuba
Triangle
Tubular Bells
Glockenspiel
Harp
Celesta
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Violoncello
Contrabass
Allegretto = 50
Allegretto = 50
I Fanfares
A B C D E F G
div.
pizz.
5
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
più
8
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
6
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Trngl.
Hp.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
13
più
più
più
più
7
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
A19
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
poco marc.
poco marc.
poco marc.
poco marc.
A
poco marc.
poco marc.
cresc.
cresc.
pizz. arco
arco
8
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
più
26
più
più
più
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
decresc poco a poco.
div.sul pont.
div. sul pont.
9
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
34
mute
mute
nat.
unis.nat.
10
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Glock.
Hp.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
B41
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim.
B
B D
sul pont.
sul pont.
sul pont.
pizz.
pizz.
11
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
47
ten.
ten.
ten.
mute
12
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
C52
Cpizz. div.
pizz. div.
arcounis.
arco
13
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
56
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
unis.arconat.
nat.
div.
div.
14
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
più
61
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
più
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim.
cresc. dim.
cresc. dim.
nat.
nat.
B D G
arco
15
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 3
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
D67
più
più
D
più
pizz.arcodiv.
div.arco
div.
div.
16
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Trngl.
Glock.
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
marc.
73
marc.
marc.
marc.
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
E F78
marc.
marc.
marc.
marcato
F
marcato
E G B B G
nat.
nat.
17
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
83
marc.
marc.
marc.
marc.
nat.
E F G B E E
unis. div.
18
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
88
cresc.
cresc.pizz.
pizz.
pizz.
19
Fl. 3
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
G91
G
mute
mute
mute
mute
unis.arco
unis.arco sul pont.
20
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
95
dim.
dim.
arco
nat.
21
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
99
Change to Piccolo
22
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
cresc.
H103
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
H
marc.
marc.
23
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
107
più
24
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Glock.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
111
più
div.
25
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
114
dim.
dim.
dim.
senza sord.
senza sord.
senza sord.
C E G
26
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Glock.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
117
più
più
più
cresc.
cresc.
div.
27
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
sempre ten.
I120
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
sempre ten.
I
più
Change to flute
unis.
unis.
28
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
125
sempre ten.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
29
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 2
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
cresc.
129
cresc.
cresc. cresc. cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
cresc.
div. unis.
div.
div.
30
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
J133
più
più
tenuto
tenuto
più
J
più
più
31
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
K137
dim. più
dim. più
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim.
dim. dim.
dim. dim.
div.
div.
32
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
142
B C D E D F
pizz.
33
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
L147
cresc.
L
cresc.
Change to Piccolo
unis.arco
34
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Hp.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
152
dim.
dim.
B G
35
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Picc.
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Bsn. 1
Bsn. 2
Hn. 1
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt.1
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Tbn. 1
B. Tbn.
Tba.
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
M156
M
Change to flute
Perc. 2 playsTub. Bells to end
To Tub. Bells
div.
div.
pizz.
pizz.
36
Fl. 1
Fl. 2
Fl. 3
Ob. 1
Ob. 2
Cl. 1
Cl. 2
Hn. 2
Hn. 3
Hn. 4
Tpt. 2
Tpt. 3
Trngl.
Tub. B.
Glock.
Hp.
Cel.
Vln. I
Vln. II
Vla.
Vc.
Cb.
162
più
più
più
più
dim.
dim.
più dim.
più dim.
più
più
più
con sord.
con sord.
A E
2 soli
2 soli
arcosolo
arcosolo
solo
Dur. c 10 mins
37
Minerva Access is the Institutional Repository of The University of Melbourne
Author/s:
CAREY, ROSS JAMES
Title:
The use of quoting strategies in my recent compositions
Date:
2017
Persistent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/11343/191443
File Description:
The Use of Quoting Strategies in my Recent Compositions
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