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Birds and a Steam Train in the Catlins

by Anthony Ritchie, for piano, Opus 45b

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.

Listen to Tom McGrath at SOUNZ.

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.