• HOME
• WORKS
• RECORDINGS
• INFO
• BELLBIRD
• CONTACT

•  
• Opus159 Angels Flow (2011)

Angels Flow

• Opus No: 159
• Category: Solo harp
• Year: 2011
• Opus158 Episode (2011)

Episode

Written for the NZ String Quartet, this is an intense and moving work that evokes what happens when we lower our masks and reveal out true selves.

• Opus No: 158
• Category: Chamber music
• Year: 2011
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Commissioned by The New Zealand String Quartet
• Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This work was written for The New Zealand String Quartet to celebrate my father's 90th year. It is in one continuous movement, divided into three sections:

• i - masks
• ii - crisis
• iii - catharsis

This work is about the struggle to show and express emotion openly. Many of us put on masks to hide our true feelings, and if this happens too much it can lead to an explosion, where pent-up emotions are released suddenly. This release is often followed by a sense of catharsis, that might take the form of tears following a rage. Gradually, as a normal state of mind returns, we put up our mask once more. The music attempts to express these ideas while maintaining a unified structure. One reference worth mentioning is the idea that first appears at letter A, a small quotation from a hymn called 'Soul of my Saviour'.

• Opus157 Thoughts from an Inner Garden (2011)

Thoughts from an Inner Garden

Written for the NZ String Quartet, this is an intense and moving work that evokes what happens when we lower our masks and reveal out true selves.

• Opus No: 157
• Category: Solo voice & violin
• Year: 2011
• Duration: 24 minutes
• Commissioned by The New Zealand String Quartet
• Instrumentation: Soprano, violin & piano
• Level: 2-3

Hear a sample

Programme Note

These songs were commissioned by poet Diana Neutze, for performance in her home, in Christchurch. The composer chose the seven texts to set in consultation with Diana, with reference to four volumes of her poetry. The choice of voice and instrumentation was, likewise, made in a collaborative fashion. The character of the songs is inspired by the poems, their ideas, images and sounds, and also from conversations between composer and poet. Diana has suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years and the themes of life and death, and coping with suffering are significant in the song cycle. However, Nature also plays an important role in this work, with frequent references to the garden, birds and the elements. The whole cycle is also informed by the quotation in the last song, from Bach's Chaconne in D minor, from his Partita, referred to in the poem 'Goodbye'. The presence of the poet is also signified by the notes D-A-E, taken from Diana's name, which appear as a motif in the songs.

• 1. One recurring theme
• 2. Bridal
• 3. Chronic
• 4. And the birds sing
• 5. A scent of water
• 6. Meaning
• 7. Goodbye

Dedicated to Diana.

• Opus156 Line Dances (2010)

Line Dances

Music for a dance film by Daniel Belton.

• Opus No: 156
• Category: Piano
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 30 minutes [Line Dances - The Prelude is 10 minutes - see below]
• Instrumentation: piano
• Level: 2-3

Programme Note

This music was commissioned by Daniel Belton and Good Company for his dance film, entitled Line Dances. It was written for performances in the Otago Festival of Arts, October 2010. The recording and first performances were played by the composer, in collaboration with Daniel Belton. The premiere took place in the Metro Cinema, Dunedin. The music is for 6 short films, each informed by an art work by Paul Klee. The music to these dances is intended to be performed as concert music, or prior to a screening of the films. The films themselves contain elements of the music, crafted into a soundscape by Belton. See www.goodcompanyarts.com.

• The titles of the six pieces are:
• 1. Saint A in B
• 2. Portrait of an Acrobat
• 3. Realm of the Curtain
• 4. Harlequin on the bridge
• 5. Equilibrist
• 6. Perspective with inhabitants

Line Dances - The Prelude

For the film viewings at the metro Anthony Ritchie telescoped the music from these 6 movements into a 10-minute prelude for piano. This prelude is also available for public performance.

• Opus155 Polish Dances (2010)

Polish Dances

These are lively pieces that incorporate Polish folk and classical music into a contemporary musical fabric. They are designed to show off the capabilities of the flute, complemented by an exciting piano part. Polish Dances have been recorded by Adrianna Lis for a CD of NZ flute music, to be released by Atoll Records. Recorded for inclusion on a CD of NZ flute music, Atoll Records.

• Opus No: 155
• Category: Flute
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 7'30"
• Instrumentation: flute and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This work was written for flutist, Adrianna Lis, for performances and a CD recording. It is based on three Polish dance pieces:

• 1. Chlopaki ,Chlopaki, a folk song performed by the National Song and Dance Ensemble "Slask" based in the area in Poland where Adrianna Lis was born.
• 2. Mazurka in A minor, op.68, No.2 (posthumous) by Chopin. This was chosen to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.
• 3. Polka Szabasowka, not originally from Poland but adopted by Polish folk performers. The version I based my piece on was performed on piano accordian by Miroslaw Marks.

These dances were transcribed as used as a basis for free re-composition.

Dedicated to Adrianna Lis.

• Opus154 Mountains and Rivers (2010)

Mountains and Rivers

These settings of poems by Denis Glover are evocative of the rural south in New Zealand. They were composed for the Jubilate Singers who have recorded them for a CD of New Zealand music.

• Opus No: 154
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Instrumentation: S.A.T.B. a cappella
• Level: 2-3

Programme Note

These songs were commissioned by The Jubilate Singers, conductor Grant Hutchison, for a concert of New Zealand music in 2010, on the theme of New Zealand landscape. The poems by Denis Glover come from his cycle Arawata Bill (1953) based around the life of an old gold miner in the South Island of New Zealand. These poems and their settings are evocative of the southern landscape. The titles are:

• I - The Crystallized Waves
• II - A Prayer
• III - The End

Each section in the choir divides into two parts at various points in the score. It can be sung by chamber choirs or larger choirs alike.

Dedicated to my brother, Simon

• Opus153 Silver Songs (2010)

Silver Songs

There is a mixture of the quirky and expressive in these 3 settings, written to celebrate the silver anniversary of Viva Voce.

Performance by Viva Voce, Auckland Town Hall, 23/4/2010. Broadcast on Radio NZ Concert 2010.

• Opus No: 153
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Instrumentation: S.A.T.B. a cappella
• Level: 2-3

Programme Note

Silver Songs were commissioned by Viva Voce, conductor John Rosser, for their 25th anniversary concert (their silver anniversary) on April 25, 2010. Two of the songs use poems written especially for the concert by New Zealand writer Michelanne Forster: Silverfish and Orapiu Night. The other song is a setting of Walter de la Mare's poem Silver.

The songs by Forster provide sharp contrasts of mood. Silverfish is humourous, depicting the evil exploits of an insect in melodramatic fashion. Orapiu Night was written in memory of singer, Dinah Wright, a close friend of the poets who died of cancer, and includes a haunting refrain from a New Zealand bird, the Ruru (or morepork). De le Mare's poem is a magical evocation of moonlight, and the music in underpinned by a gentle walking motion in the basses and tenors, and a reference to English folk music style.

• Opus152 Easter Melancholy (2010)

Easter Melancholy

This easy lyrical piece exploits the mellow, wistful tones of the clarinets, ranging from the higher E flat instrument down to the bass clarinet. It was written for Andrew Uren, Gretchen Dunsmore, Donald Nicholls for their tour of NZ tour in 2010.

• Opus No: 152
• Category: Clarinet/chamber music
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 4'30"
• Instrumentation: clarinet in E flat, clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet in B flat.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

Easter Melancholy was written for a clarinet trio consisting of Gretchen Dunsmore, E flat clarinet, Donald Nichols, clarinet in A, Andrew Uren, Bass clarinet in B flat. The piece is lyrical in style and reflects on personal associations with Easter. It uses a variety of modes to create different feelings and moods. The melody at the start provides most of the material for the piece, and re-appears later in a decorated version, with the tune on the bass clarinet. Lines are often ornamented, giving the music a slightly improvisatory character.

• Opus151 Piano Practice (2010)

Piano Practice

This setting of Lauris Edmond's poem is thoughtful and beautiful, well suited to an amateur choir. It was written for The Southern Consort of Voices in Dunedin, to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

• Opus No: 151
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Instrumentation: S.A.T.B. a cappella
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Piano Practice was commissioned by The Southern Consort of Voices to celebrate their 30th anniversary in 2010. It is a setting of a poem by New Zealander Lauris Edmond, describing a young girl practicing the piano and comparing the rigorous discipline of this exercise with the freedom of playing outside. The song is designed for a chamber choir of about 30 singers, splitting into 8 parts at various stages. It was premiered in June at the Otago Girls High School Auditorium.

Dedicated to The Southern Consort of Voices

• Opus150 Symphony No.3 (2010)

Symphony No.3

Winner of The Supreme Achievement Award by The Listener for 2010, this symphony is bold in colour and gesture, and presents an exciting challenge for the orchestra. It was recorded for CD by the NZSO and premiered at the Otago Festival of Arts by The Southern Sinfonia.

• Opus No: 150
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Instrumentation: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets n B flat, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, 1 bass trombone, tuba timpani (4), 3 percussionists playing tom toms, bass drum, tam tam, suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, log drum, harp, electronic keyboard (playing organ), strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Symphony No.3 was composed as part of Anthony Ritchie's work as senior lecturer in composition at the University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was written over a period of two years between 2008-2010, without a specific orchestra in mind. It will be recorded by The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under conductor, Tecwyn Evans, in 2010, as part of a CD of Anthony Ritchie's orchestral compositions. The premiere live performance will take place in The Otago Festival of Arts, October 2010, with the Southern Sinfonia orchestra in Dunedin. The composer wishes to acknowledge the support of the University of Otago in writing this symphony.

• Movements:
• I - UP - allegro furioso - very still - tempo I
• II - DOWN - adagio pesante - allegro con fuoco - slower, misterioso - largamente - slow and expressive

To Sandy

This symphony is a portrayal of two sides of human personality, represented by the two movements of the work: 'Up' and 'Down'. The music depicts the constant struggle to find balance in one's life, in terms of mood and relationships with other people.

Broadly speaking, 'Up' is active, busy, vibrant in mood. Musical motifs and themes emphasize upward progressions, while the orchestration is lively and colourful. Full of blazing brass and high-pitched woodwind, 'Up' is associated with images of the sun, and outdoors activity. Percussion play an important role rhythmically, especially the combination of log drum and tom toms. Eventually the lively character of the music loses control, leading to a riotous climax involving the percussion and full orchestra in unison. The music disintegrates into a short oasis of calm, before the busy mood is gradually re-established, and brings the movement to an end, on a bright sounding D Lydian chord.

'Down', by contrast, is melancholic, slow and mournful in mood. If 'Up' is associated with the sun, then 'Down' is associated with Saturn. There is also reference made to Durer's famous woodcut, 'Melancholia' (1514), in which a magic square appears. The numbers on this square are used to generate themes and ideas in this movement - the opening piccolo melody, underpinned by wispy strings, for example. A second theme, featuring tuba and bass trombone, refers to a 'tuatara' theme written by the composer in 1991, and here is ponderous in tone. Following a gradual buildup a faster section emerges, full of tension and unresolved progressions. The angry protests subside, and a mysterious passage recaps the first theme, accompanied by constantly shifting strings. Out of the depths emerges a bass clarinet, playing a bird-like theme, which is picked up by the other woodwinds in a fugue, which refers back to the earlier quick section. After a brief silence, the second theme reappears but this time in a passionate, full-blooded version that leads to a tense climax. The music searches for resolution, and eventually finds it in a lyrical coda for strings alone, to start with. Themes from earlier in the symphony are transformed, and the overall key centre, D, is hinted at but never quite reached. The chiming of a clock suggests the never-ending passing of time, and the log drum, so prominent in the first movement, returns to conclude the work.

Structurally, 'Up' has elements of sonata form which become increasingly loose as the movement progresses. 'Down' is symmetrical in arrangement, with the mysterious section forming the centre of the following form A-B-C-D-C-B-A (+ coda).

• Opus148 This Sea We Cross Over (2010)

This Sea We Cross Over

This setting of Jenny Bornholdt's poem is flowing and intense. It was written for the NZ Youth Choir for its 2010 World Tour, performed at the Shanghai Expo, and broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

• Opus No: 148
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 3'30"
• Instrumentation: SSAATTBB
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

This Sea we cross over is based on text by Jenny Bornholdt and is used with her kind permission. This work was commissioned by Choirs Aotearoa New Zealand Trust with support from Creative New Zealand. It was premiered by the New Zealand Youth Choir on 22 February 2010 at Parliament House, Wellington.

According to Jenny Bornholdt, this poem is a memorial to those Anzacs lost in the wars, but also celebrates the connections between New Zealand and Australia. Therefore, it looks back to the past but also forwards to the future. The sea is used as the connecting point, with other elements included being trade, women getting the vote, song, migration, etc. Images of sea and water dominate the music, which features long flowing vocal lines.

Dedicated to my father

• Opus147 A Little Sleep (2010)

A Little Sleep

This piece progresses from the perpetual motion of the opening, through a dark lullaby and onto a fiery last section that tests the performer's technique. It was composed for Tom McGrath, who recorded it onto the CD Expressions, released by Ode Records in 2010.

• Opus No: 147
• Category: Piano
• Year: 2010
• Duration: 9 minutes
• Instrumentation: piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

A Little Sleep was composed for Tom McGrath, for performances and for inclusion on a CD recording of piano music by Anthony Ritchie. It was written with financial assistance from The University of Otago. The piece is in three sections, and they evoke a bedtime scene: a child listens to a music box while she prepares for sleep. Her parent sings her a lullaby and she drifts off, but her sleep is disturbed by a nightmare. This is the surface level of the piece, but it may be interpreted in various ways. Pedaling effects are particularly significant in this piece, which explores a variety of timbre. The three sections should be played without a break.

• i - music box
• ii - lullaby
• iii - nightmare

Dedicated to Tom McGrath

• Opus145 Olinda (2009)

Olinda

Olinda is based around an original song by Henry Purcell, with modern harmonies and counterpoints added. Flowing and lyrical in tone, it was written for Voices NZ, and widely performed by them.

• Opus No: 145
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2009
• Duration: 3 minutes
• Instrumentation: SSAATTBB
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Olinda is based on the song Olinda in the Shades unseen by Henry Purcell (from approximately 1680-90s). It was written for the National Youth Choir of New Zealand, to commemorate their 30th anniversary in 2009, and also to fit into a programme featuring the music of Purcell. The setting is based on material from the song and follows the structure of the original song quite closely. However. there are changes in modality, harmony and rhythm that lend it a modern sound. The theme of the song is lost youth and the relentless march of time, a common theme in poetry from the 1500-1600s.

Dedicated to the National Youth Choir of New Zealand

• Opus144 Echoes (2009)

Echoes

This piece was composed for Puspawarna Gamelan, the community group based at the University of Otago, and given its first performances in 2009. It has been recorded on a University of Otago Music Department CD by the ensemble.

• Opus No: 144
• Category: Gamelan
• Year: 2009
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Instrumentation: Gender, Ketuk, 1st Saron, 2nd Saron, 3rd Saron, Gambang, Bongang Panerus, Bongang, Kengong, Kempul, Kandang
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Hear a sample

Programme Note

This piece was composed for Puspawarna Gamelan at Otago University for a performance in October, 2009. There is a traditional gamelan score plus a score using Western notation, which is a guide to the composer's intentions. Individual parts may be improvised around, although the main theme and its echo at the end should be preserved as indicated in the score. There are embellished solos written out for gender, 1st saron, bongang panerus, bongang, gambang and kandang which are not notated fully in this score - refer to the western notation for these solos in full. The word 'ring' is used to indicate the sound being sustained and not dampened. Different octaves within one instrument: different octaves are used within the range of the gender and gambang - refer to the Western notation for the actual pitches intended.

The piece has the following sub-sections: Theme - Canon (on the theme) & Canon with variations - Theme 2 -' Bright' theme Theme 2 repeated with variation - 'Bright' theme repeated with variation - Canon repeated - Theme reduced

• Opus142 Wind Quintet (2009)

Wind Quintet

This work evokes scenes from central Otago in the South Island of New Zealand, with additional inspiration coming from the poetry of Brian Turner. Both challenging and thoughtful, this piece was written for Zephyr for their Chamber Music NZ tour in 2009, and recorded by Radio NZ Concert.

• Opus No: 142
• Category: Chamber music
• Year: 2009
• Duration: 14 minutes
• Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

This Wind Quintet was commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand Trust to be performed by Zephyr. The funds for the commission were provided by Creative New Zealand. The performers in Zephyr are: Bridget Douglas, flute, Robert Orr, oboe, Phil Green, clarinet in B flat, Ed Allen, horn in F, and Robert Weeks, bassoon. The Wind Quintet was premiered during the Chamber Music NZ tour, June 28-July 12. It is in three connected sections:

• I - Chill winds from the south and west
• II - By the Dry Cardrona
• III - A Procession of Clouds

These subtitles come from lines and titles by NZ poets Brian Turner (I and III, both in the book Timeless Land) and James K. Baxter (II). The Wind Quintet is semi-programmatic, and is inspired by associations with Central Otago, in New Zealand's South Island. Sections I and III reflect on the influence of the weather, while the middle section uses a New Zealand folk song as a basis for the material. By the Dry Cardrona was originally a poem by Baxter, written in 1956 and was set to music by James McNeish and Don Toms. Numerous folk singers have adopted it, including Martin Curtis, to whom I owe my first experience of this marvelous song, on the album Gin and Raspberry. Part of the tune is subject to variations in this middle section.

Dedicated to Zephyr

• Opus141 Portrait of FH (2009)

Portrait of FH

Symphonic work inspired by the media used by Frances Hodgkins - water-colours, oils and gouaches.

• Opus No: 141
• Category: Professional orchestra
• Year: 2009
• Duration: 27 minutes
• Commissioned by The Southern Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: 2222/2220/timp 3perc piano strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Available from the composer

Hear a sample

Programme Note

• Prelude
• i - Water-colours
• ii - Oils
• iii - Gouaches

Portrait of FH was commissioned by The Southern Sinfonia and written as part of a presentation about the life of great NZ artist, Frances Hodgkins. It reflects on aspects of the artist's life, ranging from her early days in NZ in the late 19th century through to the 'flowering of her career' in the 1940s, when she was one of the leading modernist painters of her generation.

The work opens with the Frances doodling at the piano (an instrument she played), improvising a theme, which then gets woven into the fabric of the piece. The orchestra enters with a flourish, and both the Prelude and 'Water- colours' are optimistic and lively in tone.

In 'Water-colours' I took as a cue Frances' statement "I made the paint dance," and a waltz feel pervades the piece. 'Oils', by contrast, is somber in tone, with a sense of loneliness and also reflects the hardships of war. 'Gouaches' is strange and colourful in sound, and becomes heroic in tone towards the end, before an unresolved ending, in which the piano returns again.

All movements are connected by the use of a musical motif, F-B which, when using the traditional German note names, spell F-H. This motif, representing Frances, also relates to the whimsical, poignant self-portraits she painted.

This work was the brainchild of art collector and curator Marshall Seifert, and it is to Marshall that I dedicate the music.

• Opus140 Words are my Notes (2008)

Words are my Notes

This cycle is a setting of four poems by Christopher Marshall which explore the nature of words and their use in human relationships.

• Opus No:140
• Category:Song/Mezzo soprano
• Year:2008
• Duration:12 minutes
• Commissioned by Christopher Marshall
• Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, viola, piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians
• Available from the composer

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Song cycle for mezzo soprano, viola and piano

Poems by Christopher Marshall | Music by Anthony Ritchie, 2008

This song cycle was commissioned by Christopher Marshall for inclusion in his chamber music series, Christopher's Classics, in 2009. It was written for Catrin Johnsson, mezzo soprano, Serenity Thurlow, viola, and Rachel Fuller, piano. The four songs to words by the commissioner himself explore the nature of words and their use in human relationships.

• 1. Shapes and Colours
• 2. Questions - To whom it may concern
• 3. Thinking
• 4. Things said
• Dedicated to Christopher Marshall

• Opus139b Sultry (2009)

Sultry

This short piece is evocative and playful, showing off different sides of the guitar. It is aimed at around grade 8 to LTCL level.

• Opus No:139b
• Category: Guitar
• Year: 2009
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Instrumentation: guitar
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This short piece for solo guitar evokes one of those unusual, hot summery evenings in the deep south of New Zealand, where the sun never seems to set and the sky has strange colours. The slow sultry opening gives way to a sensual dance-like section, ending with a more up-beat and slightly bluesy coda.

Sultry was commissioned by Matthew Marshall and first performed by him. His performance is available on video - see the performance on the SOUNZ website. Sultry is due to be published by Promethean Editions.

• Opus139 Nocturne and Sunrise (2008)

Nocturne and Sunrise

A colourful work in three sections and describes the progression from night through to early morning.

• Opus No:139
• Category: Chamber Music
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 10'30"
• Commissioned by :Serenata a Tre
• Instrumentation: flute(plus alto flute) viola guitar
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Nocturne & Sunrise Trio for Flute, Viola & Guitar Anthony Ritchie Nocturne & Sunrise was commissioned by Serenata a Tre for performance during their 2009 tour of New Zealand. It was written for performers Donald Maurice, viola, Barbara Hill, flute, and Giovanni Seneca, guitar. The work is in one continuous movement, divided into three sections:

• Languid but uneasy
• Slow, creeping
• Fast, energetic

The trio was started while the composer was on study leave in France. It is inspired by the transition from evening through night and on to morning. Different moods and atmospheres are created in the music, reflecting these times of the day.

The first section opens with slightly dark and tense theme on guitar over a gentle ostinato. This theme gradually unwinds as a busy texture is developed, leading to a much more vigorous idea on viola. The guitar sets up a rock-style accompaniment under the other instruments. These ideas are then developed before the section fades, the opening motif being turned upside down.

A sustained note on flute links the music into a slow section which depicts the sounds of night-time in a small Parisian apartment - with distant echoes of footsteps, doors slamming, and so forth. Special effects are used here, such as playing with the wood of the bow, and fluttertongues on the alto flute (a lower pitched flute). The music employs 12-note rows to create tension and uncertainty, which is then dispelled by the buoyant final section. Darkness gives way to sunrise, and there is a, a gig-like feel to the ideas. Modes are used for the melodic lines, and mirror-inversions of the themes are also used for variation. The ending is a celebration of the new day ahead.

Nocturne and Sunrise was funded by The University of Otago, as part of the composer's 2008 study leave in Paris.

• Opus138 French Overture (2008)

French Overture

A substantial overture using a slow fast slow structure. Written while the composer was visiting Paris.

• Opus No: 138
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 12 minutes
• Commissioned by Tecwyn Evans
• Instrumentation: 1222/2200/timp strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicianss

Programme Note

French Overture was composed for The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on request from conductor Tecwyn Evans, for inclusion in the 2009 tour of the North Island. It is scored for a Classical sized orchestra, and adopts the structure of the French Baroque overture: slow-fast-slow. Some features in the music also suggest a neo-classical character, such as stern dotted rhythms at the start and a fugato section in the quick section.

The composer wrote this overture while on study leave in Paris, and it is informed by some of his experiences in that city: the plethora of ancient buildings and sites, the noise and bustle of the place, the people living on the streets. At one point a strange waltz emerges, reminiscent of music from an organ grinder. Another feature is a long, climbing melody on violins near the start of the overture, which represents the eye's search for light in Paris.

Surrounded by tall apartments, we have to look up to see beyond them, something a New Zealander is not used to doing. There is elegance in Paris but there is also a tough and forbidding quality that makes a strong impression on someone from a small, unpopulated country. When the stern opening returns late in the piece it finally subsides into something softer and more human, a folk-like version of the climbing melody, which now descends peacefully into a quiet timpani solo at the end.

• Opus137d The Organist and the Rhododendron (2008)

The Organist and the Rhododendron

A reflective piece commissioned as a birthday gift for an organist who is a keen gardener.

• Opus No: 137b
• Category: Piano
• Year: 2008
• Duration:
• Commissioned by George Griffiths
• Instrumentation: keyboard instrument
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus137c Pause (2008)

Pause

A setting of a poem by Ursula Bethell celebrating gardening and delving into life's mysteries.

• Opus No: 137c
• Category: Song / Soprano
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 3 minutes
• Commissioned by George Griffiths
• Instrumentation: soprano and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

This song was commissioned by Otago Heritage Books to honour, in her 70th year, Judy Cox's irreplaceable contribution to thirty years of successful regional publishing. The words are from the poem 'Pause' written by a fellow gardener, Mary Ursula Bethell, and included in her first collection of poems, From a Garden in the Antipodes, published in 1929.

It was sung by Rosemary Tarbotton, with the composer at the piano, on July 12, 2008.

