PROMETHEAN EDITIONS
07/2017
New music editions July 2017 Our three releases this month are from composers who span two generations of New Zealand music: Gareth Farr, Promethean Editions’ first House Composer and one of New Zealand’s most internationally recognised composers; and Salina Fisher, who recently became the youngest recipient of the SOUNZ Contemporary Award, New Zealand’s premier composition prize.
create a propulsive rhythmic tapestry. Named after the Japanese word for the interplay between light and leaves when sunlight shines through trees, Fisher’s Komorebi for violin and vibraphone will appeal to players interested in the use of extended playing techniques to create imaginative timbres and colours. Initially, sustained violin harmonics mix with the vibraphone’s soft glow, but it is
Farr’s Gem is a short work for solo piano that is perfect for ad-
the violin’s soaring, patiently held material that dominates
vanced pianists looking to add a more reflective work to their
the first half of the piece, punctuated with aching glissandi
concert repertoire. Commissioned by New Zealand pianist
descents. Eventually the work enters a rich dream-like senza
Nicola Melville in memory of her teacher Judith Clark, Gem is
misura passage where sonorities intermingle, the vibra-
mysterious and contemplative, with short flourishes of notes
phone’s elastic, rolling gestures and bowed keys conversing
that reach into the piano’s upper register, released in delicate
with the violin’s harmonic tremolos and delicately expressive
droplets that are particularly affecting when decorating the
statements.
work’s searching theme. A landmark work from Farr’s early career, Ruaumoko for orchestra is named after the Maori god of earthquakes, who dwells unborn in the womb of his mother the Earth, causing the shaking of the earth and the changing of the seasons. Farr channels the elemental forces of nature across four movements based on the four seasons. Tender woodwind playing features in the sweet, airy Te Ngahuru (Autumn), while perilous, swirling woodwind contours and booming percussion dominate Te Takurua (Winter). Slowly stirring woodwinds and strings eventually blossom into tutti resplendence in Te Koanga (Spring), its energy carrying through into Te Raumati (Summer), in which the choirs of the orchestra interlock to
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