‘Bush Telegraph 2’ was composed by Peter Willis in collaboration with Adrian Croucher, who performed the work on his Cyclical Tubophone (made entirely of bicycle parts, conceived and built by Adrian), on Tiritiri Island, as part of the ‘Sounding Tiritiri’ event, 8th March 2014. This was performed in the bush – one of many surprise sonic events which the audience encountered as they walked the tracks around Tiritiri. The work references natural features of Tiritiri, especially the wind and bird song (kokako, saddleback, bellbird). 

Bush Telegraph #2

This is a field recording I made of some tuis (a native New Zealand bird) in a street in Mount Eden, Auckland. They were in a Taiwan cherry tree: singing, feeding on nectar, and flying around. Recorded on 17th August 2014. Tui image (with Taiwan cherry blossom) by Gavin Mbali.

Mt Eden Tui

Recyclical Tubétude was composed for Adrian Croucher’s Cyclical Tubophone, which he designed and built himself. The instrument is constructed entirely of recycled bicycle parts, with steel frame tubes acting as the sounding elements. I wrote the work in collaboration with Adrian, who suggested the unconventional scale upon which it is based. The scale consists of alternating pairs of ‘black’ and ‘white’ notes (semitones alternating with major/minor thirds), and encompasses a range of an octave and a half. The piece is also suitable for vibraphone, which sounds similar to the Cyclical Tubophone. The recording engineer was Petrouchka Steiner-Grierson. It was recorded at the Kenneth Myers Centre, Auckland, with assistance from John Kim. 

Recyclical Tubétude

A collage of environmental sounds I recorded during my stay on Aotea/Great Barrier Island, late December 2014 to early January 2015. Bird sounds  include: kaka, riroriro (grey warbler), pipiwharauroa (shining cuckoo), kotare (kingfisher)and tui.

Aotea Streaming

A recording I made of the song of the kokako on Hauturu (Little Barrier Island), New Zealand. Recorded 28th March 2015 while on a working weekend with the Little Barrier Island Supporters Trust. Other birds can be heard, including: tieke (saddleback), tui, hihi (stitchbird), kakariki.  Photo of kokako taken by me while on Hauturu in May 2013.

Kokako

A lachrymatory is a container which holds the tears of mourners. It is a tradition which dates back to ancient Roman and Greek times, and was revived in the Victorian era. Likewise, there is an ancient tradition of music which performs this function, that is, acts as a structure to contain grief and honour sadness. The work was originally written for piano, then given to adrian Croucher to try out on his Cyclical Tubophone. He transcribed the work - with a few minor changes. This recording is of the premiere performance at Auckland Zen Centre, 22 February 2015.

Lachrymatory

Kitchen Interlude was performed on February 27, 2016 as part of a house-warming ritual-performance I created on moving into my new house in Onehunga, Auckland.The performers were inside the house (in the kitchen), while the audience was outside (in the rain). The work takes the form of a structured improvisation, centering on Adrian playing my kitchen sink (with dish brushes), with brief interludes of common kitchen sounds from the other performers.

Performers: Adrian Croucher (kitchen sink, venetian blind), Claire Scholes (stove) Charlotte Rose (knife, jar lids) Peter Willis (drawers, cupboards, toilet)

Recording by Adrian Croucher and Peter Willis, edited by Adrian Croucher. Photograph by Sally Mcara.


Kitchen Interlude

Adrian Croucher and I collaborated on the piece "Bush Telegraph #2" for the "Sounding Tiritiri Matangi" event in 2014, curated by Phil Dadson, in which over 25 musicians performed at different locations along walking tracks on an island native bush reserve. The piece is a reworking of an earlier one I wrote for recorder, clarinet and flute, based on transcriptions I made of native New Zealand birdsong (including the calls of kokako, saddleback and bellbird).

For Bush Telegraph #2 the piece was adapted for Adrian Croucher's Cyclical Tubophone and referenced some of the natural features of Tiritiri Matangi Island, most notably the wind. It called for the instrument to be played, in some sections, with twigs or native forest leaves, or by blowing through the tubes. During the event, the voice of the tubophone was joined by those of the birds in the surrounding bush.

The version recorded here is a further reworking of the piece for performing in more conventional "indoor" venues, and features an extended section of polyrhythmic bellbirds.

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Composed by: Peter Willis
Performed by: Adrian Croucher (cyclical tubophone)
Recorded and edited by: Adrian Croucher (October 2016)

Bush Telegraph 2 (indoor version)

The title of this piano piece refers to the fields of energy around sounds. The three movements evoke different aspects of auras. The first and last movements explore piano harmonics while the second movement explores the 'shadow' effect of using the sustain pedal. Influenced by Debussy, I have given each movement a suggestive 'title' at the end: haloes, shadows, white light. 
This recording is of Sarah Watkins premiere performance of the work at the Lilburn Prize concert (for which it won second prize), University of Auckland Music Theatre, on 19 October 2018.
Duration: 8:28

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