• Opus137b Cat in the Dark (2008)

Cat in the Dark

A short fun song for children's choir setting a poem by Margaret Mahy about a cat. No clarinet required.

• Opus No: 137b
• Category: School / Choir
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 2'30"
• Commissioned by North Canterbury Academy of Music
• Instrumentation: treble voices, piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

Programme Note

Poem by Margaret Mahy, music by Anthony Ritchie

Cat in the Dark was commissioned by The North Canterbury Academy of Music for performance in their Music Quarter Festival, in Rangiora, 2008. It was written for massed childrens' choir in unison and 2 parts. The final verse also includes a short 'round' in 3 parts.

There are also two different instrumental accompaniments: one for piano and clarinet in B flat, and one for piano alone.

The song may be transposed to suit the requirements of the choir.

• Opus137a Cat in the Dark (2008)

Cat in the Dark

A short fun song for children's choir setting a poem by Margaret Mahy about a cat.

• Opus No: 137b
• Category: School / Choir
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 2'30"
• Commissioned by North Canterbury Academy of Music
• Instrumentation: treble voices, clarinet, piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

Programme Note

Poem by Margaret Mahy, music by Anthony Ritchie

Cat in the Dark was commissioned by The North Canterbury Academy of Music for performance in their Music Quarter Festival, in Rangiora, 2008. It was written for massed childrens' choir in unison and 2 parts. The final verse also includes a short 'round' in 3 parts.

There are also two different instrumental accompaniments: one for piano and clarinet in B flat, and one for piano alone.

The song may be transposed to suit the requirements of the choir.

• Opus136 Piano Concerto No. 3 (2008)

Piano Concerto No. 3

A sunny and life affirming work with an emphasis on expression and colour rather than virtuosity.

• Opus No: 136
• Category: Concerto / Piano / Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 18 minutes
• Commissioned by Manukau City Symphony Orchestra
• Instrumentation: 3222/4231/timp 2perc strings
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Hear a sample

Programme Note

This concerto is a sunny and life-affirming work. There are moments of reflection however, such as the slow introduction, where a long melody on piano is picked up by the strings in the orchestra. Elements of this melody become the basis for the 'allegro' that follows which features three main ideas. The second of these, on piano with strings playing pizz. and col legno, is hyperactive and unpredictable. By comparison, the third theme that emerges on piano solo is more lyrical, and neo-classical in style. A busy development section builds to a climax and themes appear in reverse order. The fleet-footed coda features canonic entries and the movement comes to a bubbly conclusion.

In the slow movement a modal melody is undercut by dissonances on the piano, suggesting painful memories. The melody is passed over to the flutes, and back to the piano in a quasi-improvised passage. A second theme appears on the violins, lyrical and arching. After development of the theme, the piano has a short solo that brings the music back to the opening. Following an unexpected modulation the main theme is varied by the orchestra, leading to a short, quiet coda.

The finale is a whimsical, neo-classical piece, descriptive of the movements of wind-up toys. Dramatic gestures are really only mock- dramatic, and serious ideas give way to playful fun as ideas are shared quickly between orchestra and piano. The percussion have something to say near the end, suggesting toy soldiers, before the pieces comes to a rapid end.

• Opus135 Flute Sonata (2008)

Flute Sonata

A sonata in 3 movements that captures many different characters of the flute and is accompanied by an exciting piano part.

• Opus No: 135
• Category: Chamber Music / Flute
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 14 minutes
• Commissioned by Alexa Still
• Instrumentation: flute and piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

The Flute Sonata was composed for Alexa Still, and is in three movements:

• Allegro barbaro - 4 minutes
• Adagio con rubato - 5 minutes
• Allegro molto - 4 minutes

The first movement is characterized by strong accents and motor rhythms. A wedged-shape opening theme is contrasted with a darker, smoother second theme. The movement has traces of sonata form though the structure is treated with freedom. A mysterious middle section builds to a climax, leading to a highly truncated and varied recapitulation.

In the second movement a florid flute melody contrasts with a heavy chordal motif on the piano. The somber mood is lightened a little by a higher pitched second idea that, nonetheless, has a rather sinister character. Towards the end, the flute part becomes freer in rhythm, like a small cadenza, and anticipates ideas in the third movement.

This final movement is connected to the second without a break, and is dance-like in mood. A quirky opening theme builds to a more robust second idea. As these ideas are developed a waltz-like section appears on the piano, contrasted with a more lyrical theme on flute. A reversed recapitulation of themes leads to a quicker coda, and the work ends with a flourish.

Total duration: 14-15 minutes

Dedicated to Alexa

• Opus134b Rain (2008)

Rain

A lyrical and peaceful setting of the iconic poem by Hone Tuwhare.

• Opus No: 134b
• Category: Song / Baritone
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 6 minutes
• Instrumentation: Baritone and orchestra 3222/2000/2perc/celesta/harp/strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Rain is an iconic poem by Hone Tuwhare, describing beautifully a feature of the weather but also subtly ruminating on death. The setting is quiet and lyrical, with an optional part for a rainmaker (to be played by the singer).

This setting for baritone and piano was written for Matt Landreth, and recorded by him. The recording and score were auctioned to raise funds for the Otago Hospice appeal in May 2008, upon request from Martin Ferguson. The song was subsequently scored for orchestra and recorded by Matt Landreth and the Auckland Philharmonia. Duration: 6 minutes approx.

• Opus134a Rain (2008)

Rain

A lyrical and peaceful setting of the iconic poem by Hone Tuwhare.

• Opus No: 134a
• Category: Song / Baritone
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 6 minutes
• Instrumentation: Baritone and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Rain is an iconic poem by Hone Tuwhare, describing beautifully a feature of the weather but also subtly ruminating on death. The setting is quiet and lyrical, with an optional part for a rainmaker (to be played by the singer).

This setting for baritone and piano was written for Matt Landreth, and recorded by him. The recording and score were auctioned to raise funds for the Otago Hospice appeal in May 2008, upon request from Martin Ferguson. The song was subsequently scored for orchestra and recorded by Matt Landreth and the Auckland Philharmonia. Duration: 6 minutes approx.

• Opus133b Theme and Variations for Cellos (2007)

Theme and Variations for Cellos

Designed for teacher and pupils. Scored for 6 to 8 cellos and makes a good companion piece for Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos

• Opus No: 133b
• Category: Chamber Music / cello
• Year: 2007
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Commissioned by Greg Hamilton
• Instrumentation: 6 - 8 cellos (flexible)
• Level: 2-4 four parts for amateurs and two more demanding parts

Programme Note

This piece was commissioned by Greg Hamilton for performance by his cello ensemble at the cello festival in Dunedin, 2008. It is scored for 6 cello parts, but can be performed with more than one cello per part. For example, it is possible to have 2 cellos doubling the lower two parts, making a total of 8 cellos. Parts 1 and 2 are the most demanding, while parts 5 and 6 are the least demanding, with parts 3 and 4 being inbetween. Therefore, the piece can be played by players with a mixture of experience.

Dedicated to Greg Hamilton

• Opus133a Meditation for violin and piano (2008)

Meditation for violin and piano

Takes an ancient Chinese poem as its inspiration. Creates a simple calm sound world.

• Opus No: 133a
• Category: Chamber Music / Violin
• Year: 2008
• Duration: 10'30"
• Commissioned by Tessa Peterson and John van Buskirk
• Instrumentation: violin and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Meditation was commissioned by Tessa Petersen and John Van Buskirk for performance in a concert celebrating the opening of the Chinese Gardens in Dunedin, New Zealand, 2008.

The piece takes an ancient Chinese poem as its point of departure, a text that focuses on Nature and its relationship to humans. The music spontaneously expresses thoughts of Nature and beauty, using simple ideas based around modes, repeated ostinati, and a mixture of long melodic lines and shorter motifs. Various timbres on both instruments are explored, and the pianist plays on the strings of the instrument with mallets at the beginning and end of the piece.

The piece is structured in 3 main sections: slow-faster-slow, and all sections are played without a break.

• To P'ei Ti
• Before this serene evening landscape,
• I compose a few lines to speed you on your way.
• Vacantly I gaze into the distance,
• My chin resting against a ju-i stick.
• The plants wave in the breezes;
• Scented orchids have sprouted along that fence.
• From their sun-lit doorways
• The farmers are coming forward to greet us.
• Sweet spring has returned to the meadow,
• And the pond is again glimmering with water.
• Though the peach and plum blossoms are still to come,
• Each branch of each tree is smothered with leaf and bud.
• Hasten, then, my friend, to return -
• Sowing time is not far off.
• Wang Wei (701-761)
• Opus132 Fours into Twelve (2007)

Fours into Twelve

A short amusing piece based on a twelve note row and featuring lively rhythms.

• Opus No: 132
• Category: Chamber Music / Strings
• Year: 2007
• Duration: 1'30"
• Commissioned by David Heyes
• Instrumentation:4 double bass
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Fours into Twelve was commissioned by David Heyes for performance in the Bass-Fest@Wells, April 18-20th, 2008. It is one of a series of short concert openers commissioned by Heyes. Scored for four double basses, the piece is based around a 12-note tone row and includes lively rhythms and contrasting timbres.

Duration: 1:30 approx.

• Opus131 Procession (2007)

Procession

A short lively piece for amateur orchestra. Buoyant in tone and inspired by street processions.

• Opus No: 131
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 2007
• Duration: 4'30"
• Commissioned by Manukau City Symphony Orchestra
• Instrumentation: 3222 4231 timp, 2 perc, harp, piano strings
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

Procession was commissioned by The Manukau City Symphony Orchestra, as part of the Composer-in-Residence position held by the composer. It was written for the orchestra's April concert in 2008.

The music was inspired by street processions such as Santa parades, graduations, or protest marches which have played an important part in New Zealanders' lives. It opens quietly as the procession approaches from afar, with a rhythmic idea on the woodwinds which is picked up by strings. The trumpet plays a simple second theme, which is then played in canon. The momentum builds to a climax, and a contrasting flute theme is presented. Themes are developed briefly before a rumbustious coda brings the piece to an end.

The mood is generally buoyant in tone, with strong march rhythms interspersed with some meter changes.

• Opus130 Transylvanian Dances (2007)

Transylvanian Dances

Based on a transcription of two Hungarian Jewish folk tunes combined to make a lively short concert item.

• Opus No: 130
• Category: Chamber Music
• Year: 2007
• Duration: 6'30"
• Commissioned by The Jade String Quartet
• Instrumentation: string quartet
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Transylvanian Dances was commissioned by The Jade String Quartet (Miranda Adams, William Hanfling, Robert Ashworth, Claudia Price) for their Arts on Tour series of concerts, October 5-28, 2007. The piece was funded as part of the composer's work at the University of Otago.

Transylvanian Dances is based on two folk tunes that appear on the album The Lost Jewish Music of Transylvania (HNCD 1373), by the Hungarian group Muzsikas. These folk tunes were well known to Jewish communities in Transylavania before the Second World War but were lost following the holocaust. In the 1990s, Muzsikas combined forces with two old Gypsy players who could still remember the tunes. Together they reconstructed the items in full, bringing to life music that had been silent for 50 years.

In Transylvanian Dances the tunes are transcribed and arranged for string quartet, and also developed into original passages of music, in an improvisational manner. Most motifs are derived from the folk music, but some additions are made, particularly in the harmonies. Some of the timbres in the quartet are designed to mimic the sound of the cimbalom, a Hungarian percussion instrument. The low-pitched, chugging chords on viola and cello also conjure up a familiar sound from Transylvanian folk bands.

The two dance tunes transcribed in the music are:

• Jewish Dance from Szaszregen (slow)
• Dance from Maramaros (fast)

Acknowledgement The composer gratefully acknowledges permission from Muzsikas to use these two folk tunes in Transylvanian Dances.

Duration: 6:30 approx.

Dedicated to The Jade String Quartet

• Opus129 Octopus (2007)

Octopus

An octet using the same combination as the Schubert Octet and in one continuous movement. Evocative sound colours within the ensemble depict the life cycle of the octopus.

• Opus No: 129
• Category: Chamber Music
• Year: 2007
• Duration: 12 minutes
• Commissioned by Amici
• Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, horn
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

This Octet was commissioned by Donald Armstrong for his group Amici, to be performed in concerts around the Wellington region in 2007-8. The premiere took place in Waikanae, July 15.

It is scored for the same combination as the famous Schubert Octet in F: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, horn in F

The Octet is in three linked sections, with the following subtitles:

• I - Octopus
• II - Sacrifice
• III - Survival of the Small

The Octet was composed as part of the composer's work at the University of Otago.

Duration: 12:30

• Opus128 Whalesong (2006)

Whalesong

A ten minute mini-concerto based on the song of the humpback whale.

• Opus No: 128
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Commissioned by NZSO
• Instrumentation: 2,2,1,1bc,l,2bs / 2 2 0 0/ 1perc /strings(maximum 10, 8, 6, 5, 3)
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Performers Note

The solo double bass is to be tuned E-B-E-A (from lowest to highest string). The bass should be amplified to achieve a good sound balance. All the bass part is sounding an octave lower than written, including harmonics.

The other double basses in the orchestra also sound an octave lower than written. One bass must have a low C.

The percussionist is to improvise patterns on the bass drum when playing with the super ball (letters A-D). The sound should ebb and flow, and there should be occasional silences. The gestures should be slow and reflective. Dynamics can fluctuate but should never be too loud for the solo bass.

The timing of the 'seagull' effect in bars 17-40 (solo bass and 1st violins) can have some freedom. However, the conductor must maintain a strict tempo throughout (aside from pause bars).

The rhythm of the tapped pizzicato in bars 20-44 (2nd violins) is free. It is to be played as quickly as possible, but the violins should not be synchronized. Each progression is achieved through a slow glissando and with approximate timing. However, the players should aim to arrive at the beginning of each bar together, if possible.

If possible, the loud rim shot on the side drum at letter H should not be telegraphed by the conductor. It is intended to surprise. Slap pizz. and 'snap' pizz. should be strongly percussive.

Programme Note

Whalesong was commissioned by The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and composed for soloist, Dale Gold. It was written for inclusion in the orchestra's 2007 subscription series.

Duration: 10 minutes approximately

Dedicated to Dale Gold

Whales have long been one of my favourite mammals, and I have always felt greatly aggrieved when I hear of the slaughter of these huge and gentle creatures. One of the most heart-warming sights I know of is seeing a community of people trying to save beached whales, a sight that is not uncommon around our coastline. For most New Zealanders, the idea of hunting whales is now abhorrent and worthy of protest at an international level. This piece, entitled Whalesong, is my small contribution to that on-going protest.

The piece takes its inspiration from a marvellous and famous recording of a humpback whale, made by Frank Watlington of Columbia University Geophysical Field Station, and first released by Roger Payne in 1970. Some phrases from this song have been incorporated into the music, such as the opening rise of a third. The many sliding phrases in the piece owe a debt to the whale's singing, as do some low rumbling effects on the double bass. The echoing sound world of the underwater is also evoked in the music. Ideas from the whale's song are subjected to compositional processes, in order to create a coherent piece of human music, something the composer has already grappled with in his work for flute, entitled Tui (2004).

Whalesong also has a programmatic component to it. Its peaceful song is cruelly interrupted by a harpoon, and the whale is slowly hauled in (signified by the mechanical rhythms in the final section of the piece).

I would like to express my gratitude to Dale Gold for his assistance and advice in writing this piece

• Opus127 Diary of a Madman: A Dedication to Shostakovich (2006)

Diary of a Madman: A Dedication to Shostakovich

A collage of quotations from the Russian master, woven into a colourful fabric.

• Opus No: 127
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Commissioned by Christchurch Symphony
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

In 1975 when Shostakovich died I was in the fourth form at St Bedes College and already hooked on the music of the Russian genius. When the death notice appeared in the paper I solemnly set to work on an orchestral piece 'Dedication to Shostakovich', much to the amusement of my schoolmates. Now, 31 years later, and during the centenary celebrations of Shostakovich's birth, I have had the opportunity to write another dedication to the composer, courtesy of the Christchurch Symphony and Otago University (who funded the commission).

When the idea of writing a piece based on a Shostakovich theme was first suggested, I immediately thought of a 'Theme and Variations'. However, I found it too difficult to settle on a single theme - there were so many good ones to choose from! This gave me the idea of basing the piece around more than one quotation from the composer's oeuvre. Shostakovich himself was fond of quoting other composers' works (and his own works also), as in the Eighth string quartet when the quotations form a string of coded messages. I decided to take this route, and ended up creating a piece that quotes Shostakovich 14 times. Some of these quotations are literal ones, while others are more disguised. Some are quite lengthy and form a structure to base the music around, while others are very short and fleeting.

The Shostakovich of this piece is not the Shostakovich of the epic symphonies (although they have their place here). Instead, I use lesser-known early works as my starting point: those youthful, zany, cutting edge works that express an almost manic character on occasions. So the work opens with menace from the 4th symphony, followed by cheekiness from the Aphorisms for piano, and satire from The Age of Gold ballet. In amongst these are references to numerous other pieces, and particularly a deathly string chord from the 15th String Quartet. They are brought together through free-association of ideas, and a few recurring motifs. The final section uses a theme from the 10th Symphony, second movement, as the basis for a frenzied conclusion.

When I wrote this piece I had in my mind the image of the crazed composer writing a sort of jumbled diary that lurches from farce to despair in rapid succession. Shostakovich was very fond of the 19th century Russian author Gogol, basing his first opera The Nose on one of Gogol's short stories. Another of Gogol's stories is 'Diary of a Madman', which uses the formula of 'laughter through tears', a formula that is very often present in Shostakovich, too. Therefore, my piece Diary of a Madman: Dedication to Shostakovich is designed as a funny/sad commentary on a great composer who's music could induce both laughter and tears.

• Opus126 Peninsula Suite (2006)

Peninsula Suite

Six pieces for young performers on the theme of local wildlife, aimed at grades 4-5.

• Opus No: 126
• Category: Solo piano
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 12 minutes
• Commissioned by The Otago Branch of the Registered Music Teachers of New Zealand
• Instrumentation: solo piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

Programme Note

Otago Alive was commissioned by the Otago Branch of the Registered Music Teachers of New Zealand, as part of their centenary celebrations in 2006. The work portrays six creatures found around the Otago region. Each piece aims to describe a feature of these creatures, as well as offering a variety of technical challenges to the pianist.

• 1. Sand-hoppers dance.
• 2. Seals slither.
• 3. Kereru swoop.
• 4. Hoiho hip hop.
• 5. Albatross glide.
• 6. Crabs scuttle.

Note: Kereru are NZ wood pigeons, Hoiho are yellow-eyed penguins.

• Opus125 Organ Overture (2006)

Organ Overture

A stormy and vibrant piece with challenging organ part.

• Opus No: 125
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Commissioned by Southern Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: organ and orchestra
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Organ Overture was commissioned by the Southern Sinfonia to celebrate the orchestra's 40th anniversary. It was written and funded as part of the composer's work at the University of Otago. It features a prominent part for concert organ, and is also partly a tribute to 'Norma', the Dunedin Town Hall organ.

Orchestras often bring together many threads of a musical community, and are a vital part of the culture in New Zealand cities. The diversity of instruments and musicians on display in an orchestra are a great source of inspiration for composers and music-followers alike. In this overture I give thanks to the Sinfonia, and wish it a long and happy future.

Elements of southern weather find their way into the music. The piece opens stormily, with jagged lightning and rumbling thunder. A vigorous theme emerges and leads to a gusty, pulsating passage. As this calms a little, a drum rhythm appears. Following a flowing melody on strings, accompanied by the organ, the percussion rhythm battles with rest of the orchestra. This leads to a fugue on the woodwinds, based on the opening melody, The organ then takes over with a brief cadenza, leading to a rhythmic coda in which the main themes are summarised.

• Opus124 Clarinet Quintet (2006)

Clarinet Quintet

A substantial work in 3 movements - a lively and energetic first movement - a brooding slow movement - and a restless uneasy finale.

• Opus No: 124
• Category: Chamber Works
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 18-20 minutes
• Commissioned by Christopher Marshall
• Instrumentation: clarinet, 2 violins, viola, cello
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

• I - slow, restless - allegro con energico
• II - slow and intense
• III - fast and uneasy

In the last five years Anthony Ritchie has focused much of his creative energies on chamber music. Piano Trio composed in 2001 indicated a new direction, with use of 12-note rows and generally a freer approach to all musical parameters. The trio was followed by String Quartet No.2 (2003), Oppositions for Piano Quartet (2004), Rites of Passage, for bassoon and string quintet (2005), and now the Clarinet Quintet. A CD of Ritchie's chamber music has just been released by Kiwi Pacific Records, including the trio and piano quartet, along with sonatas for cello and viola from the 1990s.

Clarinet Quintet was commissioned by Christopher Marshall for his chamber music series "Christopher's Classics" in 2006. It was written for Gretchen Dunsmore, clarinet, and The New Zealand String Quartet, for a premiere performance on September 13, 2006. The composition was also written as part of the composer's work at The University of Otago.

The point of departure in this work is Mozart, in the year of his 250th anniversary. Motivic ideas are derived from the opening melody of his Clarinet Quintet, using a magic square to transform the pitches. No direct reference is made to the Mozart theme until the third movement, which is more diatonic in character.

The first movement begins mysteriously, with a clarinet solo interspersed with rustlings from the strings. This solo contains the seeds for the entire movement, which is fast, lively and angular, following the slow introduction. A more moody and edgy middle section gradually builds up to a climax near the end of this movement. Contrasting with this is a slow middle movement that opens with a simple and bold statement on the strings. Over the top of this the clarinet plays a lamenting melody. The first four notes are a quotation from the composer's opera The God Boy (Mrs Sullivan's motif) signifying anxiety and guilt. A slightly calmer middle section is free in tonality, and builds up strongly in intensity, followed by an abridged return to the opening.

The finale is a 'moto perpetuo' movement in which the diatonic opening idea is undermined by subtle tensions in the music. Although it is fast-paced and lively, it is also weary and uneasy in tone. A rousing final section leads to a quiet, fading coda, as the life in the music is gradually exhausted. Dedicated to Mozart

• Opus123 Two Pieces for Flute and Bass Clarinet (2006)

Two Pieces for Flute and Bass Clarinet

Two contrasting pieces, one melancholy the other frisky and dynamic.

• Opus No: 123
• Category: Chamber Works
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 6 minutes
• Commissioned by Anne Ballinger
• Instrumentation: flute & bass clarinet
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus122 A Survivor from Rekohu (2006)

A Survivor from Rekohu

Programmatic piece, lyrical and dynamic for a versatile performer.

• Opus No: 122
• Category: Solo Works
• Year: 2006
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Commissioned by Alexa Still
• Instrumentation: flute, piccolo, and Maori instruments (Toanga puoro) - 1 performer
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians
• Opus121 Rites of Passage (2005)

Rites of Passage

A lively and challenging piece for an unusual combination, well received on its inaugural tour for Chamber Music NZ.

Rites of Passage was commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand and composed for Divertissiment, for their New Zealand tour in 2005. It is scored for bassoon, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass, and is in one continuous movement.

Dedicated to Divertissiment: Preman Tilson (bassoon), Vesa-Matti Leppanen (violin). Rebecca Struthers (violin), Andrew Thomson (viola), Rowan Prior (cello), Dale Gold (double bass).

• Opus No: 121
• Category: Chamber works
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 11'30"
• Commissioned by Chamber Music NZ
• Instrumentation: bassoon and string quartet
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

The piece is a relatively light-hearted reflection on the journey from birth through childhood to adolescence. It opens with birth-pains and a reference to Stravinsky's famous ballet, The Rite of Spring. This reference is a source of ideas for melodies and motifs that follow, filtered through the use of a magic square. The main theme of the first section is a quirky 12-note idea on the violin, followed by a more driving theme. A passage of plucked notes leads to another 12-note theme on bassoon. These themes are developed, and build into a wild dance, one of two dance-like passages in the work that owe a debt to Transylvanian folk music. They symbolize the life force that is only too apparent in young children.

The frisky, playful first section gives way to a short bassoon solo, leading to a slow middle section, marked 'mesto' or sad. A simple idea on the strings reflects a sense of loneliness, reinforced by bassoon melody that follows. A short double bass solo near the end is rudely interrupted by the opening of the third section, and a brief introduction leads to a lively 12-note theme on the violins. This toccata-like section is highly energetic in character, and includes a long-range accelerando in the dance passage. When the main theme returns it is abridged and channeled into a short, changeable coda.

• Opus120 Song for Minstrel (2005)

Song for Minstrel

Wistful and lyrical piece for violin and piano.

