Bird Spirit Dreaming: Australian Music for Soprano Saxophone and Piano

Description

Bird Spirit Dreaming

This recording shines a light on Australian composition for the saxophone combined with piano and at times joined by cello, violin and percussion. Some works are adaptations of music originally for oboe made by the composers themselves (Edwards, Hindson, Broadstock), and all recordings are premieres of which two (Chan and Orlovich) were commissioned specifically for this project.

Rockpool Dreaming for soprano saxophone, piano, violin and cello by Peter Sculthorpe arranged by HD Duo
Rockpool Dreaming for soprano saxophone and strings was commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, to mark the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Neil Perry’s Sydney restaurant, Rockpool. This chamber version was made for this recording by HD Duo.
In the composer’s words: Originally, it was suggested that I write a fanfare for the occasion. The character of a fanfare, however, seemed to me to be out of keeping with the subtlety of the cuisine and ambience of the restaurant. I decided, therefore, to write a more poetic work, one with more fluidity of movement, and one with a slightly Asian flavour. A short work, it begins with a long, syncopated melody played by the saxophone; upon its repeat, first violins add a florid counter-melody, while cellos add the sounds of sea-birds; a somewhat joyful coda follows, bringing the music to its close.
Peter Sculthorpe AO OBE
Peter Sculthorpe (1929-2014) was educated among others at Wadham College, Oxford and taught, among others, at the University of Sydney and at Yale University. His rich and varied compositions (including 18 string quartets) are regularly performed and recorded worldwide. His output relates closely to the unique characteristics of Australia, and to the cultures of its Pacific Basin neighbours.

Bird Spirit Dreaming for soprano saxophone, piano and percussion by Ross Edwards
Composed especially for and dedicated to his friend, oboist Diana Doherty, Ross Edwards has sought, in his Oboe Concerto Bird Spirit Dreaming to imbue the traditional concerto with elements of theatre, ritual and dance, whilst preserving its concert hall.
The texture is dominated by an interplay of material gleaned from the natural environment and diverse cultural sources, whose symbolic meaning remains elusive.
An opening ‘wild bird’ soliloquy is arrested by what sound like phrases from a chorale before embarking on a rhapsodic melodic journey, unified by drones, ritornelli and episodes of canonic variation. This melodic unfolding, with its fleeting references to birdsong, plainsong, Hebrew cantillation, scales from Southeast Asia and rhythmic counterpoint inspired by the sound patterns of insects and frogs, culminates in a love duet between solo oboe and English horn. Finally, the opening ‘wild bird’ motif returns and is ritualised, along with other previous material, into patterns characteristic of Edwards’ maninya (Australian dance-chant) form as a celebratory finale.
Fred Watson

Ross Edwards has created a distinctive sound world aligned with principles of deep ecology while seeking to reconnect music with elemental forces and restore its traditional association with ritual and dance. His music, universal in that it is concerned with age-old mysteries surrounding humanity, is at the same time deeply connected to its roots in Australia, whose cultural diversity it celebrates, and from whose natural environment it draws inspiration, especially birdsong and the mysterious patterns and drones of insects. As a composer living and working on the Pacific Rim he is conscious of the exciting potential of this vast region.

I touched your Glistening Tears . . . trio for soprano saxophone, Cello and Piano by Brenton Broadstock
I Touched Your Glistening Tears (1998) is accompanied by the following lines penned by the composer, first meditating on the subject of Matthew, his multiply-handicapped son, then generalised into the thoughts of a carer of a person who has an incurable illness:
Light touches the son’s / sufferer’s tears, reaches the father / carer; both parties in either situation are bonded by their helplessness.

I touched your glistening tears….I stroked your hair, helpless, watching as the life ebbed from your body

Your eyes, like mirrors, lifeless, reflecting only the life outside of you

The sun shone through a nearby window giving radiance to your face, making the tears in your eyes glisten

I wiped away your tears…..I can do no more…..
Linda Kouvaras

Brenton Broadstock (*1952) taught for decades at the University of Melbourne. In 1999 he received the Don Banks Award from the Australia Council for his contribution to Australian music and in 2014 he received an AM, Member of the Order of Australia for “significant service to music as a composer, educator and mentor”. His music has been performed at many national and international festivals, including the BBC Proms. His output includes 6 symphonies, concertos for tuba, piano, euphonium and saxophone; several orchestral works, a chamber opera, 3 string quartets and much chamber, choral and solo music.

