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Three Symphonies
All three symphonies were premiered by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra or its predecessor, the NZBC Orchestra. The first, written in 1959, was conducted at its premiere in 1960 in the Wellington Town Hall by John Hopkins, a great supporter of New Zealand music. At the time it was the first New Zealand symphony to have had its premiere at a public concert, although regrettably this has been its only public performance to date. Symphonies two and three were both commissioned and first performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; the second in 1982 under Kenneth Montgomery, and the third in 2003 under James Judd.
Symphony No.1 (1959) Moderato / Presto / Lento
The first movement opens quietly with a number of ideas in which the melodic interval of a fifth has some prominence. A faster section follows and the development of these ideas leads to climaxes with patterns of diverse rhythms superimposed. After the final climax the movement subsides to a quiet ending.
The second movement has the character of a scherzo. Lively rhythms alternating between 6/8 and 3/4 lead to a quieter sustained ‘trio’ tune. The scherzo resumes and takes the music to a climax where these two ideas are presented together – the faster one (violins and trumpets) across the slower (horns and trombones). The music unwinds until all that remains is a fragment of the slower theme, which becomes a link to the third movement.
The finale has the form of a free passacaglia. It grows out of the opening trumpet tune and its accompaniment – the trumpet tune becomes the passacaglia bass, while the stepwise bass takes over as melody. At the end of the movement a reference back to the melodic falling fifths of the first movement leads to the final chord – fading from brass to wind, and in the end, to strings alone.
Symphony No.2 (1982)
This symphony is in three movements, played without a break. All three start with the same pulse (crotchet = 60), and the third movement also ends at this tempo. Both the rhythmic conflicts in the music and its rhythmic connections (changes of tempo within a movement) are related in the ratio 3:2. This ratio also expresses the interval of a fifth, which is throughout an important arrival point and is the music’s final destination. These conflicts and changes are also associated with timbre: very often strings and brass are opposed with wind and percussion acting as mediators.
The first movement is most concerned with conflict. The opening idea announces this very simply with an opposition of two pentatonic modes (black and white keys on a keyboard), and this conflict remains unresolved at the end of the movement.
The second movement combines slow movement and scherzo. The slow beginning presents an unwinding melodic line in the woodwind against a haze of overlapping chords in the brass and strings. The fast scherzo breaks across this and tosses rhythmic fragments from section to section. The slow and fast are later combined, but in the end the fast wins, the movement finishing at breakneck speed.
The third movement emphasises connections and resolutions. It is a set of variations on a chorale-like tune, starting at the basic pulse and gradually getting faster until the final variation, a quick waltz, is moving at three times the opening speed. From here the tempo shifts back and the chorale tune is combined with references to the beginning of the first movement.
SYMPHONY NO.3 …remembered songs… (2002)
Moderato energico / Leggiero / Alla marcia lento / Andante tranquillo
This symphony is dedicated to the memory of my wife, Raydia, who died in 2001, and is based on material from my song-cycle, In Despite of Death, a work with which she had been closely associated.
The symphony follows the emotional shape of the song-cycle, moving from struggle and resistance towards acceptance. The first movement is the most substantial, and near the beginning introduces a three-note figure (on horns and trumpet) which permeates the whole work. The three final movements – scherzo, slow march and epilogue – are played without a break.
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Recorded in the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, New Zealand, 28-30 January 2004
Producer Murray Khouri
Recording Engineer Keith Warren, Radio NZ
Digital Editing and Mastering Wayne Laird
Executive Producer Ross Hendy
Booklet Notes David Farquhar
Design Mallabar Music Ltd
Photograph Bruce Harding
The HRL Morrison Music Trust gratefully acknowledges the support of the following people in the making of this recording: Robert Hoskins, Jenny Gibbs.
The Massey University Trust Records series was formed by Trust Records and the Massey University Conservatorium of Music to promote the work of established New Zealand composers in association with the University’s research and performance.
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Massey University Trust Records Series