• Opus No: 120
• Category: Chamber works
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 3 minutes
• Commissioned by Robin Wilson
• Instrumentation: violin and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample
• Opus119 Flipside (2005)

Flipside

Two contrasting and colourful pieces aimed at about grade 8 level.

• Opus No: 119
• Category: Piano Duet
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Instrumentation: piano duet (4 hands, 1 piano)
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus118 Three Pieces for Viola and Guitar (2005)

Three Pieces for Viola and Guitar

Three lyrical pieces with a relatively simple guitar part.

• Opus No: 118
• Category: Chamber Works
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 10 minutes
• Instrumentation: viola and guitar
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus117 Three Images (2005)

Three Images

These three songs, written for school choir, reflect the strong and beautiful images created by the New Zealand poets Apirana Taylor and James K. Baxter.

• Opus No: 117
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 9 minutes
• Texts: Poems by Apirana Taylor & James K.Baxter
• Commisioned by: Rangi Ruru Girls' School
• Instrumentation: female voices, horn, piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

These songs were commissioned by Rangi Ruru Girls' School, Christchurch, in 2005 for the tour by the Senior Chorale, 'Resolutions', to Italy in April 2006. They are designed to be sung either individually or in different groupings. If all three are performed together, the composer recommends the following order:

• 1. the heavenly miracle (poem by Apirana Taylor) . . 3:10
• 2. High Country Weather (poem by James K. Baxter) . . 2.40 (unaccompanied)
• 3. a great seamstress (poem by Apirana Taylor) . . . 2.45

These songs have parts for sopranos 1 and 2, and altos 1 and 2. The heavenly miracle and a great seamstress include parts for piano and horn in F, while High Country Weather is for unaccompanied choir. The pianist should play from the full score, while there is a separate part for horn, transposed in F. The composer is willing to consider alternatives to the horn, such as viola, cello or clarinet. Contact the composer directly for more information on this option.

All three songs reflect the strong and beautiful images created by the New Zealand poets Apirana Taylor and James K. Baxter.

• Opus116 Oppositions (2005)

Oppositions

Angular exciting piece for piano quartet.

• Opus No: 116
• Category: Chamber Works
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Instrumentation: violin, viola, cello, piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Oppositions was composed for The New Zealand Piano Quartet, for inclusion on a CD of the composer's chamber music, released by Kiwi-Pacific Records. It is in one movement, and is based around the idea of opposing forces, whether they be literal or imaginative. In musical terms, the piano is frequently pitted against the strings, while musical themes seem to jostle for supremacy.

After a short and ominous introduction, the strident first theme is played on violin, accompanied by hammered chords. A second theme has all three stringed instruments playing in 'cluster' harmonies. The cello announces a lyrical but turbulent idea, and this is played in counterpoint with the first theme.

The piano is to the fore in a third theme, which is stealthy and marked by sudden outbursts.

These themes are discussed in a middle section that gradually winds down to very soft, thudding chords, before building up to a vigorous return of the opening. In this final section themes are fragmented and tossed around violently, before a brief Coda in which the first theme appears dominant.

• Opus115 Two Pantoums for Soprano and Piano (2005)

Two Pantoums for Soprano and Piano

Two reflective songs using recently written poems by Cilla McQueen

• Opus No: 116
• Category: Solo Songs
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 9 minutes
• Texts: Cilla McQueen
• Commissioned by Tom McGrath and Geoknil Biner-Meyer
• Instrumentation: soprano and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

These songs were commissioned by and written for Geoknil Biner-Meyer and Tom McGrath, as part of my work at the University of Otago. Initially, Cilla McQueen offered me the poem 'Bluff Pantoum' to set to music. After the commission from Geoknil and Tom I requested another pantoum from Cilla, and she obliged with 'Mining Lament'. A pantoum has 4-line stanzas, rhymes, and repeats lines in the following pattern:

A B C D B E D F E G F H G I H J etc

The poem Bluff Pantoum was written in 2003 for a friend of the poet's, to give to her husband on her birthday. It draws on images of the sea which dominate the environment of Bluff, in Southland. Mining Lament (2004) bemoans the destruction of a "golden hill" in Riverton, Southland, by sluicing.

• Opus114 Clouds (2005)

Clouds

An evocative piece for solo trombone and brass band. Written for Dave Bremner and the National Band for the World Champs 2005.

• Opus No: 114
• Category: Brass Band
• Year: 2005
• Duration: 9'30"
• Instrumentation: Soprano cornet in E flat Solo cornets in B flat (dividing into 4 parts), Repiano cornet in B flat, 2nd cornets in B flat, 3rd cornets in B flat, Flugel in B flat, Solo horn in E flat, 1st horn in E flat, 2nd horn in E flat, 1st baritone in B flat, 2nd baritone in B flat, 1st trombone in B flat, 2nd trombone in B flat, Bass trombone, 2-3 Euphoniums in B flat, 2 basses in E flat, 2 basses in B flat, Timpani, Percussion (2 players) including vibraphone, marimba, suspended cymbal, large suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, bass drum, tom toms (no snares), wind chimes
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

The starting point for this piece was some dramatic cloud formations I experienced while in Morrinsville, near Hamilton. It was a brilliant sunny day, with occasional huge and interestingly shaped clouds floating past. They provided inspiration for the opening texture for my piece Clouds, which is flowing and slowly unfolding in character.

Clouds can assume many different shapes and characters and this is reflected in my piece. There are stormy ideas with strong rhythms, jagged ideas built from small motifs, mysterious ideas that suggest darker clouds, bright climaxes that suggest the sun bursting through.

The solo trombone is like a small aeroplane, weaving its way through the clouds and enjoying a rather turbulent journey. Its part is soloistic but integrated into the band texture and often underpinned by the percussion, who have an important role in sustaining the momentum of the piece. Near the end the soloist has a brief cadenza before the music rises to a rumbling climax. This passage finally disintegrates, as the clouds disperse.

• Opus113 Bele Doette (2004)

Bele Doette

Bele Doette is based on a 12th century chanson. The oboe part freely develops motifs introduced by the soprano.

• Opus No: 113
• Category: Soprano
• Year: 2004
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Instrumentation: soprano and oboe
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Bele Doette ('Lovely Doette') is based on an anonymous 12th century Chanson de Toile. The vocal line follows the original song-line closely for two of the eight stanzas and refrains. Doette is at a window, reading, when she receives the news that her friend Doon has been killed in a jousting contest. The refrain reads "See now what grief I have", and at the end she vows to become a nun in the church of St Paul.

The original transcription of the song is published in the Anthology of Medieval Music, edited by Richard Hoppin (1978). Pitches are notated in the transcription but no rhythm. Therefore, rhythm is freely interpreted while the original melismas and word setting are maintained. The refrain is expanded beyond the original.

The oboe has a dual role. First, it freely develops motifs based on the song-lines by a process using magic squares. These motifs are used in the introduction and interludes between stanzas and refrains. Second, the oboe has a dialogue with the soprano that involves imitation and decoration, particularly in the refrains.

Bele Doette was commissioned by Pepe Becker, and written for her and oboist, Robert Orr. It has been composed as part of Ritchie's research at the University of Otago.

• Opus112 Meditation (2004)

Meditation

Simple, lyrical piece written for my wife and first performed on our wedding day.

• Opus No: 112
• Category: Chamber Works / Viola
• Year: 2004
• Duration: 3 minutes
• Instrumentation: viola and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Hear a sample
• Opus111 The God Boy (2004)

The God Boy

An opera in two acts, with libretto by Jeremy Commons, based on the novel by Ian Cross. Designed for an intimate theatre, with the voices accompanied by a chamber orchestra.

• Opus No: 111
• Category: Opera
• Year: 2004
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Instrumentation: 8 soloists: high baritone, treble, 3 sopranos, bass-baritone, contralto, baritone, chorus of children (mixed) 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet in A, trumpet, percussion (1 player), keyboard
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

In 2001, my old composition teacher and mentor Dorothy Buchanan informed me she was starting on a new opera based on The God Boy by Ian Cross. What a wonderful idea, I thought; I wish I had dreamed up that one. The God Boy had long been a favourite novel of mine, and the version for screen was of my favourite films. Six months later, I had a phone call from Dorothy, offering to hand over the libretto to me if I wanted it. She had found the story too dark to deal with, and wanted to give someone else a chance to write the work. I was overjoyed to have this opportunity. Librettist Jeremy Commons bravely agreed to the change in composer, and I started work.

I was keen to write this opera for several reasons. First and foremost I have always found the story to be deeply moving, especially the terrible contrast between childhood innocence and adult realities. Having being brought up a Catholic I still remember hoping, as I read the novel, that Sister Angela would put things right for Jimmy. But, of course, sometimes things cannot be put right, and Jimmy is left scarred at the end of the story. For me, this story represented part of my own 'growing up'. The drama of the story, beautifully condensed in the libretto, is appealing for a composer. There is plenty of scope for strong musical gestures and colourful scoring. Finally, this was my first opportunity to write a full-length opera with larger resources involved, and I was thrilled when Opera Otago offered to mount a production.

The opera uses musical motifs associated with the main characters, Jimmy, Mr and Mrs Sullivan and Molly, as a structuring device. It is through-composed rather than following the pattern of recicative, aria and chorus, although there are passages of recicative-like singing, and even speaking. Sometimes scenes are bound together by particular forms, such as the passacaglia (repeated bass melody) when Jimmy and his mother say their farewells, near the end. Three hymns from my Catholic past are used in particular scenes, for added meaning: Glory be to Jesus who in bitter pains (scene with Father Gilligan and Sister Angela), The Lord's My Shepherd (scene with Jimmy and Sister Angela, where Jimmy says he's a 'god boy'), and Soul of my Saviour (final chorus). Other melodies and harmonies derive from these hymns throughout the opera.

I was fortunate to have a sympathetic librettist in Jeremy, who conceived his script in terms of music, and allowed me to make changes where necessary.

The God Boy was premiered in Dunedin on October 1st, 2004, and ran for 4 nights as part of the Otago Festival of Arts. The composing of the music was completed as part of Anthony Ritchie's research at the University of Otago. The studio recording was funded through a Humanities grant from the University.

• Opus110 Widow's Songs (2004)

Widow's Songs

A series of three connected songs which set poems by Cilla McQueen

• Opus No: 110
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2004
• Duration: 7 minutes
• Texts: poems by Cilla McQueen, from the cycle entitled 'Rope'
• Commissioned by Tower NZ Youth Choir
• Instrumentation: SSAATTBB
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Widow's Songs (2004) consist of three settings of poems by Cilla McQueen, taken from her cycle of poems called 'Rope'. They attempt to describe thoughts and feelings of a woman grieving for her dead husband. In the process, surrounding images and activities seem to take on extra meaning. In the second song, for example, making bread becomes too difficult to do because of the memories it stirs. The style of the songs is intimate and aims to exploit the beauty of the voice to evoke feelings. Widow's Song is one of several works by Ritchie inspired by Cilla McQueen's poems, including an opera called The Trapeze Artists and the well-known song Dogwobble.

These songs were commissioned by Tower NZ Youth Choir, for performance by the a capella chamber choir, Tower Voices New Zealand. It was written for a premiere performance in the Otago Arts festival, October, 2004.

• Opus109 Tui (2004)

Widow's Songs

A short, evocative piece based on Tui calls, composed for Bridget Douglas.

• Opus No: 109
• Category: Solo Works
• Year: 2004
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Commissioned by Bridget Douglas
• Instrumentation: solo flute
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Tui is based on calls from birds, recorded in Dunedin in 2003 by University student Vicki Payne. The composer helped to transcribe some calls, and was inspired to draw on these when Bridget Douglas commissioned him to write a short piece. The work uses a variety of special effects, influenced to some degree by the Tui. It has a quirky character with rapid ideas juxtaposed with moments of silence. Douglas premiered the work during a New Zealand tour in 2004, and recorded it for Trust Records late in that year.

• Opus108 Quartet (2003)

Quartet

Quartet is a chamber opera for 4 singers with string quartet, performing on-stage. It can work with or without a conductor.

• Opus No: 108
• Category: Opera
• Year: 2003
• Duration: 70 minutes
• Libretto: Stuart Hoar
• Commissioned by New Zealand International Arts Festival
• Instrumentation: 2 sopranos, tenor, baritone; string quartet - 2 violins, viola, cello
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Quartet is a comic chamber opera, based around the trials and tribulations of a touring string quartet. The action is set on the West Coast of NZ, before moving to the capital, Wellington, for the tour finale. The seven scenes are continuous, and explore the relationships of Penelope and Buddy (New Zealanders), Nadezhda (a moody Russian violinist) and Julian (a new-age American cellist).

The work was commissioned by The International Festival of the Arts for performance in its 2004 festival.

• Opus107 Timeless Land (2003)

Timeless Land

Timeless Land can be performed as an orchestral piece alone, or in conjunction with a film by Natural History NZ and readings of texts by Brian Turner and Owen Marshall.

• Opus No: 107
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2003
• Duration: 45 minutes music only / 60 minutes with readings
• Texts: Brian Turner readings: 'Landscapes of Central Otago', 'Abandoned Homestead', 'Poolburn Twilight' Owen Marshall readings: 'There is a Place' - parts 1 and 2
• Commissioned by Southern Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: pic, 2 flts, 2 obs, 2 clars. 2 bsns, 4 hrns, 2 tprts (1 dlb. cornet), 3 trmbs, tuba, timp, 3 perc. harp, strings, solo soprano (3rd movement only)
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

• I Sculptures
• II Travelling
• III Passing
• IV Elements

Central Otago holds a special place in the hearts of many people. This is clear to see in the wonderful book called Timeless Land which combines the paintings of Grahame Sydney with the writings of Brian Turner and Owen Marshall. We decided early on to focus on the Maniototo, which is Grahame's spiritual heartland and which has inspired so many of his great works. For me the Maniototo suggests a variety of feelings: awe at the expansiveness of the land and the surrounding ranges. There is the exhilarating beauty of the different seasons: the Autumnal colours for instance, or the bleak Winter images.

There is the strange sense of freedom and escape that one experiences driving through the Maniototo. There can also be an overwhelming sense of loneliness, and feelings of insignificance when placed in such a vast, un-peopled landscape. Then there are the reminders of human impermanence, with decaying and abandoned structures, old graveyards and memorials. The Maniototo will mean different things to different people, but in this work I have tried to portray it in sound, as I feel it in my heart. So the music is not simply descriptive, or impressionistic; it also reflects human moods and emotions.

While the music is designed to be combined with images, it can also stand alone. There is a loose symphonic structure in the four movements, with recurring themes and motifs. Most significant of these are the opening cornet melody, and an assertive cornet call that first appears in the middle of the second movement. This cornet call has a vague connection with The Last Post, and becomes a reminder of death in the third movement. Most themes and ideas in the music derive from the manipulations of a 5-note motif, using magic squares. The 5-note motif, which is never openly revealed in the piece, comes from a short Magnificat, composed at the time of my mother's death in 2001.

• Opus106 Four Bagatelles for Percussion and Viola (2003)

Four Bagatelles for Percussion and Viola

This work consists of four short pieces in contrasting moods, for professional performers

• Opus No: 106
• Category: Chamber Works
• Year: 2003
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Commissioned by Arnold Marinissen and Liesbeth Kok
• Instrumentation: Viola, marimba, vibraphone, 4 tom toms
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

Four Bagatelles was commissioned by Arnold Marinissen for performance by himself and his wife Liesbeth Kok. They explore aspects of children's behaviour, as exemplified by the composer's daughter, Annabelle.

Much of the thematic ideas are derived from a short 'Annabelle' motif (A-B-E-E), which is heard at the beginning of the work. The movement titles are:

• 1. Annabelle
• 2. Tantrum
• 3. Tears
• 4. Frisky

It was first performed by Arnold and Liesbeth in November, 2003, in the Southern Sinfonia rooms.

• Opus105 String Quartet No 2 (2003)

String Quartet No 2

This work is in four movements and is designed for professional players.

• Opus No: 105
• Category: Chamber Works / Strings
• Year: 2003
• Duration: 24'20"
• Commissioned by The Nevine String Quartet
• Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Melodic ideas and motifs are derived from a magic square by Renaissance artists Albrecht Durer, which appear son the woodcut called 'Melancholia'.

The first movement is energetic in character, while the second is sad and melancholic, with a slowly rocking idea being suggestive of a lullaby. The third movement is obsessive in rhythm, with a gentler contrasting middle section. After a reflective opening, the finale burst into a rustic, dance-like mood. Towards the end, various motifs from earlier movements are integrated into the texture and the work ends with a flourish.

This is a substantial, yet approachable work for professional musicians.

• 1. Allegro
• 2. Like a lullaby
• 3. allegro pesante
• 4. misterioso - allegro molto
• Opus104 Magnificat (2001)

Magnificat

This Magnificat is a relatively simple setting, designed for liturgical use, and using the Latin text.

• Opus No: 104
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2001
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Texts: Latin Magnificat
• Commissioned by Cantores
• Instrumentation: SATB (or trebles, male altos, tenors, basses)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This Magnificat was commissioned by Cantores of Dunedin, and has been performed frequently by them in church settings. It is a simple setting of the old text, with references to old-style Gregorian chant, intergrated with modern harmonies.

It was originally scored for male voice choir, with trebles and male altos, but works well with womens voices.

It is dedicated to my mother, who died in 2001.

• Opus103 Song of Hope (2002)

Song of Hope

This is a short but quite challenging choral work, recalling the sinking of the Cooks Strait ferry, Wahine, in 1968. It was first performed by The Southern Consort of Voices in 2003.

• Opus No: 103
• Category: Choir a cappella
• Year: 2002
• Duration: 4 minutes
• Texts: Elena Poletti
• Commissioned by The Southern Consort of Voices
• Instrumentation: SATB (or trebles, male altos, tenors, basses)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus101 24 Preludes (2002)

24 Preludes

These 24 Preludes for piano represent a new direction for the composer, and are challenging to play. They cover a wide variety of moods and characters, paying homage in places to Bach, Chopin, Debussy and Shostakovich.

• Opus No: 101
• Category: Solo piano
• Year: 2002
• Duration: 55 minutes
• Instrumentation: solo piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample from Prelude 9

Programme Note

It is impossible not to feel inspired when playing some of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues, Chopin's 24 Preludes, Debussy's two books of preludes, or Shostakovich's 24 Preludes and Fugues. As a composer I wanted to make a small mark of respect to these greats with some dedications. I have also taken a cue from Bach and Shostakovich and included contrapuntal forms within these preludes. While not wanting to restrict myself to the form of a fugue, there are several preludes which are close in spirit to fugues: Nos.17 and 19 for instance, are what I would call my 'prelugues'. There is also a passacaglia (No.16) which owes a debt to Shostakovich.

I have conceived these pieces as a unified whole. Within them I have attempted to cover a whole variety of characters and moods, from the improvisational and experimental to the lyrical and gentle, from the wild and gestural to the calm and peaceful, from the quirky and 'black' to the light and sunny, from the depressive to the resolved.

The extensive technical planning and preparation behind these pieces has been fun for me as the composer, but in the end it is the sound and musical expression that matters. I would like to think this voyage of discovery has led to something new and interesting to listen to.

• Opus100 Piano Trio (2001)

Piano Trio

This work was a finalist in the SOUNZ Contemporary Award for 2001, and signals a new direction in the composer's style, using 12-tone rows for the first time since student works.The Piano Trio is in three movements.

• Opus No: 100
• Category: Chamber Works / cello / piano / violin
• Year: 2001
• Duration: 16 minutes
• Instrumentation: violin, cello and piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

• I - Maggie Boy, Nice Boy
• II - The Deamon
• III - Hyper-dyper

I got to know Euan Murdoch both as a friend and as a musician when he came to Dunedin to teach cello at the University some years ago. Everything about Euan encouraged me to write him a piece: his lively and warm personality, his huge enthusiasm for music and his brilliance as a player, plus a certain down-to-earth Kiwi quality that is refreshing to encounter within classical music circles. Having composed 'The Blue Sonata' for him in 1999, I was approached by Euan to write something else. He had moved to Wellington for a job at Victoria University, and wanted a piece for Trio Victoria. I relished this opportunity to compose again for Euan, and for the others in the group, Doug Beilman and Thomas Hecht.

During 2000 I came to the conclusion I needed a substantial break from composing, due to what might be termed creative 'burn out'. I also wanted the time to reassess the direction I was heading with my music. Consequently, the trio commission arrived at a time where I felt the urge to experiment and come up with something a little different. Having said that, there are connecting threads with earlier pieces, particularly my Symphony No.2 which was premiered at the Wellington Arts Festival in 2000.

Piano Trio was commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand, with funding provided by Creative New Zealand.

This Piano Trio attempts to suggest psychological states through sound images. It is not directly programmatic but, as the titles of the movements suggest, there are distinct ideas and moods imbedded in the music. The first movement uses imaginary characters from childhood - 'Maggie Boy' and 'Nice Boy' - as representations of two sides of personality: the bad and the good, or the dark and the light. 'Maggie Boy' has music that is barbarous, angular and dissonant. In the opening section a 12-note theme appears, providing the basis for much of the material that follows. Following a metric modulation (or change in note values) the violin and cello play a wispy, lyrical theme that portrays 'Nice Boy', while the pianist's right hand tinkers away with 12-note themes, impervious to the sentiments of the strings. 'Maggie Boy' returns in the final section of the movement, dispatching 'Nice Boy' to the recesses of the mind.

The second movement, 'The Deamon', is concerned with neither good nor bad but rather the nothingness of depression, that caged state of mind where emotions and feelings seem to spiral inwards. Melodic lines twist and turn, trying to find a way out of the psychological cage. Reference is made to the 12-note theme from the first movement, as well as the 'life and death' theme from my Symphony No.2.

The third movement, 'Hyper-dyper' is, as its title suggests, ebullient and almost frantically busy. An angular and jazzy opening theme is followed by a nervous, darting second theme featuring some special effects on the strings. The piano rudely interrupts proceedings and a playful but tense middle section follows, based on the 12-note theme from the first movement. In the Coda the 'hyper' quality dominates and the Trio comes to an end on a crunching discord.

• Opus99 The Bomb is Made (2000)

The Bomb is Made

A reflective setting of the final verse of Keith Sinclair's moving poem on the theme of nuclear destruction. Written as a concert opener, but could fit within a programme as well. It is not technically demanding.

• Opus No: 99
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Texts: Keith Sinclair
• Commissioned by Auckland Choral Society
• Instrumentation: Large choir in up to seven parts (S.S.A.A.T.B.B.) Strings (six 1st violins, five 2nd violins, four violas, four cellos, two double basses) Organ (with pedals) Timpani (2)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus98b Bartok Medley (1999)

Bartok Medley

A lively selection of folk songs collected by Bartok, arranged for school orchestra (secondary, though a good primary school orchestra could play it). More challenging parts for solo violin and piano.

• Opus No: 98b
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 6 minutes
• Commissioned by Columba College
• Instrumentation: for school orchestra flute 1, flute 2, oboe, clarinet 1 in B flat, clarinet 2 in B flat, Alto saxophone, trumpet Drum kit, Piano, electronic keyboard, guitar 1st violins (with solo), 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double bass Optional bagpipe solo at the start Instrumentation is flexible
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus98a Dance Around the World (2000)

Dance Around the World

In six sections, this tuneful piece is designed for school performers, and explores different styles of dance music around the world

• Opus No: 98a
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Commissioned by Columba College
• Instrumentation: for school orchestra flute 1, flute 2, oboe, clarinet 1 in B flat, clarinet 2 in B flat, Flugel Horn in B flat, 3 percussionists playing Roto toms, bass drum, triangle, rainmaker, cymbal, wood block, sleigh bells, maracas, cow bell, Piano duet (4 hands at one keyboard) 1st violins (with solo), 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double bass. The scoring is flexible: trumpet could be used instead of Flugel, for instance.
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

This work attempts to evoke dance styles from different parts of the world, without using any real folk music. The six dances are linked without a break:

• 1. Maori Action Song
• 2. Celtic Gig
• 3. Transylvannian ' Swaying Dance '
• 4. Ragtime Dance
• 5. Latin American Dance
• 6. Russian Sabre Dance
• Opus98c From Mountains to Sea (2000)

From Mountains to Sea

The music traces the South Canterbury landscape from the mountains, via rivers, lakes, over farms and the animals, to the sea.

• Opus No: 98c
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Commissioned by Youth Orchestra South Canterbury
• Instrumentation: school orchestra
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus98d Visions of Education (2000)

From Mountains to Sea

Visions of Education is a theatrical piece, involving a mix of music, drama, singing and narration of texts. It was written for the 125th anniversary celebrations of the Dunedin College of Education.