Night Pieces for soprano saxophone and piano by Matthew Hindson
Originally for oboe and piano but later adapted by the composer for saxophone, the two Night Pieces were written as contrasting movements. The first movement, “Night Song” contains a lyrical quality, and in particular there is a sense of nostalgic poignancy. As the title suggests, the second movement, “Night Dance” is inspired by dance music, in particular some forms of middle eastern music. It uses quarter-tones as a decorative device: these being the notes found ‘in between’ the notes of the piano.
Matthew Hindson AM

Matthew Hindson AM (*1968) is a leading Australian composer of his generation. As well as being performed by every Australian orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic among many others, Matthew’s music has been set by dance companies such as the Birmingham Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and others.
He is the Deputy Dean and Associate Dean (Education) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 2006 he was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to music education and composition.

The Perfumed Calyx for soprano saxophone and piano by Lyle Chan
The Perfumed Calyx was commissioned by HD Duo for this album. Initially the album included their transcription of Ravel’s Sonatine, but later the repertoire became entirely Australian and the Sonatine had to be omitted, so I decided to write a work to take its emotional and psychological space, reflecting on Ravel and his music (literally so in some passages).
Ravel was already on my mind. During the covid lockdowns I read a lot of French poetry. I read all of Aloysius Bertrand’s Gaspard de la nuit, which had inspired one of Ravel’s greatest works. Gaspard tells the night that the world is like a perfumed calyx with stamen for moon and pistils for stars. Bertrand’s poetry appeals to the senses rather than makes sense, and I wanted to do the same. There are detonations in the piece. There is a cry. Frustrations that come from forgetting to remember what’s true – that the world is a joy. But all it takes is one candle to extinguish the darkness. And so the music is also full of beauty, sensuality, melody, propagating and flourishing despite it all. Maybe Bertrand makes sense after all. Maybe the world is like a flower, something beautiful that reproduces.

Composer Lyle Chan is known for his socially-conscious works combining powerful emotional impact and intellectual rigour. His most personal and confronting work is his 90-minute String Quartet, a memoir of his years as an AIDS activist in the 1990s.
He was awarded the Orchestral Work of the Year prize in Australia’s Art Music Awards for his orchestral song cycle My Dear Benjamin.
His work has been programmed at major arts institutions such as Sydney Opera House, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and others.
Lyle Chan spent over a decade at ABC Classics as Artists & Repertoire Manager. He is co-founder of Extended Play, the acclaimed festival of new music that ran in 2018-19 at Sydney’s City Recital Hall.

An Endless Ripple II for soprano saxophone and piano by Brenton Broadstock
Composed in 2018, Broadstock provides the following quote:
“A simple act of caring creates an endless ripple” Pushkar Saraf

Cloud Nine for soprano saxophone, piano and electronic bow by Matthew Orlovich
Cloud Nine was commissioned by HD Duo with the financial support of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.
In keeping with the title of the work, the first movement is euphoric in mood, commencing with a buoyant theme that recurs between moments of exuberant bebop-esque music, gleeful chordal displays, scalar runs and passages comprising piquant effects and ornamentations.
The second movement – a meditation on the awe-inspiring grandeur of a cloud – is a nod to The International Cloud Atlas (1896) and its more literal use of the work’s title. Offering a moment of repose, the movement begins with the sound of distant thunder and features a slowly unfurling melody accompanied by the hum of an electromagnetically-excited B-flat piano string.
The third and final movement begins with some cheeky interplay between the saxophone and piano. There ensues a short recapitulation of music from the first movement, culminating in a resolute coda.
Matthew Orlovich

Matthew Orlovich (*1970) is a freelance composer based in Sydney. He has a PhD in composition from the University of Sydney. His output includes music for solo instrumentalists, large and small ensembles, choirs, bands and orchestras. Highlights of his catalog include Lo, there is light!, Crazy Logic for saxophone and piano, Tides of Ocean, Aviation, Carnival Capers, Communion of Reparation for Our Lady of Sorrows. Butterflies and others.
His most recent works include a festive choral work for Acappellago (Chicago, USA), a Vivaldi-inspired setting for the choir and soloists of London College of Music (UK), a setting of poetry by Kierkegaard for soprano saxophone and choir commissioned by Brisbane Chamber Choir (QLD, Australia), as well as new works for Nexas Quartet (Sydney, Australia), Duo Imaginaire (Germany) and Ensemble Phantasmagoria (Portugal), plus music for European and US premiere performances at Contrasti Festival (Trento, Italy) and Hot Air Music Festival (San Francisco, USA).