Gareth Farr: Owhiro (MMT2019)

New Zealand String Quartet

1 Ohwiro (19:49)
Mondo Rondo
2 Mondo Rondo (4:16)
3 Mumbo Jumbo (3:51)
4 Mambo Rambo (3:40)
5 Frenzy (9:11)

Total Duration 40:49
MMT2019
Digital Stereo Recording
© 2000 HRL Morrison Music Trust
P 2000 HRL Morrison Music Trust



Recorded in: The Opera House, Wellington, New Zealand, September 4-6 1999.
Producer: Murray Khouri, Continuum
Recording/editing/mastering engineer: Richard Hulse, Radio New Zealand
Executive Producer: Ross Hendy
Design: Cato Partners, Wellington
Photography: Gareth Watkins
Manufacturer: Stebbings, Auckland
Booklet notes: Thomas Liggett
Owhiro (1993)
Owhiro Bay in Wellington looks out over one of the most dangerous and unpredictable stretches of water in the world; the name, in the Maori language, means "place of the god of darkness". During his tenure as composer-in-residence with Chamber Music New Zealand Gareth lived in a house overlooking the bay, and it was here that he composed his first string quartet. He says in his prefatory note to the score that "as the waters change quickly from sparkling blues to deep grey-greens, from flat glass to churning boil, the response and emotions of the observer also change". His own response is made manifest in the mood and character of the music, rather than in a depiction of the sea in any sort of impressionistic way.

The work is cast in one movement, falling into three linked parts (fast-slow-fast), and Farr binds its twenty minute span together with a strikingly economic use of material, much of which is encapsulated in the leaping, angular melody first heard from all four instruments in rhythmic unison near the outset. This tune, or variants derived from its melodic and rhythmic outline, gives its unmistakable stamp to many passages throughout the piece (so too does the idea of instruments in rhythmic unison, either forming pairs to create thickened two part counterpoint, or coalescing to boldly reinforce a melodic statement).

The first part is characterised by the jerky, nervous syncopation of this main melody, along with passages of propulsively repeated double-stopped chords. This gives way to the middle section, in which the first violin sings a cantilena which slowed-down variations of the main melody, while the other instruments sustain harmonies derived from it. In the most beautifully expressive part of the work, the music evaporates into harmonics, rising higher and higher - here one can imagine the sea, with the glitter of the sun on the water. There is then an abrupt shift from the highest register to the lowest, as the cello takes over with a melodically compressed and rhythmically augmented version of the main melody. This transition gradually accelerates into the fast concluding section in which the idea (from the first part) of propulsive repeated notes comes to predominate.

Mondo Rondo (1997)
the world is round
the world is a serious place
this string quartet is round
the world is a string quartet
this string quartet is not a serious piece
the world is not a serous place
the world is round
(poem by the composer)

This is perhaps the most immediately satisfying of the quartets. Its three movements are quirky and characterful, enjoyably clever and concise. The first movement, Mondo Rondo, conjures up the image of Farr as a musical magpie, building a colourfully wonky nest at frenetic speed. All manner of odd things can almost be identified as they flash past – as well as intimations of material in the following movements, look out for snatches of quasi-English pastoral pentatonicism and something that sounds suspiciously like a borrowing from Bartók's fifth string quartet, all interspersed with comically inappropriate cadences.

Mumbo Jumbo begins as a study in pizzicato, and Farr employs the technique of hocketting, whereby the tune is built up from a few notes contributed by each instrument in turn. The effect is quite unusual, suggestive perhaps of the sound of the m'bira (African thumb piano).

At the recording session, Gareth said the third movement, Mambo Rambo, was a product of his 'Moroccan Period'. Here is an example of him doing what he does best – creating an exotic tune and setting it off with a funky accompaniment.

Frenzy (1998)
The composer writes "this is a high-energy piece with a strong emphasis on rhythm, jaunty phrasings and gritty harmonies. After a short episode of tonality and pretty tunes in Mondo Rondo, I felt the need to go back to my old tricks. However, it was with an altered perception of my own style, as one would feel when returning home after many years away. Everything seems so familiar, yet at the same time time changed by the intervening experience of the world.

"As the name of the piece suggests, it is somewhat crazed in character, and is more in the style of Owhiro. It is structured in a rondo-variation form; one which I like a great deal and use frequently. I enjoy getting accustomed to a subject and then going somewhere completely different, but periodically throughout the piece revisiting the subject, each time looking for a new undiscovered facet, an unexplored perspective.
"There is a lot of contrast between the deployment of the quartet as one instrument or one mind, and the treatment of the four players as soloists, each asserting their own personalities.

"The piece flies by at a terrific rate, and it's all over and done with in a flash – but then I think you say more when you spend less time saying it."


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