• Opus No: 98d
• Category: Choir Accompanied
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Commissioned by Errol Moore of the Dunedin College of Education
• Instrumentation: choir accompanied
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

This piece adopts a variety of styles from different periods in the 20th century. It is designed as a fun-piece for students, and has numbers that could be performed in isolation from the main body of the work.

• Opus98e Stomping in the Park (1999)

Stomping in the Park

An easy piece for school orchestra, with a catchy tune and colourful orchestration.

• Opus No: 98e
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 3'30"
• Commissioned by Christchurch Primary Schools Festival 1999
• Instrumentation: The number of instruments on each part may vary. It is scored for the following: 1st flutes, 2nd flutes, 1st oboes, 2nd oboes, 1st clarinets in B flat, 2nd clarinets in B flat, 1st bassoon, 1st horns in F, 2nd horns in F, 1st trumpets in B flat, 2nd trumpets in B flat, 1st trombones, 2nd trombones, tuba 4 percussionists, playing bass drum, suspended cymbal, sidedrum, xylophone 1st violins (divided in two), 2nd violins (divided in two), 3rd violins, violas, cellos, basses
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus97 Southern Journeys (2000)

Southern Journeys

The four movements of this 'visual symphony' describe landscapes and wildlife in the deep south of NZ. The evocative music compliments the stunning film by Natural History NZ, but can also stand by itself as a concert piece. Southern Journeys plays in the 'Southern Land - Southern People' exhibition of the Otago Museum.

• Opus No: 97
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 31 minutes
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia and Natural History Unit
• Instrumentation: for orchestra and film: 2222/3231/timp, 3 perc, harp, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

New Zealand's landscape has long been a source of inspiration for artists and composers. I was fortunate enough to have enjoyed frequent trips to the mountains when young, and I still remember them fondly to this day. I have written quite a number of works on the theme of New Zealand's natural environment. So I was very pleased to be asked by The Dunedin Sinfonia and Natural History New Zealand to compose 'Southern Journeys'.

After initial discussions in 1999, I was given freedom to come up with my own 'synopsis' for the piece. The music was to be written first, and then recorded by the Dunedin Sinfonia so that images could be put to the music. This was a considerable luxury for the composer, as normally the film is made first and later the music is written to fit the images. Natural History was insistent that I should compose my music without the restriction of specific images, and for that I am very grateful. Although 'Southern Journeys' is programmatic, I have attempted to incorporate a symphonic logic into the music. Themes are developed and transformed, and there is an element of cyclic form with the return of the opening theme at the very end of the work. Ideally, the music should be able to stand alone without film, and still make sense.

The first movement is subtitled 'Ancient South' and portrays southern landscape, particularly remote areas such as mountains and sounds. The land is constantly being changed by water, snow and wind, the most dramatic example being the effects of avalanches.

In the second movement, 'Southern Adventures', humans interact with Nature, at sea, in caves, on rock faces, in the air. Although these adventures are often difficult and treacherous, we feel exhilerated by this risky communion with Nature.

The third movement, 'Seasons in the South', begins with the stillness of lakes and forests in Autumn, and moves on to explore southern bird and sea life. Winter announces its arrival with a storm, followed by the thawing of snow and ice and the first signs of Spring.

The last movement, 'Our Place', explores our own environment and contrasts it with the natural enviroment we have witnessed in the previous movements. A note of caution is sounded: we cannot take the natural beauty of the South for granted. We have to respect and care for it, so as to maintain the balance between our needs and the needs of Nature. At the end of the movement a harmony exists between the beautiful aspects of a city like Dunedin and the natural enviroment.

'Southern Journeys' received financial assistance from the Millennium Fund and Natural History New Zealand

• Opus96 Ahua (2000)

Ahua

A mix of opera and oratorio, with a dramatic libretto by Keri Hulme and strong, evocative music. It incorporates elements of Maori music, and a kapahaka group contributes traditional and original music to the work. 'Ahua' tells the story of Moki, one of the first of the Ngai Tahu tribe to settle in the South Island.

• Opus No: 96
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 2000
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Texts: Keri Hulme
• Commissioned by Christchurch City Choir to celebrate the 150th anniversary of European settlement in Canterbury
• Instrumentation: for large mixed choir, solo soprano, mezzo soprano, 2 tenors, baritone, orchestra and Maori kapahaka group : orchestra consists of 2222/4231/timp, 3 perc, harp, celesta, strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

I was born in Christchurch and lived the first 27 years of my life there. For most of those years I had no knowledge of Ngai Tahu or their history. I became fascinated by Maori beliefs during inspiring Religious Studies lectures given by Jim Wilson at Canterbury University, and launched into my own study of Maori music. But for all that, I had no real awareness of southern Maori. It is only recently that I have learned to say: 'Tena koutou katoa. Ko Anthony toku ingoa, ko John toku papa, ko Anita toku mama, ko Simon toku tungane, ko Judy ratou ko Jenny ko Liz oku tuahine, ko Sandy toku wahine, ko Tristan aku tama, ko Annabelle oku tamahine, No Otetahi ahau, Na reira, tena koutou katoa.'

It was tremendously exciting, therefore, to be asked to write music for a work celebrating the anniversary of the arrival of the settlers in Otetahi. Here was a chance to be involved in an exploration of the distant past: Ngai Tahu's own arrival in the South Island, pre-dating the English settlers by many years. Reading Te Maire Tau's account of Moki's life and the surrounding history opened up a whole new world to me. This was history full of conflict and struggle, passions and rivalry, and an inspiring source for a composer.

Another exciting dimension for me was collaborating with Keri Hulme. I have long admired her writing since reading The Bone People back in the late 1980s, and setting her poem He Moemoea to music. To be honest, I wondered how Keri was going to condense such a complex history into a libretto. Her solution, to have Moki on his last day on earth remembering back over the significant events in his life, was ingenious and worked very well in terms of the musical genre.

Much of the music is concerned with characterisation. The forceful and head-strong character of Moki is depicted by the orchestra early on. He is a man of action, brave and capricious; much of the life-force of the music comes from his mana, resulting in plenty of driving rhythms. On the other hand, he can be sensitive as in his duet with Marewa, singing to their sleeping daughter. Moki's arrogance lands him in trouble with two chiefly sisters, who he has slept with. His foolish boasting is reprimanded by the chorus in 'The Words are loosed', where the insults are repeated for everyone to hear.

The orchestra and choir is sometimes used to colour the images in the story. Following the Karanga near the beginning, for instance, we hear the choir announce the rising of the sun, accompanied by blazing brass and cymbals. In Moki's opening song, the 'thin line of light illuminating the islands from the north to the south' is portrayed by florid lines on flutes, harp and celesta.

One of the interesting challenges in Ahua was to combine my music with music by Te Ari's Kapa haka group. This was made more difficult by distance: at present I live in Dunedin! There is a also a big difference between Classical music and Maori music, but it is interesting and worthwhile to discover things in common, and to celebrate the differences. I want to acknowledge my collaboration with Te Ari and Te Maire as regards the music for Ahua and thank them for their input.

• Opus95 Symphony No.2 "The Widening Gyre" (1999)

Symphony No.2 "The Widening Gyre"

This symphony explores the millenium theme from an historic and poetic angle. The 3 movements are energetic and demanding for the orchestra.

• Opus No: 95
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 31 minutes
• Commissioned by The International Festival of the Arts for performance by The Auckland Philharmonia
• Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubles piccolo), 2 oboes, 1 clarinet in E flat, 2 clarinets in A/B flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 2 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, tuba 4 timpani (including piccolo timpani), 2 percussionists (playing bass drum, 4 tom toms, suspended cymbal, large suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, tam tam, xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, log drum, hammer (hitting a metallic object), poi (suspended between two strings) harp, piano, electronic keyboard, strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

The three movements of the symphony are:

• I - 'Stratagem of Trumpets'
• III - 'Mi-1st'
• IIII - 'Double Helix'

• "Turning and turning in the widening gyre
• The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
• Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
• Mere anarchy is loosed on the world . . ."
• from "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats

When asked to compose a work on the meaning and symbolism of the new Millenium I decided to use William Butler Yeats' famous poem "The Second Coming" as a starting point. Written in 1921, when the old order in Europe was breaking down, it suggests a revolution or rotation in history (the gyre) will bring about a 'second coming' of an important historical figure, and the dawn of a new Millenium. Yeats' vision of the new world order to come is not, however, optimistic. He sees the coming of a 'rough beast' with a 'lion body and the head of a man', a cold and heartless creature that might be equated with certain infamous and autocratic leaders in the 20th century.

The 'gyre' or revolution is represented in the symphony by a rolling, sliding timpani sound, accompanied by bass drum and tam tam at the start of the work. This idea becomes an important motif and appears at the very start. Following the 'gyre', we hear a 'life and death' theme that begins like a cradle song (the birth of Christ), rises, and then twists downwards in a chromatic line. This theme provides most of the material for what follows.

The slow introduction climaxes with hammer blows, a reference to the death of Christ. From this a trumpet call emerges, becoming a significant motif later in the movement.

In the allegro that follows, the 'life and death' theme is transformed into a fast and restless melody, beginning as pizzicato on the strings. Complimenting this is a macabre and folky theme on muted trumpet and clarinets, evoking a sort of frenzied, gyrating dance. The music quietens and a lyrical theme appears on flute, accompanied by timpani and harp and developed by the strings. As the music climaxes again, the trumpet call reappears, shared around other brass instruments. The significance of this trumpet call can be seen with reference to another poem, this time by New Zealander Peggy Dunstan:

• Stratagem of Trumpets
• "Then the trumpets sounded
• Not in a flare of pomp and pageantry
• But with a golden lilting laughter
• That seemed to open up the sky
• So that the music dropped like rain
• Upon the upturned faces
• And the enchanted ears were closed
• To everything except those throbbing notes. . . "

The trumpets distract the listeners, and make them unaware of the advancing enemy. Dunstan's poem goes on to describe a massacre of Serbs in 1389 at the time of the battle of Kosovo between Serbs and Turks. At the time of composing my symphony Kosovo was once again in the grip of war and atrocity, only this time the Serbs were the aggressors and Albanians were the victims. It seems to me that Kosovo sums up a situation common in our past Millenium: an endless cycle of struggle for land and power, costing many innocent lives.

In the music, the log drum heralds a sort of 'musical battle-field' in which the 'life and death' theme becomes an aggressive, jagged idea, used fugally in an increasingly dissonant texture. Following the 'battle', solo strings, piccolo and harp provide a brief lament for the dead and the music returns to the music of the Introduction. This time it is mixed fragments of the flute theme, and the movement ends quietly with the 'gyre' motif.

If the first movement represents the past, then the second movement is a comment on the present. The title 'Mi-1st' refers to the heavy emphasis on the note E (or Mi in the sol-fa system) as a central pitch, but can also be interpreted as 'me-first'. Essentially this music is about the natural human tendency to be self-centred, which I believe has become much more prevalent in our own society. It is perhaps one aspect of Yeats' 'rough beast' that hinders our progress.

There are three main ideas in this presto movement. The first is a savage chromatic theme that encircles the note E, played initially on strings. It is immediately followed by a vigorous, syncopated theme on strings and winds. As a contrast, the harp accompanies a quieter, smoother theme on the violins, which also includes the twisting, chromatic motif from the first movement. In the middle, the music becomes increasingly chaotic until a climax on C is reached, with hope for resolution to the discords. However, the music slips into the key of B, and the strings play a restless, anxious version of the contrast theme. The frenetic energy of the first part gradually dissipates, and the movement collapses into a web of solo violins. The 'gyre' motif has the final say.

There are a number of themes in the third movement, but all evolve in some way or other from the constantly twisting, turning melodic line that appears at the start. Used in close canon, this melody represents the intertwining DNA molecule, and hence the title of the movement, 'Double Helix'. Discovered recently in our history, genetics are sure to have a highly significant role in the future. This music looks forward with the hope that genetics will be used in a positive way. It also acknowledges that we carry with us the characteristics of previous generations (covering a whole Millenium and more!), and that the future will be significantly shaped by these characteristics. At the same time we need to learn from the hard lessons of previous generations in order to make progress. Consequently, the symphony has an optimistic and celebratory end, which is tempered by a sense of warning. In the coda, the threads of 'Double Helix' motifs are combined with a return of the main theme from the first movement, played on full brass.

Dedicated to Sandy

• Opus94 Caroline Bay Suite (1999)

Caroline Bay Suite

Simple pieces describing memories of Caroline Bay in Timaru. Four pieces, for younger pianists, about grade 3-4.

• Opus No: 94
• Category: Solo piano
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 7 minutes
• Commissioned by Timaru Branch of The Institute of Registered Music Teachers
• Instrumentation: solo piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

Programme Note

Caroline Bay Suite was commissioned by the Registered Music teachers of Timaru. There are four short pieces:

• Sunrise over the Bay
• Children Playing
• Running at the Beach
• Carnival

These pieces were inspired by frequent stops at Caroline Bay while the composer was travelling between Dunedin and Christchurch. They are aimed at about grade 3-4 level.

• Opus93 Double Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Cello (1999)

Double Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Cello

The slow movements explore issues of life and death, while the two quick movements provide an energetic and bright contrast. The wide range of both solo instruments is explored.

• Opus No: 93
• Category: Concertos / bass clarinet / cello / amateur orchestra
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 19'15"
• Commissioned by Andrew Uren and Katherine Hebley (K.A.H.U.)
• Instrumentation: Bass Clarinet and Cello. This score is in C. The orchestral part is designed to be playable by regional orchestras. It consists of the following forces: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B flat 2 percussionists: bass drum, side drum, glockenspiel, xylophone, suspended cymbal strings (up to 8 7 6 5 2 approx.)
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Hear a sample

Programme Note

• Lullaby for Annabelle
• Fast Dance
• In memoriam, for Angela
• Waltz

The Double Concerto was commissioned by Andrew Uren (bass clarinet) and Katherine Hebley (cello) with funding from Creative New Zealand. It was designed to explore the unusal combination of solo instruments, extend the soloists and, at the same time, be performable by regional orchestras.

The opening movement has a lilting quality and is based on the Brahms' lullaby, which only appears (abridged) at the end, played on glockenspiel. The three themes that appear in this movement are related, in some way, to this lullaby. The movement is dedicated to my daughter Annabelle, who was born some months before the composition of this work. A short melody based on letters from her name (A-A-B-E-E) is played by the soloists in the coda.

By contrast, the second movement is fast and jagged, with a somewhat playful second theme shared between the soloists and woodwinds. The main theme has a toccata-like quality, and builds up to a strong conclusion.

Whereas birth was the theme behind the first movement, it is death that concerns the third, and in particular the sudden death of a close friend and musician, Angela Campbell, at the time of writing this concerto. It is an intimate piece for the two soloists only, and based on letters from Angela's name (A-G-E-A) which are heard at the beginning as a recurrent bass line. The cello melody at the start is a variation on a melody from the first movement, suggesting birth and death are inextricably linked.

The mood lightens in the finale which is a slightly bizarre waltz based on two contrasting themes. Near the end, the soloists have a cadenza which flows into the coda uninterrupted.

• Opus92 Pink and White (1999)

Pink and White

This colourful piece is programmatic, describing the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886 and the destruction of the famous Pink and White Terraces. A challenging piece, composed for NZ organist Martin Setchell who performed it during his 1999 world tour.

• Opus No: 92
• Category: Solo Works / organ
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 10'00"
• Commissioned by Martin Setchell
• Instrumentation: Organ
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

This piece was inspired by the famous Pink and White Terraces in New Zealand which were destroyed by the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886. The Pink and White Terraces were huge naturally occuring staircases, created by deposits of silica in crystallised form over many centuries. People came from all over the world to view the terraces, described as the eighth wonder of the world.

According to legend, there was a premonition of the disaster in June, 1886. While travelling across a lake near the terraces, some tourists and their Maori guide saw a mysterious canoe of Maoris nearby. They disappeared and were never seen again, and no reasonable explanation could be given for their existence. However, some local Maori took this 'spirit-canoe' as an omen. They were right. Before dawn the next day, Mt Tarawera erupted for five hours, destoying the Pink and White Terraces and killing 153 people. It was New Zealand's worst volcanic disaster of recorded times.

This organ piece attempts to incorporate elements of the story into its musical gestures. The big opening chords describes the might and force of Mt Tarawera. Then follow two quieter ideas, interrelated, which portray the gently bubbling beauty of the 'White Terrace' and then the 'Pink Terrace'. The eruption is heralded by low thundering trills on the pedals and sweeping upward runs on the keyboard. The main theme that follows is toccato-like and conjures up visions of wild panic among the people. This theme reappears on full organ at the climax, and the music gradually subsides. The Tarawera chords from the beginning return like a solemn chorale for the dead, and the music drifts off into the distance, like smoke from the crater.

Pink and White was commissioned by Martin Setchell with funding from Creative New Zealand, and was composed especially for the new Christchurch Town Hall Rieger organ. The composer is indebted to Martin Setchell for his advice and help with scoring for the organ.

• Opus91 Coming to It (1999)

Coming to It

'Coming to It' was composed with Sam Hunt's performance poetry in mind (although the work can be played with other speakers). The piece runs without a break, with the poems separated by musical interludes of varying length. Of necessity, the music simplifies when the poems are being read, and becomes more prominent when the speaker is silent. Ideally the music can stand alone, but obtains its full intensity when the poems are present.

• Opus No: 91
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 19'00"
• Texts: Sam Hunt
• Commissioned by Wellington Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra and speaker 1st flute, 2nd flute dbl. piccolo, 1st oboe, 2nd oboe dbl. English horn, 1st clarinet in B flat, 2nd clarinet dbl. alto saxophone in E flat, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets in B flat, 2 percussionists (playing tam tam, bass drum, large suspended cymbal, wind chimes,glockenspiel, xylophone, bongos, 2 woodblocks (large and small), drum kit (including suspended cymbal, bass drum, small tom tom) guitar (amplified) strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

I have long enjoyed Sam Hunt's poems, and fondly remember him performing when I was a student (and more recently, too!). So I was excited when asked by the Wellington Sinfonia to write music to go with a reading from Sam. As part of the process, I got to visit Sam on Waiheke Island and we mulled over which poems to include in the piece. It seemed to me we had a lot in common as far as the world of music and poems was concerned. We both wanted to avoid academic pretension, and create a piece that speaks from the heart about everyday issues that concern ordinary people. So there are poems about mothers, fathers, lovers, children and also dogs. They touch on life and death, and the little incidents inbetween that on the surface seem insignificant but take on meaning for those involved.

Sam kindly agreed to record the poems for me, so I could keep the sound of his voice in my mind while writing the music. This also allowed me to get an approximate timing for the poems, so I could structure the music around them.

The music is, I hope, multi-purpose. Sometimes it simply sets the scene for the poem, as in the opening poem Coming to it. Other times I have tried to emphasise a particular mood suggested in the poem, such as the moving acceptance of death in Hey Minstrel, or the momentus appreciation of birth (as well as death) in Birth of a Son. Reference to a blues-based style seemed to work with the Plateau Songs, while there are elements of folk-song in A White Gentian, where the guitar and flute play a duet. Occasionally there is musical description of the text, such as the percussive, migraine-like qualities in You House the Moon. But above all, I want the combination of music and Sam's poems to create a unity, a sound-world that is new and interesting. Obviously, Sam's poems and his performance of them are perfectly capable of standing alone, so the music aims put them in a different light (and sound).

The piece runs without a break, with the poems separated by musical interludes of varying length. Of necessity, the music simplifies when the poems are being read, and becomes more prominent when the speaker is silent. Ideally the music can stand alone, but obtains its full intensity when the poems are present.

• Opus90b Dedication (1996)

Dedication

A challenging cello solo which encompasses a variety of moods. It was composed for a friend's wedding, for performer Euan Murdoch.

• Opus No: 90b
• Category: Solo Works
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 10'00"
• Commissioned by Caroline Barnes
• Instrumentation: solo cello
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus90 The Blue Sonata (1999)

The Blue Sonata

A substantial work for cello and piano, which explores a range of emotions and moods. For professional players.

• Opus No: 90
• Category: Chamber Works / cello
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 22'00"
• Commissioned by Euan Murdoch
• Instrumentation: for cello and piano; in four movements
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

for Cello and Piano

The Blue Sonata, for Cello and Piano was commissioned by Euan Murdoch, with funding from Creative New Zealand, for performance by Euan and pianist, Terence Dennis. It is in four movements:

• I - Grave - Andante energico
• II - Allegretto
• III - Adagio mesto
• IV - Allegro vigoroso

Dedicated to Euan Murdoch

• Opus89b Dance Suite (1999)

Dance Suite

This work is re-arranged from the dance work 'Concertina' (opus 89) written for Dan Belton. It is in six movements: slow dance, quick dance, whales, sad dance, scherzo, gig. A lively and varied collection of pieces, suited to professional performers.

• Opus No: 89b
• Category: Chamber Works / cello
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 18'00"
• Instrumentation: violin and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus89 Concertina (1999)

Concertina

A continuous work which explores folding movements among other dance themes. There is a colourful variety of music, ranging from the mysterious and dark opening section, to the obsessive gig towards the end.

• Opus No: 89
• Category: Incidental Music / violin
• Year: 1999
• Duration: 24'00"
• Commissioned by Daniel Belton
• Instrumentation: dance music for violin and piano with parts for squeezebox
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Dance music for violin, piano, squeezebox and percussion

Concertina was commissioned by choreographer Dan Belton to be the sound track for a dance film. It can be performed live as well, in part or in its entirety, though some effects are better achieved through the recording. The work is in nine sections which run continuously.

This work was composed for violinist Paula Smart and pianist Terence Dennis, who first recorded the work in March 1999.

• Opus88 Welcome! (1998)

Welcome!

A strong and punchy song for mixed choir, built on old New Zealand texts. This would make a good opener to a concert.

• Opus No: 88
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 3'00"
• Texts: Maori traditional charm in translation (English), and a Maori karanga (in Maori)
• Commissioned by NZ National Youth Choir
• Instrumentation: for SSAATTBB choir unaccompanied
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Welcome! is based on two Maori texts. The first is a Karanga (a song performed on the marae to welcome or farewell visitors), recorded on October 7, 1963, at the annual celebration of the coronation of King Koroki, at Turangawaewae, Ngaruawahia in the Waikato:

Mai raa ngaa iwi i te raa, e haere mai! . . . Welcome to the tribes today, Welcome!

The second text is a Maori 'Charm' which first appeared in A.S.Thomson's The Story of New Zealand (London, 1859), and has been recently published in 100 New Zealand Poems, chosen by Bill Manhire (Godwit Publishing, 1993). A.S.Thomson wrote about the poem: "The Hawaiki fleet reached New Zealand when the pohutukaua (sic) and rata trees were covered with blossoms. It was consequently summer, and the emigrants, like the survivors of a wreck, scattered themselves over the country. To appease the spirit of the land for their intrusion humiliating prayers were said; one uttered by a chief on this celebrated occasion is still preserved as a modern charm":

• I arrive where an unknown earth is under my feet,
• I arrive where a new sky is above me,
• I arrive at this land
• A resting place for me.
• O spirit of the earth! the stranger humbly offers his heart
• As food for thee.
• (Anon.)

Welcome! was commissioned by the New Zealand National Youth Choir with funding from Creative New Zealand

• Opus87 Memories of Budapest (1998)

Memories of Budapest

A very active and exciting centre section framed by two slow and reflective sections, evoking sound pictures from the composer's stay in the Hungarian capital. Written for professional performers.

• Opus No: 87
• Category: Chamber Works / violin / viola / cello / horn
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 10'00"
• Commissioned by NZ Chamber Music Festival
• Instrumentation: Sextet for 2 violins, 2 violas, cello and horn
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians
• Opus86 Johnny Come Dancing (1998)

Johnny Come Dancing

Designed for easy learning, this song is like an Irish gig, folky in places but essentially modern. Pianists need to be grade 8 or above. Originally written for various groups to sing, it can, nontheless, be sung by one single, mixed choir.

• Opus No: 86
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 10'00"
• Texts: Bub Bridger
• Commissioned by The New Zealand Choral Federation (Otago Branch) for performance at its annual conference in Dunedin, July 1998
• Instrumentation: for mixed choir with optional trebles and piano duet
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

Poem by Bub Bridger for mixed choir with optional trebles and piano (4 hands)

Bub Bridger started writing poetry after visiting the river which Douglas Bridge spans in Northern Ireland. Johnny Come Dancing was one of her first poems and tells the story of a man's magic encounter with fairies and his subsequent emmigration to New Zealand. Johnny in the poem was, in fact, Bub Bridger's father, and she assures me the story is true. The combination of magic and music in the poem appealed to me greatly, and made me want to set it for this commission. The song uses Irish dance rhythms to underpin the largely modal vocal lines. The third verse adopts a different style, however, with reference to the old-style 'glees'(male part-singing). In the end, the dance rhythms return to drive the music to a climactic ending.

Commissioned by The New Zealand Choral Federation (Otago Branch) for performance at its annual conference in Dunedin, July 1998

• Opus85 Theme and Variations: The Search (1998)

Theme and Variations: The Search

A dark and vivid work exploring the theme of searching. It provides plenty of instrumental solos but is never too demanding, technically.

• Opus No: 85
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 15'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat, 2 bassoons 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones, tuba timpani (3) 2 percussionists playing glockenspiel, xylophone, triangle, tam tam, bass drum, crash cymbals, suspended cymbal celesta strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

• Theme - adagio
• Variation 1 - same tempo - "Travelling alone"
• Variation 2 - Poco piu mosso - "The restless spirit"
• Variation 3 - Same tempo - "Doubts"
• Variation 4 - Andante marcato - "Determination"
• Variation 5 - Same tempo - "Striving"
• Variation 6 - Adagio - "Earnscleugh"
• Variation 7 - Allegro molto - "Fierce optimism"
• Variation 8 - Same tempo - "The Block"
• Coda - Largamento - "The Search continues"
• Opus84 Leaf (1998)

Leaf

A reflective series of pieces for piano, including a sad waltz, composed for choreography by Dan Belton.

• Opus No: 84
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 15'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for piano; original is pre-recorded, along with other sound events
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus83 Rhapsody (1998)

Rhapsody

This vivid and exciting piece is based around a 'khosid dance' from Transylvannia. Both violin and piano parts are demanding.

• Opus No: 83
• Category: Violin & Piano
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Chamber Music NZ for Michael Houstoun and Wilma Smith
• Instrumentation: for violin & piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

In 1993 a Hungarian group called Muzsikas produced a CD of folk music entitled 'The Lost Jewish Music of Transylvannia'. The recording was prompted by the discovery that Hungarian Jews before the war had their own distinct style of music, consisting of an amalgam of Jewish melodies with Hungarian performance style. Up until this time there was little known evidence of this style of music, due in large part to the holocaust. In one county, Maramaros, for instance, where 5000 families lived before World War II, there was a large Jewish orchestra and soloists. None of these musicians survived the deportation by the Nazis.

The only older players who could be found during Muzsikas' research were two gypsies: a violinist and cimbalom player, both of whom had played for Jews before and after the war. In addition to this, a pupil of the composer Kodaly, Zoltan Simon, had made a collection of Jewish melodies. Drawing on these two sources, Muzsikas reconstructed the Hungarian-Jewish style that had been silenced for so long. The CD is a moving tribute to the power of music to survive the ravages of history, and to the people who created it.

Inspired by this recording, I decided to adopt one of the Jewish melodies in my Rhapsody. The melody is a 'Khosid Dance' (a popular dance at Jewish weddings) and appears in the second half of the piece, played on the violin while the piano accompanies with a cimbalom-like figure. The melody becomes the subject of variations and is also mixed with fragments of earlier themes. The use of folk melody in a piece such as this has precedent in Bartok Rhapsodies for violin and piano which date from the 1920s.

The Rhapsody begins quietly and mysteriously with a melody in the top of the piano register, which is taken over by the violin. The violin descends into the lower register and the piano plays a theme which refers to J.S. Bach's famous chorale O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden(O Head, bleeding and wounded) from St. Matthew's Passion. The music accelerates into the allegro section and a new theme is presented, which is restless and agitated in mood. In contrast with this the piano plays a spiky and macabre theme, accompanied by pizzicato on the violin. Both themes contain short motifs which are developed during the rest of the piece, and placed in counterpoint with the 'Khosid Dance' when it appears. The vitality of the allegro becomes exhausted and the music gradually fades rather than ending.

Rhapsody was commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand, and written for violinist, Wilma Smith and pianist, Michael Houstoun.

• Opus82 Revelations (1998)

Revelations

Inspired by a near-death experience, this tone-poem is full of colourful musical images and sharp contrasts of mood. It is sharp-edged in tone and challenging in performance.

• Opus No: 82
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 12'00"
• Commissioned by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B flat (2nd doubling bass clarinet), 2 bassoons 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in B flat, 2 tenor trombones, 1 bass trombone, 1 tuba timpani, 2 percussionists (playing tam tam, bass drum, triangle, large suspended cymbal, crash cymbals, log drum, xylophone, 4 tom toms, celesta.) harp and strings. Note: This score is notated in C
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

What happens to us after we die? This fundamental question has haunted human imagination for thousands of years. Many recorded accounts of 'near-death' experiences from all over the world provide evidence that human consiousness remains active in the time immediately following death. These independent accounts describe similar events: the person (or 'spirit') floating above their dead body, the appearance of a great light, being told to go back, and so on.

In 1959, Gina Baxter-Leipolot underwent an emergency operation, was in a coma for three days, and was not expected to recover. During this time she had a 'near-death' experience in which she was drifting above a Mediterranean coastline. She heard music, such as the "velvet sound of of violins, underbroken by a sound like mandolins" and "a humming sound, building up in force like thunder". Gina remembered the music after she recovered from the coma and twelve years later she wrote the music down in a basic form, with the help of a retired music examiner, John Chew. She called the music 'Revelations'.

Having been stirred by Gina's story and other 'near-death' accounts, I decided to base my orchestral piece loosely on 'Revelations'. Gina's music only appears in the coda of the piece, played on celesta and harp. It is fragmented and interspersed between large orchestral gestures that depict shafts of light.

Revelations begins with human suffering, symbolised by an anguished chromatic motif on the violins. This is joined by ascending brass chords counterpointed against descending wind chords, as the 'spirit' floats out of the body. With the entry of the harp the music becomes ethereal, and the flute plays a sinuous, floating melody. A sinister idea is heard on low clarinets, based on the ascending chords. Following development of these ideas it is the piccolo's turn to play above the harp, as the 'spirit' floats even higher over the sea (symbolised by a static chord, C-D-E). The music gathers in intensity and at the stroke of a log drum the strings play a fast and dynamic fugato. This section is turbulent and spiralling, and uses elements from the slow section: the piccolo theme, the low clarinet idea, acsending and descending chords, and thick 'cluster' chords. Resolution is only found at the start of the coda, where the strings play the static chord C-D-E, and the brass and winds play joyful versions of earlier motifs. Gina's music then appears, and the piece is rounded off by a blaze of light. To quote Gina: "Don't be afraid of death."

• Opus81 From the Southern Marches (1997)

From the Southern Marches

This major work contains a mixture of musical and literary sources, and is eclectic in style. The choir has plenty to do, but none of it is too demanding technically. It is a work which transcends its regional origins.

• Opus No: 81
• Category: Choir & Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1997
• Duration: 2 hours
• Texts: George Griffiths, using original texts from 19th and 20th century, including Boultbee, Barr, Thatcher, Dallas, Glover and others
• Commissioned by George Griffiths
• Instrumentation: for 2 solo sopranos, tenor and bass, large mixed choir and orchestra
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Extract 1

Extract 2

Programme Note

From the Southern Marches was the brain-child of George Griffiths, historian and owner of Otago Heritage Books in Dunedin. He writes:

'For many years I'd pondered the nature of the southern region and the people who live in it - particularly the contraditcory characteristics passed on from our Scots forebears, with their unrelenting capacity for hard work and their uncertain trust in the rewards to be gained from it. in a broader view, it seemed the development of a southern character was story so rich in human spirit and diversity that it demanded some kind of expression.'

The 'kind of expression' depended very much on George's choice of texts which come from a wide variety of sources, ranging from old Maori chants to more recent poetry. The work progresses more or less in a chronological manner, but avoids becoming a potted history of the south. Each text from each particular era focusses on a special characteristic of the time - whether it is the reckless optimism of the gold miners in the 1860s, or the grim reality of the needle-workers in the 1880s who were virtual slaves. George has drawn on a rich variety of ideas and texts, so that more serious items are contrasted with humour, as in Thatcher's 'The Old Identity' or 'King' Dick Seddon's political speech. Some items involve text with existent tunes, and the music becomes an arrangement (as is the case with 'The Old Identity'). Sometimes these tunes are just a starting point for lengthy elaboration, as in 'Bright Fine Gold', based on the tune for 'Hot Cross Buns'.

'From the Southern Marches' has a format that is similar to oratorio, with alternations between solo vocal items and choruses, with the addition of two purely orchestral sections. There is even references to the 'recitative' style in 'The Jubilee', 'Southern Education' and elsewhere. It runs to almost two hours in length, and is divided into two halves. Here are the individual sections:

PART ONE

• Orchestral Prelude
• The Southerners are not unwary pigeons (texts by Boultbee, Te Rauparaha/Potiki, Kaukoe) - choir, bass, soprano
• A Meeting of Peoples (Boultbee/Kennard) - choir
• There's Nae Place like Otago Yet (texts by Barr, Blair)- orchestral prelude, soprano solo, choir
• The Stars of Orion (text by Read; nursery rhme) - tenor, sopranos, choir
• The Old Identity (text by Thatcher) - bass, tenor, choir

PART TWO

• Unlock the Land (texts by Wood, Braken, McLauchlan, Dallas) - choir, with tenor, bass, sopranos
• Southern Education (texts by Stafford; Griffiths, trad.) - bass, choir
• The Jubilee (texts by Seddon/Griffiths, various) - bass, sopranos
• Southerns, Come Follow me Out of your Hills (texts by August, music by Lithgow) - choir
• People at an Exhibition - orchestra
• These are Our Lands (text by Glover) - tenor, all soloists, choir
• That Old Identity (Thatcher's ghost) - soloists and choir

This work was composed in 1997, and first performed in March, 1998, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of settlement in Otago and Southland. The performers on this occasion were The Dunedin Sinfonia under Nicholas Braithwaite, with the City of Dunedin Choir, Southern Consort of Voices, Southern Youth Choir, plus four soloists: Ana James(soprano), Deborah Wai Kapohe(soprano), Iain Fraser(tenor), and Jonathan Lemalu(bass). Such was the success of this premiere, From the Southern Marches was repeated in December of the same year, this time with Dobbs Franks conducting.

A commercial CD was released in 1998 using the live recording of the premiere. Copies of this are still available from the composer, or from Otago Heritage Books (500 Great King Street, Dunedin).

In 1998, Otago Heritage Books won a Special Merit Award in the National Business Review's Business Sponsorship of the Arts Awards.

• Opus80 Shoal Dance (1997)

Shoal Dance

A richly varied collection of pieces for solo violin, and also violin duos, composed for choregrapher Dan Belton.

• Opus No: 80
• Category: Solo Works / violin
• Year: 1997
• Duration: 14'00"
• Commissioned by Dan Belton
• Instrumentation: for 2 violins; original is a pre-recorded version using one violinist double-tracking
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus79 Guitar Concerto (1997)

Guitar Concerto

Unlike most guitar concertos this one is scored for full orchestra and is large in scale. Requiring amplification, the solo part nevertheless holds it's own against the orchestra. Likewise, the orchestra gets a decent play in a work of sparkling colour and ideas

• Opus No: 79
• Category: Concertos / guitar / professional orchestra
• Year: 1997
• Duration: 29'00"
• Commissioned by Matthew Marshall
• Instrumentation: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (B flat and A), 2 bassoons 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B flat, 3 trombones, tuba 3 timpani 3 percussionists (playing cymbals, suspended cymbal, bass drum, tom toms, drum kit, tam tam, bongos, temple blocks, triangle) celesta strings (at least 10, 8, 8, 6, 6) Note: The guitar should be amplified to obtain the best balance of sound.
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

• I - Moderato
• II - Adagio
• III - Pesante - Allegro molto

The Guitar Concerto was commissioned by and written for Matthew Marshall. Anthony Ritchie has written other works for guitar, including the guitar duet Pas de Deux (1992) for Matthew Marshall and Tony Donaldson. The concerto presented the composer with the added challenge of achieving a balanced sound-world between the guitar and the orchestra. Marshall specifically wanted full orchestral forces used, to move away from the usual guitar concerto scoring, involving reduced numbers and little brass.

This concerto attempts to explore the many aspects of the guitar's character. The first movement begins with a cool, languid theme that gradually opens out into a slightly bluesy idea. The second main theme is romantic in feel, with a hint of Brahms. In the middle section various motifs struggle for supremacy before a seemingly new theme (derived from the opening) appears on solo guitar. This new theme has a driving, determined quality and gradually builds up to a climax. A cadenza follows and leads into a new version of the second theme, transformed by assymetric rhythms. The music drives towards a climax and then fades as the guitar's opening melody is fragmented and dies, accompanied by celesta.

The slow second movement is intimate in mood, and opens with a long melody on the phrygian mode. The lyricism takes a sinister turn with the appearance of the piccolo and guitar, accompanied by basses. A relentless middle section follows, featuring a sonorous guitar theme that builds in intensity to a big climax. The guitar emerges from the wall of sound to close the movement quietly, briefly quoting from John Ritchie's Clarinet Concertino.

The third movement opens with heavy, pounding chords and a brass melody that recalls ancient Maori melodic patterns. As the energy fades, the guitar takes up one of the opening rhythmic patterns and transforms it into a percussive idea. Temple blocks, bongos and drums are added before the piccolo and clarinet introduce the main theme of the Allegro section. The full orchestra presents a pop-style theme followed by the guitar playing a motif in changing metres. These themes are varied through the movement, producing different musical characters, such as the jazzy section in the middle. The coda attempts to bring together the various melodic strands, and finally resolves the bi-tonal tensions that pervade the work.

Funding for the Guitar Concerto was provided by Creative NZ.

• Opus78 Three Chinese Love Songs (1996-7)

Three Chinese Love Songs

Expressive and reasonably taxing for the singer, these are settings of ancient Chinese love poems.

• Opus No: 78
• Category: Solo songs / soprano
• Year: 1996-7
• Duration: 10'00"
• Texts: Ancient Chinese poems
• Commissioned by Bryan James
• Instrumentation: soprano and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Commissioned by Bryan and Christina James for their daughter Ana's 21st birthday, and to be performed by Ana (soprano).

• I am the North Pole - poem by Tzu Yeh, 3rd-4th century
• I will swallow my tears - poem by T'ang Wan, 12th century
• I saw your sigh - Anon., Yuan Dynasty

Total duration: 9 minutes

I am the North Pole - Tzu Yeh, 3rd-4th century.

• I cannot sleep
• for the blaze of the full moon.
• I thought I heard here and there
• a voice calling,
• hopelessly I answer 'Yes'
• to the empty air.
• It is night again.
• I let down my silken hair
• over my shoulders
• and open my thighs
• over my lover.
• 'Tell me, is there any part of me
• that is not lovable?'
• I had not fastened my sash over my gown
• when you asked me to look out the window.
• If my skirt fluttered open,
• blame the spring wind.
• The bare branches tremble
• in the sudden breeze.
• The twilight deepens.
• My lover loves me,
• and I am proud of my young beauty.
• I am the North Pole
• steady for a thousand years.
• Your sun-like heart
• goes east in the morning
• and west in the evening.

I will swallow my tears - T'ang Wan, 12th century.

• The world's love runs thin.
• Human love turns evil.
• Rain strips, in the yellow twilight,
• the flowers from the branches.
• The dawn wind will dry my tear stains.
• I try to write down the trouble of my heart.
• I can only speak obliquely, exhausted.
• It is hard, hard.
• We are each of us all alone.
• Today is not yesterday.
• My troubled mind sways
• like the rope of a swing.
• A horn sounds in the cold depth of the night.
• Afraid of people's questions
• I will swallow my tears
• and pretend to be happy.
• Deceit. Deceit. Deceit.

I saw your sigh - Anon. Yuan dynasty.

• I hold you tight in my jade white arms.
• You loosen my dress and my cloud dark hair.
• The tips of our tongues are cold with passion
• and sweet in each other's mouths.
• You whisper my name.
• I whisper yours.
• Frantically we kiss each other
• again and again, here and there.
• It is hard loving this way.
• We don't dare play with each other.
• All we can do is steal a few words
• when nobody notices.
• When there are people around
• we exchange sidelong glances.
• I saw your long heavy sigh.
• It delighted my eyes.
• But it tore my heart.
• Opus77 The Eagle has Landed (1996)

The Eagle has Landed

A humorous and quirky mini opera in which Armstrong and Aldrin find they are not the first to step on the moon. Fast moving and thought-provoking, this opera is quite accessible for good performers. Libretto by Stuart Hoar.

• Opus No: 77
• Category: Opera
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 15'00"
• Libretto: Stuart Hoar
• Commissioned by Pocket Opera
• Instrumentation: mini chamber opera for 5 singers (soprano, mezzo, 2 tenors, baritones) string quartet and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

A Chamber Opera in One Act

Commissioned by The Pocket Opera with financial assistance from Creative New Zealand

Based on the first Moon landing, 1969, and Jules Vernes From the Earth to the Moon

Characters:

• Neil Armstrong, astronaut - baritone
• Buzz Aldrin, astronaut - tenor
• Impey Barbicane, 19th century character - soprano
• Michael Ardan, 19th century character - mezzo soprano
• Captain Nicholl, 19th century character - tenor

Duration: 15 minutes approximately

• Opus76 Five Dunedin Songs (1996)

Five Dunedin Songs

Intimate and expressive settings of poems by Lonie and Hall. Simple in textures but demanding in performance, and ranging in mood from the capricious 'Stone Woman' to the desolate 'Collection Day'.

• Opus No: 76
• Category: Solo songs / tenor / guitar
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 15'00"
• Texts: Iain Lonie and Bernadette Hall
• Commissioned by Tony Donaldson
• Instrumentation: for tenor and guitar
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Poems by Iain Lonie and Bernadette Hall

Commissioned by Tony Donaldson for performance by himself (guitar) and Robert Oliver (tenor) in 1997, with funding from Creative NZ.

• Collection Day - poem by Iain Lonie
• Lovesong - poem by Bernadette Hall
• My Toaster Tells the Time - poem by Iain Lonie
• Song - poem by Bernadette Hall
• Tomahawk Sonnet - poem by Bernadette Hall.

Collection Dayand My Toaster Tells the Time come from Dunedin poet Iain Lonie's posthumous book Winter Walk at Morning, published by Victoria University Press.

Lovesong, Song and Tomahawk Sonnet are new poems, written in 1997 as part of Bernadette Hall's time as Burns Fellow at The University of Otago. Originally from Dunedin, Bernadette studied Classics under Iain Lonie at Otago University.

I have to thank two other Classicists with regard to the selection of these poems for setting: Andrew Barker who put me onto Iain's poetry, and Gail Tatham who recommended Bernadette's poems to me.

• Opus75 Then I Understood (1996)

Then I Understood

Eight settings of poems by child poet Laura Ranger, capturing the clarity of a child's vision of the world. The music retains the youthful energy of Laura's words through vivid sound images. Written for professional performers.

• Opus No: 75
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 23'00"
• Texts: Laura Ranger
• Commissioned by Orpheus Choir
• Instrumentation: song cycle for choir and orchestra: large SATB choir (dividing into main and chamber choirs) and 2222/2200/1 perc. strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus74d Memories (1996)

Memories

• Opus No: 74d
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 1996
• Opus74c Out into the Blue (1996)

Out into the Blue

Evocative piano music to accompany a dance choreographed by Shona Dunlop, and included in a TV documentary on her life.

• Opus No: 74c
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 5'00"
• Commissioned by Shona Dunlop
• Instrumentation: solo piano: pre-recorded by the composer
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Recording Information

for documentary on Shona Dunlop, entitled 'Out into the Blue'

• Opus74b Obsessions (1995)

Obsessions

Dance music for Sue Cheeseman.

• Opus No: 74b
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1995
• Instrumentation: electronic recording, featuring keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, drums, voice
• Opus74a The-Room-Two-Inches-Behind-the-Eyes (1994)

The-Room-Two-Inches-Behind-the-Eyes

Dance music for Footnote Dance Company and Shona Dunlop.

• Opus No: 74a
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1994
• Duration: 10'00"
• Commissioned by Shona Dunlop, for a dance by the Footnote Dance Company
• Instrumentation: Electronic keyboard recording
• Opus73 The Trapeze Artists (1996)

The Trapeze Artists

This mini-opera explores the stages of a relationship, and is richly varied in tone and mood.

• Opus No: 73
• Category: Opera
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 35'00"
• Libretto: Louise Petherbridge, using poems by Hone Tuwhare and Cilla McQueen
• Commissioned by Louise Petherbridge
• Instrumentation: chamber opera for 3 singers,(soprano, alto, baritone) piano, double bass, percussion (1 player on Tam tam, Drum Kit, including suspended cymbals (large and small), snare drum, tom toms, bass drum (with foot action), Bass drum (stand alone), Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Tambourine (for double bass player!), Triangle, Wood block
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Characters:

• Circus Woman (contralto)
• Woman (soprano)
• Man (baritone)

Instruments:

• Piano (doubling eletronic keyboard)
• Percussion (one player, including drum kit)
• Double Bass (doubling bass guitar and tambourine)

Texts:

• The Trapeze Artists - Cilla McQueen
• Rapunzel - Cilla McQueen
• Thine Own Hands have Fashioned - Hone Tuwhare
• Wild Sweets - Cilla McQueen
• Bad Bananas - Cilla McQueen
• Tangi - Hone Tuwhare
• Prelude? - Hone Tuwhare
• Where Shall I Wander- Hone Tuwhare
• The Old Place - Hone Tuwhare

These settings are to be performed without a break. Organisation of texts, creation of characters, stage directions etc are by Louise Petherbridge, the director of the opera.

• Opus73b Tangi (1996)

Tangi

A simple and lyrical setting of Hone Tuwhare's moving poem. Originally part of the opera 'The Trapeze Artists', this song successfully stands alone in this version for baritone and piano.

• Opus No: 73b
• Category: Solo songs / baritone
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 3'00"
• Texts: Hone Tuwhare
• Commissioned by Louise Petherbridge
• Instrumentation: baritone and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus72 Albatross in Flight (1996)

Albatross in Flight

A short orchestral fanfare, describing the flight of the albatross, a famous resident of Dunedin Peninsula. It is light and frothy, and good for the opening of a concert.

• Opus No: 72
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 3'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/2200/1 perc, timp, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus71 Whakatipua (1995-6)

Whakatipua

An approachable and evocative work, based on the landscape around Queenstown in NZ. This piece was written for a birthday celebration.

• Opus No: 71
• Category: Chamber Works / strings
• Year: 1995-6
• Duration: 10'00"
• Commissioned by Morgan Jones
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Whakatipua for string quartet was commissioned by Morgan Jones as a surprise present for his wife, Pat, who was turning 60. The piece was first played at their wonderful home near Queenstown, on the occasion of Pat's birthday. It was written for a quartet then resident at the University of Otago Music department.

The piece is in a single movement. Slower sections at the beginning and end surround a main quick section. The piece evokes the mountain landscape around Queenstown, and also Morgan and Pat's place, which is called 'Whakatipua'. There are elements of folk music in the piece which is characterised by open-sounding sonorities. It is reasonably challenging for the players without being too demanding.

• Opus70b Oboe Sonata (2002)

Oboe Sonata

In 3 contrasting movements, this piece contains a mixture of lively, bright ideas and more soulful ones. It was recorded in Paris onto a CD Diversions:Autour du hautbois, featuring Marika Lombardi, oboe, and Debra Takakjian, piano.

• Opus No: 70b
• Category: Oboe
• Year: 2002
• Duration: 17'00"
• Instrumentation: Oboe and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

This sonata started life as a concerto for soprano saxophone, and was commissioned by New Zealander Mark Hobson with financial assistance from the Arts Council of New Zealand. Ritchie transcribed the work for oboe and piano in 2002, but the sonata had to wait until March 2010 for its premiere. It is in one continuous movement, divided into three main sections.

The first section has a cartoon-like character: it is cheeky, changeable and light in spirit, but has darker elements as well. The fast tempo eventually fades into a slow, lyrical section that features a soulful melody on oboe over slowly shifting harmonies. Here the mood is sorrowful and reflective. The third section opens with bold chords on the piano, before a wistful theme appears on oboe, in waltz time. The tempo accelerates and the music becomes agitated and driven. The waltz theme is integrated into this faster tempo leading to a cadenza-like passage towards the end, over a percussive piano rhythm. The sonata ends with a fragment of the oboe waltz theme, underpinned by strong piano chords.

• Opus70 Concerto for Soprano Saxophone (1996)

Concerto for Soprano Saxophone

A quirky but also soulful piece for an unusual and beautiful instrument. Reasonably easy to play.

