Rays of the sun, shards of the moon (2003)
Symphony orchestra
The last piece of mine the NZSO performed, Nightdances, was a dark, noisy evocation of the night. Rays of the Sun, Shards of the Moon, on the other hand, has a lighter, brighter orchestration, and the harmonies are more transparent, more euphonious. The effect should be, I hope, almost shimmering, as of sunlight playing on water.
The music is based on three different sets of "harmonic series" — the naturally occurring overtones of a freely vibrating body, such as a violin string. I orchestrated these harmonies to create a rich and strange intermingling of sounds amongst the orchestral palette. Out of this formless "sea" of instrumental washes, melodies begin to flourish in the woodwind and piano, and eventually the strings. Soon the figures become more rapid, more angular, and the harmonic series are abandoned for a freer use of pitches. But they return at the end as the brightness of the orchestration is attenuated, and we hear a brief flashback to the dark, moonlit landscape of Nightdances.
This piece is dedicated to my friends in the NZSO: a fantastic bunch of musicians, and great people as well! It's an honour to have my work performed by them.
Audio extract:
Score extract:
