Welcome to ‘Small Ensemble Waves’, our celebration of new Australian music being written for small forces in abundance. In some ways we’re going back to where it all started (Playlist 1: Chamber Waves January 2015), with another chamber music playlist.  This time we’ve kept to quite small ensembles, of 3-6 acoustic instruments.  When we were considering chamber music for inclusion in this playlist, we distinguished between works written for uniform or homogenous ensembles, of instruments from one family (string quartet, clarinet trio, brass quintet), and works written for mixed chamber configurations, with a wide spectrum of tone colour. The playlist here includes works from both groups. We hope that you enjoy!

Small Ensemble Waves - March 2016

An Elemental Music (2022) for orchestra

Commissioned by the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus
Performed by the La Jolla Symphony, cond. Michael Gerdes, March 2023

I. Crisp, bright
II. The Cold Song. Desolate, icy
III. Dark, mysterious — As in the first movement — Presto

In the three movements of "An Elemental Music," I seek to explore basic musical materials—things that are primary, fundamental, or “elemental”—in fresh and unanticipated ways. I wanted to delve into some of the core components of my musical craft, and I hoped to infuse them with a new vitality.

In the first movement, I start from a chord (the dominant seventh) ubiquitous in many musical genres, from nineteenth- century symphonies to the twelve-bar blues. But rather than using the chord as a means to an end, I view it as an object of musical exploration in its own right, treating it like a hub where many different harmonic paths converge. The music explores these paths in turn, winding through the orchestra in lively and colorful fashion.

The second movement is by far the longest of the three, comprising over half the total playing time of the work. The movement is a very free reimagining of the aria “What Power Art Thou” from Henry Purcell’s "King Arthur," also known as the “Cold Song.” In Purcell’s aria, the spirit of winter (the “Cold Genius”) is summoned to life: here, then, I use the word “elemental” not only as an adjective, but also as a noun, referring to the primal forces of nature that the Cold Genius embodies. In my version, I freely transform the shivering staccato motif and aspects of the harmonic progression from Purcell’s original, gradually building to an intense, chilling depiction of the Cold Genius. Fittingly, I finished this piece on a day of subzero temperatures in central Illinois.

The brief third movement revisits materials from the first, but in a distorted, out-of-order fashion—perhaps as if being recalled from a distant memory. The music eventually transforms itself into a jig that gives way to a grotesque, march-like climax.

An Elemental Music

This is from 2010 - commissioned and performed by Eclectica Trio (Amanda Lovelock, Anna Coleman and Charise Altmann).
The clarinets take on the role of storyteller for this piece – they growl like a wolf, squeal like a pig, and huff-and-puff with increasing vigour to blow the house down. Unfortunately, they do it all in the wrong language (“this contemporary music just sounds like random notes to me!”). Will you still be able to follow the story? Don’t stress, it all ends happily ever after.

The Three Little Pigs

02 Sonata In A Minor, RV 43 - A Vivaldi  Allegro 1

String Quartet No. 2 in E minor by Connor D'Netto
recorded live @ MICMC 2015 - 18 Jul 2015

Winner of the Australian New Works Award, presented by Chamber Music Australia

Performed by the Noga Quartet, winner of the 7th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition

String Quartet No. 2 in E minor - live @ MICMC 2015

Minimalist saxophone quartet recorded at Melba Hall at the University of Melbourne. 
The Jive is a lively piece in three sections. It employs minimalist techniques such as canon, adding rhythmic cells, cross-fading, resulting patterns and mensuration canon. Some of these techniques are used more freely than in strict minimalism. I experimented with different canonic textures and the resulting patterns created when shifting motives between the different saxophones. Motives in rhythmic unison as well as cross-rhythms are explored in the last part of the piece. Dynamic swells and funky rhythms make The Jive somewhat unpredictable…

The Jive

I. Suddenly for soprano, flute, and piano (A. Mellos 2014)
Madeline Cain, soprano; Daniel Pesca, piano; Caroline Sonett, flute
Live recording, November 12, 2014 Kilbourn Hall, The Eastman School of Music


I. Suddenly from 'Three Poems of Yannis Ritsos' - for soprano, flute, and piano

for two flutes, percussion, piano
Music X, Blonay, Switzerland
July 2010
Timothy Munro and Pethrus Gardborn, flutes
Jeremy Malvin, percussion
Erika Dohi, piano

These dark notes drifting takes its title from a poem by 9th-century Chinese poet Li Po.  Inspired by a Chinese folk tune, the piece evokes distant flutes, coloured by the sounds that one might hear across a valley at night in the spring.

Spring Night in Lo-Yang hearing a flute
In what house, the jade flute that sends these dark notes drifting,
scattering on the spring wind that fills Lo-Yang?
Tonight if we should hear the willow-breaking song,
who could help but long for the gardens of home?

These dark notes drifting

Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez - 1

Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez - 2

Assad - Valseana Isabel

Kleynjans - Arabesque en forme de caprice

Tedesco - Capriccio 18

Making Waves is a monthly series of curated playlists streaming one hour of quality, new composed music.  Founded in 2015, Making Waves shines a spotlight on the music of Australian composers. Fresh playlists are released on the first day of each month and older playlists are made available all year round via our archives; perfect for those with just a few minutes to explore one track or for hours perusing a myriad of diverse sound-worlds.


The project offers wider exposure to emerging composers, their music and the talented performers who champion it. We also provide an easy-to-access platform for listeners to sit back and enjoy a curated hour of exciting new music or explore our living composers more actively.  The playlist themes (and media through which they’re shared eg. Soundcloud, YouTube) evolve each month depending on the content received directly from our talented composers.

At its core Making Waves is a curated listening space. In 2016 we branched into producing our own content through a special project, Making Conversation, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Making Conversation: Australian Composers Project is a series of podcasts and vodcasts presenting the human side of living Australian composers, released on popular audiovisual and social platforms mid-2017.
Composers Lisa Cheney (Melbourne) and Peggy Polias (Sydney) are curating this project.

 Listeners, we encourage you to explore current and past playlists and discover more about our featured composers. 

Composers, we encourage you to send us links to your streamable audio via our website. Visit: www.makingwavesnewmusic.com for more information.

I. Suddenly from 'Three Poems of Yannis Ritsos' - for soprano, flute, and piano

Aristea

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