• Opus No: 70
• Category: Concertos / wind
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 17'00"
• Commissioned by Mark Hobson
• Instrumentation: solo soprano sax., 2222/2200/1 perc, timp, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus69d Theatre music for The Revengers Tragedy by Tournier (1995)

Theatre music for The Revengers Tragedy by Tournier

Vivid and characterful music to acompany this Jacobian drama, and available on tape recording.

• Opus No: 69d
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1995
• Duration:
• Texts: Tournier
• Commissioned by Fortune Theatre, Dunedin
• Instrumentation: harpsichord, bass recorders, flute, viola, cello, percussion
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus69c Theatre music for Hippolytus by Euripides (1995)

Theatre music for Hippolytus by Euripides

• Opus No: 69c
• Category: Female Voices & Flute
• Year: 1995
• Instrumentation: female voices & flute
• Opus69b Theatre music for The Frogs by Aristophanes (1993)

Theatre music for The Frogs by Aristophanes

Easy singing parts with a basic accompaniment that evokes the ancient Greek style.

• Opus No: 69b
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1993
• Duration:
• Texts: Aristophanes
• Commissioned by Gail Tatham
• Instrumentation: Choruses for mixed 'amateur' voices, guitar, percussion, flute, with a few solo vocal parts
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus69a Theatre music for Orphee by Cocteau (1991)

Theatre music for Orphee by Cocteau

Easy singing parts with a basic accompaniment that evokes the ancient Greek style.

• Opus No: 69a
• Category: Incidental Music
• Year: 1991
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: piano
• Opus68 Star Fire (1995)

Star Fire

The characters in 'Star Fire' are based on those in the TV series 'Star Trek', and have proved popular with school audiences. The music requires a professional level of performance, and includes several ensemble sections as well as solo passages.

• Opus No: 68
• Category: Opera
• Year: 1995
• Duration: 45'00"
• Libretto: Stuart Hoar
• Commissioned by Class Act Opera
• Instrumentation: opera for Soprano, Contralto,Tenor, Baritone, Bass and piano, designed for primary and intermediate school audiences
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Star Fire was commissioned by Class act Opera for performance in primary and intermediate schools (up to about age 12-13). The performers themselves are of professional standard, but it is designed for a young audience.

The five characters are accompanied by piano:

• Captain Kork - baritone/bass
• Mr Spockly - tenor
• Lieutenant Digital - soprano
• Dr Lantern Jaw - baritone
• Mahu - mezzo soprano

It can be performed using a small, portable set suitable in schools.

The libretto by well-known playwright Stuart Hoar is quirky and pacey, and parodies those familiar characters from the TV series 'Star Trek'. Star Ship Kiwi has struck trouble and been forced to land on a alien planet. During their adventures, the irascible Dr Lantern Jaw is captured by an Android. The resolution of this predicament leads to an enviromental theme (power-saving).

The music for Star Fire is demanding, and avoids being condescending to children. It is through-composed, but also includes some extended solo passages and ensemble numbers. Stylistically, there are links here with the 'minimalists'.

Star Fire was first performed in 1996, and subsequently toured through New Zealand in 1998, with Class act Opera.

• Opus67 A Bugle Will Do (1995)

A Bugle Will Do

This piece commemorates the hardship of war through the example of Charles Upham. Its 4 sections include haka-like rhythms in the battle scene, the desolation of prison, a lyrical, pastoral section and an exhilarating finale as peace breaks out.

• Opus No: 67
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1995
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
• Instrumentation: for orchestra; 3233/4331/timp, 3 perc, strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

In 1995 I was approached by the NZSO to write an overture to commemorate the recent death of New Zealand's most famous war hero, Sir Charles Upham. Upham was famous for having won the Victoria Cross twice for bravery during World War II. He was, however, extremely modest when it came to discussing his achievements. Some years before his death it was suggested to Upham that he have a state funeral; he simply replied 'A bugle will do'. This comment seemed like a good starting point for my piece.

There are no bugles in the orchestra, but the opening section depicting the horrors of battle contains plenty of brass. Sub-titled 'Maleme and Ruweisat Ridge', the music is fast and furious, built from several motifs, and includes the opening rhythm for the most well-known Maori haka (war dance), 'Kamate, kamate'. The music builds to a climax, and the scene changes to a bleak Colditz Castle, where Upham was imprisoned during the war.

While in prison he dreams of rural NZ, and the farm near Kaikoura called 'Landsdowne', where he eventually settled after the war. This brief pastoral section links into a coda celebrating the outbreak of peace. Motifs from earlier in the piece return but changed into brighter modes.

A Bugle Will Do was first performed by the NZSO in 1996 under Andrew Sewell, and was subsequently performed in the USA.

• Opus66 Down in the Brunner Mine (1995)

Down in the Brunner Mine

This piece is a set of variations on the NZ folk song ' Down in the Brunner Mine', and is gritty and strong in tone. Suitable for A and B grade brass bands.

• Opus No: 66
• Category: Brass Band
• Year: 1995
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Onslow Brass Band
• Instrumentation: for standard brass band
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Down in the Brunner Mine was commissioned by The Onslow Brass Band in Wellington and first performed and broadcast in 1996. It is a short set of variations based on a New Zealand folk song called 'Down in the Brunner Mine'. The folk song describes the coal mine on the West Coast, near Greymouth, and tells of the disaster that occured there in the 1890s when about 60 men were killed in a mine collapse. Here is the first stanza:

• We worked in the heat and the thick black dust,
• Sticks to your skin like a burnt pie crust,
• We rue each day the miner must
• Go down in the Brunner Mine.

The folksong tune is announced by the cornets at the beginning, playing in their low register, accompanied by heavy chords in the low brass. Variation 1 features a horn solo, and the cornets return for Variation 2, playing in fourths. Variations 3 and 4 are strident in character and feature short flourishes. The snare drum enters at the start of Variation 5 and the cornets play a punchy idea using repeated notes.

This idea returns in contrapuntal form in Variation 7, while the 6th variation inbetween features little fragments of the theme on various instruments. Variation 8 is powerful and buffeting, and uses the theme in canon. Variations 9-11 make use of the theme's arpeggio outline and the music builds to a climax.

Following this, the music gradually winds down in Variation 12, with the theme appearing in inversion against a repeated bass pattern. After a reflective silence, the short chorale-like coda rounds off the work, and is marked "in memoriam".

• Opus65c Swinging Ducks and Yellow Trucks (1997)

Swinging Ducks and Yellow Trucks

A collection of 19 songs for pre-school and junior school ages by Anthony Ritchie and Dunedin composer Graeme Perkins, with attractive and imaginative accompaniments produced by Paul Wheeler and Graeme Perkins on cassette tape. The song book includes the words only. Lively and colourful songs about many aspects of NZ life, including the popular 'Duck Shake'

• Opus No: 65c
• Category: School
• Year: 1997
• Texts: Anthony Ritchie, Graeme Perkins
• Instrumentation: Voices and piano/ or cassette tape recording
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus65b Moa Music (1995)

Moa Music

A collection of 18 songs by Anthony Ritchie and Suzanne Court, aimed at pre-school and junior school age Lively and tuneful songs on the theme of NZ animal life, ranging from extinct moa to domestic cats and dogs. The recordings involve a colourful mixture of piano, guitar, synthesizer and various sound effects to enhance the images of the songs.

• Opus No: 65b
• Category: School
• Year: 1995
• Texts: Anthony Ritchie, Suzanne Court, Josie Garner
• Instrumentation: Voices and piano/ or cassette tape recording
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus65 Journeys (1995)

Journeys

A collection of 18 songs by Anthony Ritchie and Suzanne Court, aimed at pre-school and junior school age Lively and tuneful songs on the theme of NZ animal life, ranging from extinct moa to domestic cats and dogs. The recordings involve a colourful mixture of piano, guitar, synthesizer and various sound effects to enhance the images of the songs.

• Opus No: 65
• Category: Professional Orchestra / School
• Year: 1995
• Duration: 35 minutes
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra and schools groups: the adult orchestra is 2221/3220/2 perc/strings, and the music for the orchestra is aimed at a professional level; the school groups can consist of any instruments available, and is aimed at Primary and Intermediate level (8-12 years)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus64c Viola Sonata (1994-5)

Viola Sonata

A personal work in 4 movements covering a range of moods. The Sonata is adapted from the Concerto for viola and piano. There is also a piano reduction of the concerto, if performance with orchestra is the goal.

• Opus No: 64c
• Category: Sonata / viola / piano
• Year: 1994-5 (adapted 2005)
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia, for soloist Donald Maurice
• Instrumentation: Viola and piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

The Viola Concerto, from which the Sonata is derived, was written while Ritchie was Composer-in-Residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia in 1994, and first performed in Dunedin the following year, with Donald Maurice as the soloist. It is a personal work in which the viola takes on various characters, and describes human relationships. The solo part speaks in a natural and uncontrived voice, and consequently there are few shows of virtuosity in the concerto.

The first movement, allegro tempestuoso, opens in turmoil and includes an idea inspired by one of Bach's Brandenburg concertos. A lighter, folk-like theme emerges and acts as a link to the second main theme which is cooler in mood and tinged with sadness. In the middle section a new idea is played on muted brass interspersed with a lyrical melody on viola. Themes are developed in the orchestra, reaching a climax and leading back to the home key of E. At this point melodic ideas are transformed by a downward, 'weeping' motif which appeared earlier on. This carthartic passage fades and the movement ends quickly, without resolution.

The long theme at the start of the slow movement began life as a solo piece, and unfolds slowly on the dorian mode accompanied by simple string chords. The stronger second theme on G has a determined quality about it. A lyrical third theme appears on the woodwinds and uses elements of the opening melody. Ominous rumbles in the bass signify the start of the middle section. A boisterous climax evaporates into the recapitulation, where the opening melody is varied with soft floating flutes and string harmonics. The third movement, a cadenza, follows and acts as a link to the finale.

Dance-like in character, the finale provides a resolution to the tensions of the previous movements. Some of the themes are influenced by popular music styles, and near the end there is a slightly slower section which recalls Bluegrass music; this was inspired by the American group, the Blue Sky Mountain Boys. There are three main themes in the movement, and these are combined in counterpoint towards the end. A long pedal note E appears in the Coda, over which the soloist plays a mock-heroic version of the second theme. This is brusquely swept aside by strident and jazzy chords, and the concerto comes to a conclusion.

• Opus64b Viola Concerto (1994-5)

Viola Concerto

A personal work in 4 movements covering a range of moods. Lightly scored to let the viola speak.

• Opus No: 64b
• Category: Sonata / viola / piano
• Year: 1994-5
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia, for soloist Donald Maurice
• Instrumentation: Viola and piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

The Viola Concerto, from which the Sonata is derived, was written while Ritchie was Composer-in-Residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia in 1994, and first performed in Dunedin the following year, with Donald Maurice as the soloist. It is a personal work in which the viola takes on various characters, and describes human relationships. The solo part speaks in a natural and uncontrived voice, and consequently there are few shows of virtuosity in the concerto.

The first movement, allegro tempestuoso, opens in turmoil and includes an idea inspired by one of Bach's Brandenburg concertos. A lighter, folk-like theme emerges and acts as a link to the second main theme which is cooler in mood and tinged with sadness. In the middle section a new idea is played on muted brass interspersed with a lyrical melody on viola. Themes are developed in the orchestra, reaching a climax and leading back to the home key of E. At this point melodic ideas are transformed by a downward, 'weeping' motif which appeared earlier on. This carthartic passage fades and the movement ends quickly, without resolution.

The long theme at the start of the slow movement began life as a solo piece, and unfolds slowly on the dorian mode accompanied by simple string chords. The stronger second theme on G has a determined quality about it. A lyrical third theme appears on the woodwinds and uses elements of the opening melody. Ominous rumbles in the bass signify the start of the middle section. A boisterous climax evaporates into the recapitulation, where the opening melody is varied with soft floating flutes and string harmonics. The third movement, a cadenza, follows and acts as a link to the finale.

Dance-like in character, the finale provides a resolution to the tensions of the previous movements. Some of the themes are influenced by popular music styles, and near the end there is a slightly slower section which recalls Bluegrass music; this was inspired by the American group, the Blue Sky Mountain Boys. There are three main themes in the movement, and these are combined in counterpoint towards the end. A long pedal note E appears in the Coda, over which the soloist plays a mock-heroic version of the second theme. This is brusquely swept aside by strident and jazzy chords, and the concerto comes to a conclusion.

• Opus64 Viola Concerto (1994-5)

Viola Concerto

A personal work in 4 movements covering a range of moods. Lightly scored to let the viola speak.

• Opus No: 64
• Category: Concertos / viola / professional orchestra
• Year: 1994-5
• Duration: 25 minutes
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia, for soloist Donald Maurice
• Instrumentation: Viola solo, 2222/1210/2 perc, strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Extract 1

Extract 2

Programme Note

The Viola Concerto, from which the Sonata is derived, was written while Ritchie was Composer-in-Residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia in 1994, and first performed in Dunedin the following year, with Donald Maurice as the soloist. It is a personal work in which the viola takes on various characters, and describes human relationships. The solo part speaks in a natural and uncontrived voice, and consequently there are few shows of virtuosity in the concerto.

The first movement, allegro tempestuoso, opens in turmoil and includes an idea inspired by one of Bach's Brandenburg concertos. A lighter, folk-like theme emerges and acts as a link to the second main theme which is cooler in mood and tinged with sadness. In the middle section a new idea is played on muted brass interspersed with a lyrical melody on viola. Themes are developed in the orchestra, reaching a climax and leading back to the home key of E. At this point melodic ideas are transformed by a downward, 'weeping' motif which appeared earlier on. This carthartic passage fades and the movement ends quickly, without resolution.

The long theme at the start of the slow movement began life as a solo piece, and unfolds slowly on the dorian mode accompanied by simple string chords. The stronger second theme on G has a determined quality about it. A lyrical third theme appears on the woodwinds and uses elements of the opening melody. Ominous rumbles in the bass signify the start of the middle section. A boisterous climax evaporates into the recapitulation, where the opening melody is varied with soft floating flutes and string harmonics. The third movement, a cadenza, follows and acts as a link to the finale.

Dance-like in character, the finale provides a resolution to the tensions of the previous movements. Some of the themes are influenced by popular music styles, and near the end there is a slightly slower section which recalls Bluegrass music; this was inspired by the American group, the Blue Sky Mountain Boys. There are three main themes in the movement, and these are combined in counterpoint towards the end. A long pedal note E appears in the Coda, over which the soloist plays a mock-heroic version of the second theme. This is brusquely swept aside by strident and jazzy chords, and the concerto comes to a conclusion.

• Opus63 The Charge of Parihaka (1994)

The Charge of Parihaka

A setting of a powerful satirical poem by Jessie MacKay, describing events in Parihaka, 1881, when government troops forcibly took over a Maori Pa and sent many of its inhabitants to prison. A direct and strong setting, performable by soloists or by unaccompanied choir.

• Opus No: 63
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1994
• Duration: 5 minutes
• Texts: Jessie MacKay
• Commissioned by The Australian Song Company
• Instrumentation: for vocal sextet SSATBB or 6-part choir
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus62 The Tuatara Dances (1994)

The Tuatara Dances

The Tuatara shakes off his passive past and moves to some contemporary dance rhythms. A lively and amusing piece, it incorporates elements of jazz and ethnic music alternating with the Tuatara theme, building to an exciting climax.

• Opus No: 62
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1994
• Duration: 18'00 (Short version for schools/light concerts - 5'00)
• Commissioned by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/4331/timp.2 perc, strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

In New Zealand there has been a reluctance on the part of pakeha men to move to music. Perhaps it is our Victorian background that makes us feel silly and self-conscious when dancing. We pefer to sit back and be still, like the Tuatara. In this piece, the old reptile (Tuatara) shakes off his passive past and moves to some more contemporary-sounding dance rhythms.

The work is in a continous movement, divided into several sections. It opens with an ironical glance at the atonal past before flicking it away, like a fly. A jaunty 'Tuatara' theme is played on clarinet over bass ostinati, leading to a more vibrant and lively theme.

While the first section is earthy and physical in character, the second is a fantasy, full of ethereal images. The initial delicate waltz theme develops and grows into a more menacing idea, before fading back into the 'Tuatara' theme.

The rest of the piece comprises various dances that adopt certain styles: jazz, folky, rock. A gypsy-like theme combines with a version of 'God Defend NZ' in a section where pakeha men are on their feet! The finale uses log drum and Pacific Island rhythms to bring the piece to an exciting conclusion.

• Opus61 Remember Parihaka (1994)

Remember Parihaka

The Tuatara shakes off his passive past and moves to some contemporary dance rhythms. A lively and amusing piece, it incorporates elements of jazz and ethnic music alternating with the Tuatara theme, building to an exciting climax.

• Opus No: 61
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1994
• Duration: 9'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/2000/1 perc., strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

The starting point for this piece was a curiosity in the metal doors that covered the entrances to cells imbedded in the cliffs near Andersons Bay inlet, in Dunedin. A friend informed me that during the 19th century Maori prisoners were kept there at night, and worked on the Dunedin Harbour land reclamation during the day. Some of these prisoners were brought down to Dunedin from Taranaki in the North Island, as a result of the conflict in 1881 at Parihaka. Upon reading Dick Smith's book 'Ask that Mountain - The story of Parihaka' I learned of one of the most shocking incidents in our country's history.

The land wars of the 1860s provoked a new approach from Maori to the protection of their lands. Te Whiti, Tohu and their followers at Parihaka combatted the Pakeha land grab by organising passive resistance through a variety of means. In response to unauthorised land confiscation Te Whiti ordered the plouging of fields, building of fences and planting, all of which impeded the surveyors who wished to carve up the land for settlers. Many were arrested, offering no struggle, and soon prisons around the country were full. Despite the many injustices Te Whiti maintained his policy of passive resistance to the end. In November 1881, government troops entered Parihaka with guns and artillery. They were greeted by Maori women and children chanting songs, but no armed struggle. Te Whiti and Tohu were taken away, the Pa was broken up, and hundreds sent away to prison. Despite a Press blackout, two reporters were smuggled into the Pa, one commenting that "it was one of the saddest and most painful spectacles I have witnessed".

'Remember Parihaka' attempts to sum up my thoughts and feelings about the events at Parihaka. The slow opening is peaceful, like a sun rise, with melodic fragments that slowly unfold into a fuller, more passionate statement. Flutes and oboes announce a chant-like theme, based on an actual song composed at the time of the incident. This 'Maori' theme alternates with a more European-sounding theme on solo violin, accompanied by an Irish drum, the bowron. At the heart of the piece the various melodic ideas come together over a grinding, relentless bass, building to a climax. In the short postlude, the peace of the opening is suggested, but now it is tinged with sadness, and a slightly uneasy feeling.

This piece was written while I was Composer-in-residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia, in 1994. It was first performed in that year, under the baton of John Hopkins.

• Opus60 High Tide at Clyde (1993)

High Tide at Clyde

The Tuatara shakes off his passive past and moves to some contemporary dance rhythms. A lively and amusing piece, it incorporates elements of jazz and ethnic music alternating with the Tuatara theme, building to an exciting climax.

• Opus No: 60
• Category: School
• Year: 1993
• Duration: 1 hour 15'
• Texts: Elizabeth O'Connor
• Commissioned by Dunedin College of Education
• Instrumentation: musical for children: for flute, violin, piano, percussion, guitar, and mixed voices
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus59 Symphony No. 1 "Boum" (1993)

Symphony No. 1 "Boum"

The Tuatara shakes off his passive past and moves to some contemporary dance rhythms. A lively and amusing piece, it incorporates elements of jazz and ethnic music alternating with the Tuatara theme, building to an exciting climax.

• Opus No: 59
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1993
• Duration: 31'30"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: 3232+alto sax./4331/timp.+1 perc., strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Extract 1

Extract 2

Extract 3

Extract 4

Programme Note

• I - largo-allegro-moderato-allegro-largo
• II - allegro energico
• III - Adagio (for the innocent of Bosnia)
• IV - Allegro

The title of this symphony comes from the ominous tam tam stroke that opens the first movement, a mysterious sound heard by two of E M Forster's characters in 'A Passage to India' when they investigate the Marabar Caves. This is a sound which symbolises the mysteries of life and death, although Ritchie warns us not to take it all too literally. "The echo is only a starting point to a general theme of human struggle. The listener can interpret the music in his or her own way."

The first movement opens sonorously in the tonality of G, pulsating chords leading us inevitably to the first main theme, a theme that Ritchie himself characterises as a "muscular, Bruknerian theme", although the momentum that it engages owes more to Shostakovich. A sinuous saxophone theme is very significant in the central section, as is the lengthy oboe theme in the moderato section. The second movement opens with the sharp, bright sounds of oboes and clarinets accompanied by Cook Islands log drums. The log drum punctuates the movement's textures and creates a sense of propulsion. A light-hearted dance introduced by string quartet offers an opportunity for a change of mood.

The third movement is a lament for the victims of the Bosnian wars. The highly evocative scoring of the opening pages was inpsired by the wailing of a Maori karanga, while tolling bells imbue this elegy with a special sense of tragedy. The symphony ends with a 'grand dance' which shows Ritchie has not been untouched by rock music. Several themes are brought together in an ecstatic coda, after which the music slowly unwinds over a reiterated pedal note. The opening of the first movement returns, and the final sound we hear is a single stroke on the tam tam.

Symphony No.1 'Boum' was completed while Ritchie was Composer-in-residence with the Dunedin Sinfonia in 1993, and first performed the following year, under the baton of Sir William Southgate. It has recieved numerous performances, and in 1998 was recorded for Concert FM by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

• Opus58 The Rose Family (1993)

The Rose Family

These songs take many various views of the rose, resulting in an eclectic collection of music, challenging but not overly difficult for choir.

• Opus No: 58
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1993
• Duration: 14'00"
• Texts: Blake, Eliot, Waller, Herrick, Parker, Frost and Oppenheim
• Commissioned by Viva Voce
• Instrumentation: 8 songs for a capella choir in up to 7 parts
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The Rose Family was commissioned by Viva Voce of Auckland and composed in 1995. The theme of roses and some of the texts were chosen by Viva Voce's conductor, John Rosser.

The eight songs deal in a fairly light way with a variety of aspects of that most romantic of flowers, from love and happiness through to suffering, pain and death. Edmund Waller's Go, lovely rose is a characteristic idealisation of a young woman and is romantic in style. In Herrick's To the Rose, the rose is used to entrap a lover and force her to submit, and the music reflects this cruelty.

Dorothy Parker suggests roses are all very well but she would have preferred a new car from her lover. The final song is an arrangement of James Oppenheim's suffragette song Bread and Roses, and recalls the the sweated labour of women from the past.

• Opus57 Underwater Music (1993)

Underwater Music

A colourful descriptive piece, imaginatively portraying seahorses, stingrays and dolphins.

• Opus No: 57
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1993
• Duration: 11'30"
• Commissioned by Auckland Sinfonietta
• Instrumentation: in 3 movements: 2222/2000/1 perc. strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The Auckland Sinfonietta requested a piece from me that adopted the theme of the sea. My title was partly motivated by the famous Handel precedent, but focusses on creatures who live in the sea.

The first movement is titled 'Seahorses' and captures the gently undulating movements of these small creatures. More dramatic gestures suggest the ebb and flow of the sea. The second movement is titled 'Sting rays' and the music suggests the slowly flapping motion of the rays. In the third movement, 'Dolphins', the orchestra presents an energetic theme, and the movement is full of strong, upward sweeping gestures. A piccolo solo in the middle section derives from the opening, and portrays a baby dolphin. The work ends with a blow from the dolphin's spout.

This commissioned work was first performed in 1994, and recorded for Concert FM under the baton of John Matheson.

• Opus56b Second Movement from Flute Concerto (1998)

Second Movement from Flute Concerto

The second movement from the Flute Concerto has been re-arranged for concert performance, for flute and piano, and published in the volume 'Little Soundings:A selection of Flute Music by NZ Composers'

• Opus No: 56b
• Category: Flute & Piano
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 6'30"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: flute and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The Flute Concerto was composed for flutist Alexa Still (Principal flute, NZSO) in 1993 while Ritchie was Composer - in - Residence with The Dunedin Sinfonia. Unlike the Symphony "Boum", written in the same year, this concerto is a generally happy and open-sounding work, and reflects aspects of Alexa Still's personality as well as her playing. She first performed the concerto on September 4th, 1993 in The Glenroy Auditorium, and subsequently recorded it with The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

The slow second movement is lyrical and improvisational in style, with two cadenzas at the start of the movement. The first of these was scored for bass clarinet, but becomes a flute solo in the version for piano and flute. In between these cadenzas a warm and gentle theme appears. However, it soon fades into anxious repeated chords on the piano while the flute plays nervous, flickering gestures. As the tension dissolves the piano introduces a laconic theme, interpersed with little cadenzas on the flute. The music builds to a climax where the warm, gentle theme returns in a contrapuntal version, and again fades into the anxious piano chords. A brief and mysterious coda contains references back to the opening cadenza, and the piece ends unresolved.

• Opus56c Flute Concerto (1998)

Flute Concerto - Piano Reduction

The Flute Concerto was composed for flutist Alexa Still (Principal flute, NZSO) in 1993 while Ritchie was Composer - in - Residence with The Dunedin Sinfonia. Unlike the Symphony "Boum", written in the same year, this concerto is a generally happy and open-sounding work, and reflects aspects of Alexa Still's personality as well as her playing.

• Opus No: 56c
• Category: Flute & Piano
• Year: 1998
• Duration: 17'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: flute and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The Flute Concerto was composed for flutist Alexa Still (Principal flute, NZSO) in 1993 while Ritchie was Composer - in - Residence with The Dunedin Sinfonia. Unlike the Symphony "Boum", written in the same year, this concerto is a generally happy and open-sounding work, and reflects aspects of Alexa Still's personality as well as her playing.

The first movement is energetic in style, with a bubbling first theme. This is contrasted by a darker and slower second theme, exploring the lower register of the flute. The music accelerates back to the main theme before heading into a percussive middle section. The flute then presents a lyrical idea which is related to earlier themes, and this leads to a cadenza. A brief recapitulation drives the music to a forceful ending.

The slow second movement is lyrical and improvisational in style, with two cadenzas at the start of the movement. The first of these was scored for bass clarinet, but becomes a flute solo in the version for piano and flute. In between these cadenzas a warm and gentle theme appears. However, it soon fades into anxious repeated chords on the piano while the flute plays nervous, flickering gestures. As the tension dissolves the piano introduces a laconic theme, interpersed with little cadenzas on the flute. The music builds to a climax where the warm, gentle theme returns in a contrapuntal version, and again fades into the anxious piano chords. A brief and mysterious coda contains references back to the opening cadenza, and the piece ends unresolved.

The third movement is like a sequence of dances with different characters, bound together by a buffeting crotchet rhythm. After a flourish from the piano, the flute introduces a sprightly theme, followed by a quirky, subsidiary idea. The buffeting rhythm from the start is transformed into a pop-styled ostinato pattern, and the flute plays a lyrical melody above it. This theme was inspired by the composer attending a performance by The Muttonbirds, a well-known NZ rock group. The quirky theme returns in a more subdued setting, the music slows, and unexpectedly becomes a dreamy and child-like waltz. This distraction is swept away by a loud chord, and the main theme returns with renewed purpose, leading to an exciting conclusion in which all the elements of the movement are combined.

The Flute Concerto was recorded (in the orchestral version) by Alexa Still and the NZSO in 1996, on the Koch CD 3-7345-2-H1, entitled Kiwi Flute.

The second movement of the concerto was published in a special version for piano and flute by The Centre for NZ Music, in their 1998 publication Little Dancings: A Selection of flute music by New Zealand Composers.

• Opus56 Flute Concerto (1993)

Flute Concerto

The Flute Concerto was composed for flutist Alexa Still (Principal flute, NZSO) in 1993 while Ritchie was Composer - in - Residence with The Dunedin Sinfonia. Unlike the Symphony "Boum", written in the same year, this concerto is a generally happy and open-sounding work, and reflects aspects of Alexa Still's personality as well as her playing.

• Opus No: 56
• Category: Flute & Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1993
• Duration: 17'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 clarinet, 1 bass clarinet, 1 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 1 percussionist, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Extract 1

Extract 2

Programme Note

The Flute Concerto was composed for flutist Alexa Still (Principal flute, NZSO) in 1993 while Ritchie was Composer - in - Residence with The Dunedin Sinfonia. Unlike the Symphony "Boum", written in the same year, this concerto is a generally happy and open-sounding work, and reflects aspects of Alexa Still's personality as well as her playing.

The first movement is energetic in style, with a bubbling first theme. This is contrasted by a darker and slower second theme, exploring the lower register of the flute. The music accelerates back to the main theme before heading into a percussive middle section. The flute then presents a lyrical idea which is related to earlier themes, and this leads to a cadenza. A brief recapitulation drives the music to a forceful ending.

The slow second movement is lyrical and improvisational in style, with two cadenzas at the start of the movement. The first of these was scored for bass clarinet, but becomes a flute solo in the version for piano and flute. In between these cadenzas a warm and gentle theme appears. However, it soon fades into anxious repeated chords on the piano while the flute plays nervous, flickering gestures. As the tension dissolves the piano introduces a laconic theme, interpersed with little cadenzas on the flute. The music builds to a climax where the warm, gentle theme returns in a contrapuntal version, and again fades into the anxious piano chords. A brief and mysterious coda contains references back to the opening cadenza, and the piece ends unresolved.

The third movement is like a sequence of dances with different characters, bound together by a buffeting crotchet rhythm. After a flourish from the piano, the flute introduces a sprightly theme, followed by a quirky, subsidiary idea. The buffeting rhythm from the start is transformed into a pop-styled ostinato pattern, and the flute plays a lyrical melody above it. This theme was inspired by the composer attending a performance by The Muttonbirds, a well-known NZ rock group. The quirky theme returns in a more subdued setting, the music slows, and unexpectedly becomes a dreamy and child-like waltz. This distraction is swept away by a loud chord, and the main theme returns with renewed purpose, leading to an exciting conclusion in which all the elements of the movement are combined.

The Flute Concerto was recorded (in the orchestral version) by Alexa Still and the NZSO in 1996, on the Koch CD 3-7345-2-H1, entitled Kiwi Flute.

The second movement of the concerto was published in a special version for piano and flute by The Centre for NZ Music, in their 1998 publication Little Dancings: A Selection of flute music by New Zealand Composers.

• Opus55 Sinfonietta (1992)

Sinfonietta

There is plenty of variety in the four movements of this work, from the mysterious quality in the first movement, to the energetic humour of the last. Easy to perform.

• Opus No: 55
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 15'00"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Collegiate Orchestra
• Instrumentation: for amateur orchestra, in four movements: 2220/ 1110 / 1 perc, strings
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children

Programme Note

• I - Moderato
• II - Allegro
• III - Andante
• IV - Giocoso
• Opus54g Song (1992)

Song

A simple and moving setting of Baxter's religious poem, arranged for bass and piano.

• Opus No: 54g
• Category: Solo songs / bass
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Commissioned by Holy Cross Chapel
• Instrumentation: for bass and piano.
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus54f Song to the Lord Jesus (1992)

Song to the Lord Jesus

A simple and peaceful setting of the religious poem by James K. Baxter, composed for an ordination of priests at Dunedin's Holy Cross Chapel. Also available in arrangement for female voices.

• Opus No: 54f
• Category: Solo songs / mezzo
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Commissioned by Holy Cross Chapel
• Instrumentation: for mezzo soprano and piano.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus54e Song to the Lord Jesus (1992)

Song to the Lord Jesus

A simple and peaceful setting of the religious poem by James K. Baxter, composed for an ordination of priests at Dunedin's Holy Cross Chapel. Also available in arrangement for female voices.

• Opus No: 54e
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Commissioned by Holy Cross Chapel
• Instrumentation: for male voices and organ or piano.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus54d He Moemoea (1996)

He Moemoea

Designed for quick learning, this lyrical song has proved popular with choirs and soloists. It has been re-arranged for mezzo soprano and piano.

• Opus No: 54d
• Category: Solo songs / mezzo
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: Keri Hulme
• Commissioned by Association of NZ Singing Teachers
• Instrumentation: for mezzo soprano and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus54c 'Song' (1992)

'Song'

A simple and moving setting of Baxter's religious poem, arranged for mezzo soprano and piano.

• Opus No: 54c
• Category: Solo songs / mezzo
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Commissioned by Holy Cross Chapel
• Instrumentation: for mezzo soprano and piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus54b He Moemoea (1992)

He Moemoea

Designed for quick learning, this lyrical song has proved popular with choirs and soloists.

• Opus No: 54b
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1996
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: Keri Hulme
• Commissioned by Association of NZ Singing Teachers
• Instrumentation: for voices and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus54a 'Song' (1992)

'Song'

A simple and moving setting of Baxter's religious poem, dividing into two parts in the second half.

• Opus No: 54a
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 3'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Commissioned by Holy Cross Chapel
• Instrumentation: for male voices and organ
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus53 Brass Quintet (1992)

Brass Quintet

This work contains a variety of moods and styles, from the quiet and calm slow movement, to the gritty and strong variations of the theme 'Down in the Brunner Mine'. For a professional group.

• Opus No: 53
• Category: Chamber Works / brass
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 15'00"
• Commissioned by Canterbury Quintet
• Instrumentation: 2 trumpets, 1 horn, 1 trombone, 1 tuba
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus52 Berlin Fragments (1992)

Berlin Fragments

This powerful and substantial work uses text from 'Berlin Diary' by Cilla McQueen to examine the contrast between beauty and violence.

• Opus No: 52
• Category: Solo songs / soprano
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 23'00"
• Texts: Cilla McQueen
• Commissioned by Judy Bellingham
• Instrumentation: song cycle for soprano and piano, in one continuous movement
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

In 1990 I attended the launch of Cilla McQueen's new book 'Berlin Diary'. This diary made a big impression on me, initially because it brought back memories of my own trip to Europe. I also liked the brilliant mixing of poetic and prosaic styles, and the vivid descriptions of people and places. Something else that imprsssed me was the strong contrast between the inhuman political situation in Berlin (the wall was still up) and the natural, peaceful beauty of Dunedin, New Zealand. (Cilla's and my own home town). A few months later the Aramoana tragedy (where a deranged gunman killed 13 people - Aramoana is a remote seaside township at the end of the Otago peninsula) changed that around. Cilla's beautiful, almost ecstatic centrepiece in the dairy "O Aramoana" now took on a terrible subtext, and it seemed as if the inhumanity of Berlin had come to the remote beach community. A year later, the Berlin wall finally came down, and the unification of East and West Germany became a reality. When Judy Bellingham approached me in 1991 to write a song cycle for her, I immediately wanted to set extracts from the 'Berlin Diary', to capture these layers of dramatic historical irony along with the essence of a marvellous text.

In reality I was able to only set a fraction of the diary to music, and hence the title of my work - 'Berlin Fragments' (which I would also like to think suggests the breaking of the Berlin wall into bits). After talking to Cilla about the work, I decided to make "O Aramoana" the heart of the work, around which somewhat shorter texts are clustered. Sections are often linked by a recurrent chord in the bottom of the piano (the dyad E-F), which I have imagined as a tombstone in musical terms. Framing the work are brief sections which convey the flight to and from Berlin (the "green below" being an unmistakeable reference to a return to New Zealand). The 23 minutes of this song cycle run continuously.

• Opus51b Melancholia (1991)

Melancholia

A short and easy piece for guitar, sad and intimate in mood.

• Opus No: 51b
• Category: Solo Works / Guitar
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 3'00"
• Commissioned by Pro Arte Music
• Instrumentation: for guitar
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Recording Note

Matthew Marshall, for radio. Also on CD as part of secondary school resource produced by The Centre for NZ Music

• Opus51a Pas de Deux (1992)

Pas de Deux

This is a substantial work in five sections which explores the many different textures and colours available from the combination of two guitars.

• Opus No: 51a
• Category: Chamber Works / Guitar
• Year: 1992
• Duration: 21'00"
• Commissioned by Matthew Marshall and Tony Donaldson
• Instrumentation: for two guitars
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

• I - Prelude
• II - Au revoir
• III - Jeux
• IV - Waltz triste
• V - Epilogue

Pas de Deux is an essentially abstract work for two guitars, but was conceived as a sequence of imaginery dances, involving two characters. The titles of the five sections give clues as to the mood of each dance, but beyond that the listener must rely on their own imagination and personal experiences to interpret the sounds.

There are elements of 'minimalist' influence in this work, with plenty of quite simple modal ideas being subtly varied in the course of repetitions. This is especially so in the second section, which develops an idea first presented in the choral work 'As Long as Time' (No.3: "I lie, I watch the ceiling"). The third section is more Bartokian in style, while the fourth builds up to a cartharsis through repeated chord patterns. In the short 'Epilogue' ideas from the beginning recur, but transformed into a more peaceful setting.

Pas de Deux was commissioned and first performed by Matthew Marshall and Tony Donaldson.

• Opus50 Children and Adults (1992)

Children and Adults

These songs explore the lives of children and adults, looking at their different ways of viewing things. They are quite approachable, and use elements of popular music.

• Opus No: 50
• Category: Solo songs / mezzo / clarinet / piano
• Year: 1992
• Duration:
• Texts: 'Children' by Bill Manhire, 'To Ben, at the lake' and 'Zoom' by Cilla McQueen, 'Just like that!' by Sam Hunt
• Commissioned by Klarion Trio
• Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano, clarinet and piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus49b Romp (1991)

Romp

• Opus No: 49b
• Category: Symphonic Band
• Year: 1991
• Opus49 Goodbye to Blues (1991)

Goodbye to Blues

A lively and slightly jazzy piece that shakes off the 'blues' that sound at the start. Designed for a youth concert band.

• Opus No: 49
• Category: Symphonic Band
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Christchurch Youth Concert Band
• Instrumentation: for symphonic band: 2232/3431/ 2 alto sax,1 tenor sax, timp, 2 perc, bass; optional parts for Euphonium and bass clar.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

This work attempts to shake off 'the blues' with playful and vigorous musical ideas. It starts slowly and in sombre mood but this is quickly swept aside by a jolting 'allegro'. A number of motivic-like themes are presented, and linked together during the piece. The syncopated idea at the beginning recurs as a kind of rondo theme in this one-movement work.

'Goodbye to Blues' was commissioned by the Christchurch Youth Symphonic Band and CSM, with funding from Creative NZ. It was first performed on the band's tour of Hawaii, in 1992. While presenting some challenges to younger players it is not overly demanding in terms of technique.

• Opus48 Yet Another Poem of Spring (1991)

Yet Another Poem of Spring

A short orchestral fanfare, lively and colourful, designed to open a concer

• Opus No: 48
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 2'30"
• Commissioned by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
• Instrumentation: 2332/4231/2 perc, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

In 1981 I composed a series of piano pieces called 'Poems of Spring', in which I juxtaposed the exhilarating beauty of a Christchurch spring with the terrible pain of a broken relationship. Ten years later, and in the middle of a cruel Dunedin winter, I recalled this Christchurch spring as I was composing this short piece for the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. 1991 was a year in which I managed to climb out of a dark phase in my life, and consequently this piece expresses a sense of excitement and affirmation. It was designed as a fanfare to open a concert and combines several short motifs into a busy mosaic of sound.

'Yet Another Poem of Spring' is recorded by the NZSO on their 'Landscapes' CD, released in 2001.

• Opus47 As Long as Time (1990)

As Long as Time

These four songs explore different states of mind in a quirky and emotional manner. They are reasonably challenging without being too difficult.

• Opus No: 47
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1990
• Duration:
• Texts: 'Timepiece' by Cilla McQueen, 'Before the Fall' by Rachel McAlpine, 'I lie, I watch the ceiling' (no text) 'We could just Disappear' by Sam Hunt
• Commissioned by The Southern Consort of Voices in 1991, with funding from Creative NZ
• Instrumentation: SATB a cappella
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Extract 1

Extract 2

Programme Note

This work was commissioned by The Southern Consort of Voices in 1991, with funding from Creative NZ. It sets three NZ poems to music, with a fourth song being wordless:

• Timepiece - poem by Cilla McQueen
• Before the Fall - poem by Rachel McAlpine
• I lie, I watch the ceiling (wordless)
• We could just disappear - poem by Sam Hunt

In 2001 Auckland choir Viva Voce recorded this work on their CD entitled 'Snapshots - A Cappella Choral Favourites' (contact: songanddance@xtra.co.nz).

Conductor John Rosser writes of the work - "Anthony has a wonderful knack of writing for voice. 'Timepiece' portrays a woman struggling to break free of suburban neurosis and the tyranny of time. 'Before the Fall' alludes to lost childhood innocence, and 'We Could just Disappear' depicts the future as an endless tunnel of the mind."

• Opus46b School Blues (1992)

School Blues

A school show.

• Opus No: 46b
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1992
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: piano and voices
• Level:
• Opus46a Behind Our Masks (1991)

Behind Our Masks

This school show takes a realistic and humorous view of adolescent relationships; the music is jazzy in style, and singable by just about anyone.

• Opus No: 46a
• Category: School
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 2 hours
• Texts: Denise Walsh
• Commissioned by Logan Park High school, Dunedin
• Instrumentation: high school musical: piano and voices - but instruments can be added if you wish! (Aranui High used a rock band)
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus45b Birds and a Steam Train in the Catlins (1991)

Birds and a Steam Train in the Catlins

This short piece was inspired by a journey through the Catlins area, south of Dunedin, mixing bird call with the imagined presence of a steam train.

• Opus No: 45b
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 2'30"
• Commissioned by I and A Saslav
• Instrumentation: piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Published by The Centre for NZ Music, in the volume entitled '1st 15: A Selection of Piano Music by NZ Composers', 1996

Programme Note

This piece was written in 1991 for Ann Saslav. It is based on an imaginary scene from years ago when a railway branch line went through native bush in the Catlins area of NZ.

The motif at the start is a bird-call the composer heard in the area.

This piece is aimed at grade 7 or 8 level, and was initially performed in schools by Ann Saslav as part of an educational project.

• Opus45a Tuatara (1990)

Tuatara

For accomplished players to perform to children.

• Opus No: 45a
• Category: Chamber Works / violin / piano
• Year: 1990
• Duration: 1'30"
• Commissioned by I and A Saslav
• Instrumentation: for violin and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus44b Dogwobble (1990)

Dogwobble

A nonsense song designed for easy learning by amateur choir, accompanied by a flexible orchestra.

• Opus No: 44b
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1990
• Duration: 2'30"
• Texts: Cilla McQueen
• Commissioned by New Zealand Society for Music Education
• Instrumentation:
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus44 Dogwobble and Other Songs (1990)

Dogwobble and Other Songs

Four songs designed for easy learning by amateur choir, accompanied by a flexible orchestra. Includes the nonsense song 'Dogwobble'.

• Opus No: 44
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 1990
• Duration: 11'30"
• Texts: Cilla McQueen
• Commissioned by New Zealand Society for Music Education
• Instrumentation: for SAB choir and flexible orchestra: parts for treble winds, treble strings, bass instruments, optional brass, 4 perc. (school instruments possible) piano duet
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

• 'Recipe for One'
• 'To Ben, at the lake'
• 'Zoom'
• 'Dogwobble'
• Opus43 Moods (1990)

Moods

Four easy pieces for amateur or school orchestra describing the following moods: 'Ecstatic', 'Sad', 'Angry' and 'Happy'. Features simple and strong rhythms.

• Opus No: 43
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1990
• Duration: 13'30"
• Commissioned by Christchurch School of Instrumental Music
• Instrumentation: for childrens orchestra with flexible orchestration: descant recorders, flts, obs, clars, bsns, hns, tpts, tmbs, alto+tenor sax., timp, perc., strings
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus42 To Face the Night Alone (1990)

To Face the Night Alone

This major work traces the stages of the grief process, mixing poems by James K. Baxter, Sam Hunt and Janet Frame with an evocative and powerful libretto by Pat White. It is direct in style, and well within the capabilities of most city choirs and orchestras.

• Opus No: 42
• Category: Choir & Orchestra
• Year: 1990
• Duration: 37'00"
• Texts: Mainly by Pat White, commissioned for the work; also includes 'The Bay' by James K.Baxter, 'My Father Today' by Sam Hunt, and 'The Suicides' by Janet Frame
• Commissioned by The Schola Cantorum and Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: song cycle for solo baritone, large SATB choir, and orchestra: 2222/3220/timp, 2 perc, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This work for choir, baritone and orchestra was composed for The Schola Cantorum (now City of Dunedin Choir) and The Dunedin Sinfonia (now Southern Sinfonia), with the assistance of a grant from Creative NZ. It is a song cycle, using ten poems especially written for the work by New Zealander Pat White. Three other poems are by Baxter, Frame and Hunt.

• Opus41 Hurting (1990)

Hurting

• Opus No: 41
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1990
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: Piano
• Level:
• Opus40 Le Vierge, le vivace, et le bel aujourd'hui (1989)

Le Vierge, le vivace, et le bel aujourd'hui

• Opus No: 40
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1989
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: for SATB a cappella
• Level:
• Opus39b Two further songs for Columba College (1991)

Two further songs for Columba College

The languid and lyrical 'Kowhai Tree' and the quirky and funny 'First day at School'.

• Opus No: 39b
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 5'00"
• Texts: 'The Kowhai Tree' by M McFarlane and 'First day at School' by Roger McGough
• Commissioned by Maureen Smith for Columba College, Dunedin
• Instrumentation: for SSA, cello, flute and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus39a Two Songs for Columba College (1989)

Two Songs for Columba College

These approachable songs were composed for high school groups; 'Half Asleep and Half Awake' and the amusing and lively 'The Owl and the Astronaut'.

• Opus No: 39a
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1991
• Duration: 5'00"
• Texts: Gareth Owen
• Commissioned by Maureen Smith for Columba College, Dunedin
• Instrumentation: for SSA, cello, flute and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus38 Ashburn Fragments (1989)

Ashburn Fragments

A work in four movements, Ashburn Fragments is intense and obsessive in tone, requiring a professional pianist.

• Opus No: 38
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1989
• Duration: 12'30"
• Instrumentation: Solo Piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample
• Opus37 Te Hau-a-Kaiaua (1989)

Te Hau-a-Kaiaua

A short tone poem, describing a Maori myth in music. It is colourful in its orchestration, and contains elements of Maori music mixed with minimalist elements.

• Opus No: 37
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1989
• Duration: 9'00"
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/4330/timp, 3 perc, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Translation of title: 'The winds of Kaiaua'

In Maori mythology, Kaiaua was a child of Tahwiri, the great god of the wind. The winds of Kaiaua are the nor'-westers that frequently sweep across the Canterbury plains. This piece describes an old Maori legend about a chief who disliked the hot nor'-westers so much that he instructed a tohunga (or priest) to perform a chant, making the mountains bigger and stopping the winds coming. However, this caused the plains to become too damp and miserable for the people to live there. The chief prayed for the return of the winds, and eventually they do indeed return, forcing their way over the Southern Alps.

The music for this one-movement piece is directly programmatic, owing something to the composer's experience as Composer-in-schools (1987), where childrens' imagination very readily turns sounds into images. Consequently, a theme from Ritchie's own youth (from age 13) is used in the piece, to depict the march of the wind at the end.

• Opus36 The Hanging Bulb (1989)

The Hanging Bulb

In four connected sections, this work is intense in mood and strong in its rhythms and melodic cells. A personal work, beautiful and sensitive, expressing the images of sadness and despair.

• Opus No: 36
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1989
• Duration: 14'30"
• Commissioned by Dunedin Sinfonia
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/2200/2/perc., piano, strings. Not excessive in difficulty.
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Hear a sample

Programme Note

The Hanging Bulb was commissioned by The Dunedin Sinfonia while the composer was Mozart Fellow at Otago University. It consists of a continuous movement, divided into four sections: slow, fast, slow, fast. Sections 1 and 2 are thematically related, as are sections 3 and 4, so the structure could be described as a double couplet.

The work expresses particular emotional and psychological states of mind, encapsulated in the title of the work which is an image of despair. Hanging light bulbs have been associated with despair and obsession in the world of art and in the real world. They became a significant image to the composer at the time of writing this piece, which was not born in happy circumstances. Tension in the music is created through extensive use of the octatonic scale, bi-modal effects and thickly layered chords (such as occur near the end). The xylophone and bass drum are used as symbols of cruelty, while the piano has an important 'personal'statement in the first section. The last section has an obsessional quality which is expressed through repeated rhythms and motifs.

A music resource for secondary schools is available for this work from SOUNZ.

• Opus35 Psalm 147 (1988)

Psalm 147

This is an easy and accessible song for choir, with a colourful organ part that is not too demanding to play.

• Opus No: 35
• Category: Choir accompanied / Organ
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 5'00"
• Commissioned by Institute of Registered Music Teachers, for their 1989 Annual Conference
• Instrumentation: SAB choir and organ
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus34b Four Duos for two violins (1988)

Four Duos for two violins

• Opus No: 34b
• Category: Violin
• Year: 1988
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: Two Violins
• Level:
• Opus34a Concerto for Three: The Coming of Age (1988)

Concerto for Three: The Coming of Age

• Opus No: 34a
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1988
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: for violin, cello, flute & string orchestra
• Level:
• Opus33 Music for Tristan (1988)

Music for Tristan

This piece describes feelings of being a first-time parent, and has a variety of contrasting ideas. There are tender, lyrical moments mixed with very active and lively passages, requiring a high standard of playing.

• Opus No: 33
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by The Music Federation of New Zealand for Sharon Joy Vogan
• Instrumentation: Solo piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Recording Note

Sharon Joy Vogan, recorded on CD by Concert FM and Centre for NZ Music, as part of 'finemusic' series

• Opus32 Rhapsody for Guitar (1988)

Rhapsody for Guitar

The two movements in this work have a folky character while being essentially abstract. The first is called 'Slow Bulgarian Dance' and explores irregular metres, while the second is called 'Skittish Dance'.

• Opus No: 32
• Category: Solo Works / Guitar
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 6'00"
• Commissioned by Suzanne Court
• Instrumentation: Guitar
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus31 Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano (1988)

Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano

An intense work, with a restless first movement, a brooding second movement, and a fleeting and mellow finale. It does not make excessive demands on the players.

• Opus No: 31
• Category: Chamber Works / clarinet / cello / piano
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 19'00"
• Commissioned by Peter Adams & Judith Williams
• Instrumentation: Clarinet, Cello and Piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano was composed in 1988 while the composer was Mozart Fellow at Otago University. It was composed for Peter Adams (clarinet) and Judith Williams (cello) to play, along with the composer at the piano. The first performance took place in 1989, and the same ensemble recorded the work for radio later that year.

This work straddles a stylistic change in the composer's output. The first and second movements still show the influence of Bartok, a composer Ritchie had studied for his Ph.D earlier in the 1980s. In the third movement, however, he experiments with minimalist techniques which he had become interested in during the year as Mozart Fellow.

The first movement has a slow introduction, presenting an important motif which is developed in the faster main section that follows. A more lyrical secondary theme contrasts with the jerky first theme presented by the clarinet, and both themes are combined in the middle section.

The cello plays a brooding theme over an ostinato, at the start of the second movement. It is decorated by the clarinet and the music builds to a powerful and sustained variation of the theme. In the middle, the angst is replaced by drifting, dreamy textures before the main theme returns. However, it becomes transformed by the dreamy texture at the end.

A simple modal idea unfolds at the start of the finale and is developed throughout the movement in various different ways. The impetus of the music grows and it bursts into compund time in the middle section. When the piano becomes 'stuck' on a persistent figure the main theme returns and gradually grows into a broader and more lyrical statement. Following the climax the music quietly runs out of steam and stops.

• Opus30 Olveston Suite (1988)

Olveston Suite

These short pieces were composed for a concert in Olveston House, Dunedin, and describe different rooms in the historic home. They are evocative and designed for about grade 8 level.

• Opus No: 30
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 8'00"
• Instrumentation: Piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

• I - Great Hall
• II - Kitchen and Scullery
• III - Dining Room
• IV - Writing Room, Edwardian Bedroom (for Dorothy)
• V - Billiard Room, Persian Room
• VI - Great Hall

Olveston Suite was composed in 1988 while Anthony Ritchie was Mozart Fellow at the University of Otago. The manager of Olveston House in Dunedin, Mr Dennis Moore, asked Anthony to play a programme of music in Olveston, on the 1904 grand piano. In response to a joking suggestion for a piece about the house, Anthony set about composing the Olveston Suite in quick time.

The pieces reflect qualities of the house; 'Great Hall' is expansive and majestic, 'Kitchen and Scullery' is busy and bubbling, while 'Dining room' suggests an old English style. The fourth piece, 'Writing Room, Edwardian Bedroom' is dedicated to Dorothy Theomin, the daughter of the original owners of Olveston and the last member of the family to live in the house. 'Billiard Room, Persian Room' is fast and jovial with an exotic middle section. The Suite is rounded off by a repetition of 'Great Hall', as the listener exits Olveston.

• Opus29 Piano Sonata 1988 (1988)

Piano Sonata 1988

This is a substantial sonata, written for the professional pianist. It is rhythmically challenging, lively, and also contains a haunting slow movement.

• Opus No: 29
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 15'30"
• Instrumentation: Piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This work is dedicated to the composer's piano teacher, Rosemary Miller Stott.

It is in three contrasting movements. The first, an allegro, is in sonata form, and features nervous, darting ideas which become more animated in the middle section.

The second movement opens with a chorale-like theme, expressing feelings of nostalgia. The fidgety middle section builds up more tension, before being combined with the chorale theme.

The finale releases the tensions of the earlier movements, and has a happy, sunny character. Initially inspired by a Beethoven sonata, the rondo theme builds up to a big climax before ending quietly.

• Opus28e A Poem Just For You (1989)

A Poem Just For You

• Opus No: 28e
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1989
• Duration: 2'20"
• Texts: Roger McCough
• Commissioned by Rangi Ruru High School
• Instrumentation: sopranos, altos, piano, flute and cello. Also arranged for sopranos, altos and piano.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus28d Dear Examiner (1989)

Dear Examiner

A humourous and catchy song, written for high school girls' choir

• Opus No: 28d
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1989
• Duration: 3'00"
• Texts: Gareth Owen
• Commissioned by Rangi Ruru High School
• Instrumentation: sopranos, altos, piano, flute and cello. Also arranged for sopranos, altos and piano.
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus28c Tutira Mai (1988)

Tutira Mai

Arrangement of a traditional Maori song designed for high school performance. It has been widely performed.

• Opus No: 28c
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 1'30"
• Texts: Traditional Maori waiata
• Commissioned by Rangi Ruru High School
• Instrumentation: SSA, flute, cello, piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus28b Two Songs of the City (1988)

Two Songs of the City

These approachable songs were composed for high school groups, and have proved popular among choirs. Recently they were published in America.

• Opus No: 28b
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 4'45"
• Texts: Gareth Owen
• Commissioned by Rangi Ruru High School
• Instrumentation: SSA, flute, cello, piano
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus28a Two Maori Songs (1988)

Two Maori Songs

Arrangements of traditional Maori songs designed for high school performance. Tutira Mai in particular has been widely performed.

• Opus No: 28a
• Category: Choir accompanied
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 4'30"
• Texts: Traditional Maori waiata; 'Haere Mai ra' and 'Tutira mai'
• Commissioned by Rangi Ruru High School
• Instrumentation: SSA, flute, cello, piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus27 Four E.E.Cummings Poems (1988)

Four E.E.Cummings Poems

These songs are unconventional in their choral writing and are reasonably demanding in performance. They attempt to capture the quirky and thought-provoking nature of the poems in musical terms.

• Opus No: 27
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1988
• Duration: 8'10"
• Texts: E.E.Cummings
• Commissioned by Cecelian Singers
• Instrumentation: for womens choir, SSAA a cappella
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

• in just spring
• O Spring'
• 'anyone lived in a pretty how town
• since feeling is first
• Opus26 Little Quartet (1987)

Little Quartet

After a dark and brooding opening, this piece develops into a lively and quirky exploration of an unusual instrumental combination.

• Opus No: 26
• Category: Chamber Works / flute / clarinet / viola / piano
• Year: 1987
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Zelanian Ensemble
• Instrumentation: for flute, clarinet, viola & piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus25 Beginnings (1987)

Beginnings

A colourful and challenging piece of programmatic music describing the birth of the composer's son, Tristan.

• Opus No: 25
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1987
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
• Instrumentation: for orchestra: 2222/2200/timp, 2 perc., strings
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians

Programme Note

Beginnings was inspired by the birth of Ritchie's son Tristan. It depicts the slowly mounting tension of the labour, through to the birth itself.

There is a gradual growth in the music from small, delicate gestures into wild and pulsating ones towards the end. The child is represented by a 'little Tristan waltz' which eventually gets caught up in the musical frenzy. The waltz sequence imposes order on the music, which tends to be fragmentary and changeable.

There are some echoes of Bartok and Debussy in this earlyish work, and it presents a good challenge for a professional orchestra.

• Opus24 She is Singing for Peace (1987)

She is Singing for Peace

A flowing and lyrical work that builds an impassioned plea for peace. Demanding in performance.

• Opus No: 24
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1987
• Duration: 5'00"
• Texts: Pat White
• Commissioned by Pat White for The New Zealand National Youth Choir
• Instrumentation: for SSAATTBB a cappella
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians
• Opus23 Variations for Orchestra (1987)

Variations for Orchestra

A lively and colourful piece for youth orchestra, based on a quasi-Hungarian folk tune.

• Opus No: 23
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1987
• Duration: 9'00"
• Commissioned by Christchurch Youth Orchestra
• Instrumentation: 4222/4331/timp,3 perc
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus22b Journey through Eastern Europe (1987)

Journey through Eastern Europe

This is an accessible work based on East European folk tunes, and is designed for amateur or school orchestras.

• Opus No: 22b
• Category: Amateur Orchestra / School
• Year: 1987
• Duration: 5'00"
• Commissioned by Rangiora Academy Orchestra
• Instrumentation: 2 flt, 3 clar, 1 trpt, 1 trmb, piano, strings (doublebass optional), with small part for solo violin
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus22a Three Hungarian Folk Songs (1986-8)

Three Hungarian Folk Songs

These songs are arrangements of Hungarian folksongs collected by Bartok, and require a medium degree of skill from the choir.

• Opus No: 22a
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1986-8
• Duration: 6'00"
• Commissioned by Guy Jansen
• Instrumentation: for SATB a cappella
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

The songs are:

• Crossing the River
• Women, women, listen, let me share your labour
• In the Summer Fields
• Opus21 Night-piece (1986)

Night-piece

This continous piano work is dream-like and colourful in atmosphere, and combines styles and textures in an eclectic manner. Suitable for a professional pianist.

• Opus No: 21
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1986
• Duration: 16'00"
• Instrumentation: for piano
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Night-piece was composed in 1986 with the assistance of an Arts Council grant, and first performed by the composer in April 1987. Sharon Joy Vogan subsequently recorded the work for Concert FM.

The one continuous movement is divided into seven sections, linked by recurring motifs. Five of these sections describe dreams, while the opening and closing sections represent the gradual drifting off to sleep, and waking from sleep, respectively.

Rather than being specifically programmatic, Night-piece attempts to evoke strongly-felt sensations and emotions from the the sub-conscious mind.

• Opus20 Violin Sonata (1986)

Violin Sonata

In three movements, this sonata is expansive and quite demanding for both instruments. It is full of driving rhythms and rich textures.

• Opus No: 20
• Category: Chamber Works / violin / piano
• Year: 1986
• Duration: 21'00"
• Instrumentation: violin and piano
• Level: 4 | Challenging for professional musicians
• Opus19 Shintaro San (1986)

Shintaro San

Combines exciting, Bartokian textures with a more lyrical, Eastern-sounding middle section which uses a Japanese folksong. Suitable for A or B grade bands.

• Opus No: 19
• Category: Brass & Symphonic Band
• Year: 1986
• Duration: 6'30"
• Commissioned by Skellerup Woolston Band
• Instrumentation: for standard brass band, with timp and 2 perc.
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus18 Three Songs for Tracy (1985)

Three Songs for Tracy

These short settings of English poetry are lyrical while also demanding a reasonable sense of pitch from the singer. They are approachable songs.

• Opus No: 18
• Category: Solo songs / mezzo
• Year: 1985
• Duration: 5'00"
• Texts: Herrick & Blake
• Instrumentation: for mezzo soprano and piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus17 Balkan Bagpipes (1985)

Balkan Bagpipes

This is a lively and rewarding play for an amateur orchestra. It evokes the music of East European bagpipes, which the composer experienced while studying in Budapest, in 1984.

• Opus No: 17
• Category: Amateur Orchestra
• Year: 1985
• Duration: 8'30"
• Commissioned by Christchurch Orchestral Society
• Instrumentation: for amateur orchestra: 2222/4210/timp.1-2 perc., piano, harp, strings
• Level: 1 | Amateur musicians and children
• Opus16 Autumn Concerto (1985)

Autumn Concerto

• Opus No: 16
• Category: Piano & Orchestra
• Year: 1985
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: piano and orchestra
• Level:
• Opus15 A Folk Lament (1984)

A Folk Lament

Evokes a funeral in the countryside, drawing on elements from both Maori and Hungarian folk music traditions. Composed in an avant garde style, it is demanding for the perfomer without being too difficult.

• Opus No: 15
• Category: Solo Works / organ
• Year: 1984
• Duration: 7'00"
• Instrumentation: for organ
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

Winner of Organists Association of NZ Composition Competition, 1984

• Opus14 String Quartet (1983-4)

String Quartet

Avant garde in style, it explores relationships among people in music, and is technically demanding.

• Opus No: 14
• Category: Chamber Works / strings
• Year: 1983-4
• Duration: 15'30"
• Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola and cello
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus13 Paatere (1983)

Paatere

• Opus No: 13
• Category: Piano
• Year: 1983
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola and cello
• Level:
• Opus12 Quartet for Two Flutes and Two Clarinets (1983)

Quartet for Two Flutes and Two Clarinets

• Opus No: 12
• Category: Flute & Clarinet
• Year: 1983
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: 2 flutes & 2 clarinets
• Level:
• Opus11 Two Songs for Contralto and Piano (1982)

Two Songs for Contralto and Piano

• Opus No: 11
• Category: Contralto & Piano
• Year: 1982
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: contralto and piano
• Level:
• Opus10 With Years to Go (1982)

With Years to Go

Short part-songs, relatively easy to perform while maintaining a modern style. The texts are both by children.

• Opus No: 10
• Category: Choir unaccompanied
• Year: 1982
• Duration: 3'00"
• Texts: 'Birth' by Fiona Kidman, 'Deathman' by Michael Journeaux
• Instrumentation: for SATB a cappella
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students
• Opus9 Piano Concerto (1982)

Piano Concerto

Virtuosic writing for the soloist along with a colourful orchestral part. In four movements, it explores a wide range of moods and styles.

• Opus No: 9
• Category: Piano & Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1982
• Duration: 9'00"
• Texts: 'Birth' by Fiona Kidman, 'Deathman' by Michael Journeaux
• Instrumentation: piano, 2222/4331/timp., 5 percussion, strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians
• Opus8 Concertino for Piano and Strings (1982)

Concertino for Piano and Strings

An early work, exhibiting the influence of Shostakovich and Bartok. Approachable for both players and audience.

• Opus No: 8
• Category: Piano & Strings
• Year: 1982
• Duration: 13'00"
• Commissioned by Radio New Zealand and Schola Music
• Instrumentation: piano, minimum strings 44331
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Programme Note

Concertino for Piano and Strings was written in 1982 for The Schola Musica and the brilliant young pianist Sharon Joy Vogan.

The idea for the Concertino came from Ashley Heenan, the conductor of The Schola Musica at that time. It is a young man's work: the composer was a student at the Canterbury University when he wrote it, and the music strives for tightness in construction. The three movements use conventional ternary and rondo forms and aim for an economy of means while preserving a sense of passionate intensity.

After a brusque opening, the violins play a long, arching melody that generates the material for the first movement. The music develops to a complex climax before the opening reappears, turned upsidedown. In the second movement, a slow and melancholy waltz is decorated by the piano in a Chopinesque manner. This idea was originally composed to accompany a poetry reading. In the middle section the music intensifies in a way that is reminiscent of the slow movements of Shostakovich. The finale is a rather muscular rondo with a short piano cadenza that leads into the coda. The main theme grows in strength until its final appearance in octaves on the piano where it assumes a slightly manic character.

The Concertino for Piano and Strings has been performed extensively in New Zealand and was chosen to be workshopped and performed at The Sydney Summer School in 1983. It was recorded for Kiwi/Pacifc in 1984.

• Opus7 A Mid-term Trio (1981)

A Mid-term Trio

• Opus No: 7
• Category: Piano Trio
• Year: 1981
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: for clarinet, viola and piano
• Level:
• Opus6 Poems of Spring (1980)

Poems of Spring

Eight pieces for piano. Range in mood from energetic and ecstatic, to melancholic, and display influences of Bartok and Prokofiev.

• Opus No: 6
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1980
• Duration: 12'00"
• Instrumentation: Solo Piano
• Level: 2 | Proficient amateurs and students

Recording Note

In 2002 Promethean Editions released the 5 of the 8 piano pieces 'Poems of Spring' as part of their volume of NZ piano music entitled 'Firestarters'. This volume is accompanied by a CD recording, performed by Emma Sayers.

The remaining three have been published by Bellbird Publications in 2003, in the volume 'Caricatures'

• Opus5 A Shakespeare Overture (1981)

A Shakespeare Overture

This overture was originally written in 1981 as part of his study, when the composer was in his third year at Canterbury University. Having never received a performance, the overture was then programmed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the 'Made in New Zealand' concerts, in May 2011. Live Radio NZ Concert broadcasts were made of both concerts.

• Opus No: 5
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1981
• Duration: 8 minutes
• Instrumentation: 3333/4331/timp+3perc./harp/strings
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

The starting point for the piece is a 6-note theme - C-D-G-A-E-F - attributed to the playwright William Shakespeare in a biography of his life by Anthony Burgess, simply called Shakespeare. The theme was allegedly written by Shakespeare for inclusion in his play Love's Labour's Lost. Burgess points out that this 6-note theme can be transposed at the tritone to produce a 12-note row. The theme appears as the second main idea in the fast section, and given a cheeky character on the oboe. Preceding this is a vigorous theme on strings that undergoes plenty of development during the course of the piece.

The overture begins with a slow introduction, brooding in character and featuring short cadenza-like solos for woodwinds. As the 'allegro' develops it assumes a mercurial character, with many sudden changes of colour, dynamics and rhythm. The climax of the overture features a blazing idea for three trumpets over stalking string lines.

• Opus4 Three Pieces for Strings (1980)

Three Pieces for Strings

Strongly astringent short pieces, featuring an expressive passacaglia based on a 12-note row. This movement was revised by the composer in 2001, and can stand alone as a 5-minute adagio.

• Opus No: 4
• Category: Professional Orchestra
• Year: 1980
• Duration: 9'10"
• Instrumentation: minimum 10,8,8,6,4
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

These pieces were composed while Ritchie was a second year student at Canterbury University, in 1980. They recieved their first performance at the Cambridge Summer Music school later that year.

The three movements are entitled: 'Agitation', 'Resignation' and 'Desperation', and show a willingness to explore free-tonal effects to create a restless quality in the music. 'Resignation' is a Shostakovich-like passicaglia, based on a 12-note theme, while the opening movement features changing metres.

• Opus3 Five Songs of Colour (1979)

Five Songs of Colour

• Opus No: 3
• Category: Piano & Soprano
• Year: 1979
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: for soprano and piano
• Level:
• Opus3b Lament for Barney Flanagan (1980)

Lament for Barney Flanagan

A lively and humorous setting of James K. Baxter's classic ballad about the owner of the Hesperus Hotel.

• Opus No: 3b
• Category: Solo songs / baritone
• Year: 1980
• Duration: 5'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Instrumentation: baritone and piano; also in revised version (2001) for bass and piano (for Jonathan Lemalu)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

James K. Baxter is New Zealand's most well-known poet. He wrote in a wide variety of styles and genres, including the traditional ballad form, of which 'Lament for Barney Flanagan' is a prime example. It contains a classic Baxter mix of humour and pathos, lively in spirit but focussed on the subject of death, in this case the heart-attack of an overweight publican. The music is simple and strong, allowing the witty lyrics to speak for themselves, but also adding occasional wry touches of word-painting.

• Opus3c Lament for Barney Flanagan (1980)

Lament for Barney Flanagan

A lively and humorous setting of James K. Baxter's classic ballad about the owner of the Hesperus Hotel.

• Opus No: 3c
• Category: Solo songs / bass
• Year: 1980
• Duration: 5'30"
• Texts: James K. Baxter
• Instrumentation: bass and piano; also in revised version (2001) for bass and piano (for Jonathan Lemalu)
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

James K. Baxter is New Zealand's most well-known poet. He wrote in a wide variety of styles and genres, including the traditional ballad form, of which 'Lament for Barney Flanagan' is a prime example. It contains a classic Baxter mix of humour and pathos, lively in spirit but focussed on the subject of death, in this case the heart-attack of an overweight publican. The music is simple and strong, allowing the witty lyrics to speak for themselves, but also adding occasional wry touches of word-painting.

• Opus2 Sonata for a Friend (1978)

Sonata for a Friend

• Opus No: 2
• Category: Solo Piano
• Year: 1978
• Duration:
• Instrumentation: for solo piano
• Level:
• Opus1 Sonata for solo violin (1976)

Sonata for solo violin

This youthful and ambitious work shows influences of Bartok and Shostakovich, and includes a finale based on a 12-note row.

• Opus No: 1
• Category: Solo Works / Violin
• Year: 1976
• Duration: 15'30"
• Instrumentation: for solo violin
• Level: 3 | Professional and semi-professional musicians

Programme Note

This sonata was composed while Anthony was a 5th former at High school. It was first performed to him by University tutor and violinist, Chloe Moon. He subsequently revised it in 1981 and was performed by Sydney Mannowitz (who recorded it for National Radio in 1984) and Mark Menzies.

Nota Bene

• Nota Bene
• P.O.Box 29-125
• Christchurch
• New Zealand

Waiteata Press

• Waiteata Press
• School of Music
• Victoria University
• P.O.Box 600
• Wellington
• New Zealand
• http://www.vuw.ac.nz/wtapress

Trio Publications

• Trio Publications
• contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Treble Clef Music

• Treble Clef Music Press
• 415 Wesley Drive, Chapel Hill
• NC 27516-1521
• U.S.A.
• Ph 919 932 5455
• Fax 919 932 5418
• mlycanclef@aol.com
• http://www.trebleclefpress.com/

Promethean Editions

• Promethean Editions
• P.O.Box 10 143
• Wellington
• New Zealand
• Ph 64 4 473 5033
• Fax 64 4 473 5066
• info@promethean-editions.com
• http://www.promethean-editions.com/

Centre for NZ Music (SOUNZ)

• P.O.Box 27347
• Wellington
• New Zealand
• Ph 64 4 801 8602
• Fax 64 4 801 8604
• info@sounz.org.nz
• http://www.sounz.org.nz/index.php

Pro Arte Publications

• Pro Arte Publications
• contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Bellbird Publications

• Bellbird Publications
• contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Massey University Press

• Massey University Press
• Private Bag 11 222
• Palmerston North
• New Zealand
• Ph 64 4 356 9099
• Fax 64 4 350 5672

Playmarket

• P.O.Box 9767
• Wellington
• New Zealand
• http://www.playmarket.org.nz/about_home.php
• Ph 64 4 3828462
• Fax 64 4 3828461

The Hanging Bulb

Cheryl Cam has written a study guide to Hanging Bulb for Years 11 to 13 (Form 5 to 7) with accompanying CD. It is part of the SOUNZwrite series.

SOUNZwrite is a series of study guides to works by New Zealand composers written especially for use in NZ schools. They are produced by the Centre for New Zealand Music and are written by composer and educator Cheryl Camm.

The guides contain:

• background material on the composer
• composition and analysis material
• imaginative ideas for activities
• information about related topics
• a free CD of the works (with most)
• graded task sheets ... and more
• Class sets of scores also available containing original and orchestrated version.

Available from Sounz

Melancholia

Ears Wide Open : Taringa Areare

This latest SOUNZwrite Resource supports the music discipline in the new arts curriculum from levels 1 to 4. Researched and trialled by Cheryl Camm, it consists of:

• Teacher Guide
• Student Activity Book
• a book of scores for performance and study
• an accompanying CD with 23 different tracks of NZ music. $60

Ears Wide Open : Taringa Areare has many activities which link to other arts disciplines - drama, dance and visual arts - and other areas of the curriculum including science, social studies and English. Each activity has suggested learning outcomes and assessment ideas.

Learning experiences include:

• rhythm and performance with Gareth Farr's Ruaumoko
• how to play a guitar with Split Enz
• musical texture with Clouds Over Pirongia by John Rimmer
• the music of Tokelau through the Te Vaka Jigsaw
• how music makes you feel with Melancholia by Anthony Ritchie
• note reading with Other Echoes by Eve de Castro-Robinson
• how your body responds to music with Judy Bailey's Now I'm Walkin'
• Taonga Puoru with Tumatakokiri by Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns
• ... and many other musical styles from pop and rock to Pacific, Maori, jazz, brass band, guitar, choir, percussion, orchestra and more...

Available from Sounz