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New Zealand Sonic Art Vol.III
WORKS BY NEW ZEALAND ELECTROACOUSTIC COMPOSERS
NZ$30 (incl. p&p)
Mail/Cheque orders to:
Music Programme
School of Arts
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton
Also available from
The Centre for New Zealand Music
TRACKS
- 1. Hirini Melbourne/Richard Nunns : Te Hau Kuri (Dog's Breath) - 4:44
- 2. John Elmsly : Soft Dawn Over Whispering Island - 10:32
- 3. Kit Powell : Contrasts - 6:40
- 4. Phil Dadson : Zitherum Voice - 8:00
- 5. Ian Whalley : Kasumi - 7:46
- 6. Norm Skipp : The Void - 6:03
- 7. Chris Cree Brown : Aeolian Harp Sounds - 7:10
- 8. Chris Knox : Rake - 2:56
- 9. William Harsono : Subconscious - 7:11
- 10. Michael Norris : Aquarelle - 10:24
CD INTRODUCTION
Forty years ago, New Zealander Douglas Lilburn established an approach to electroacoustic composition rooted in the investigation of environmental sound. The intention was to uncover the inner, spiritual values of natural sound and thereby develop an awareness of place. His work proved influential, but there have also been other strands running through the musical fabric of the country since then. Developments in popular music, a persistence of traditional MŠori music, experiments with found and invented instruments, works for instrument and tape, together with other approaches have maintained a rich texture of sonic art in the broader sense. In New Zealand electroacoustic music, Lilburn's ideals were superseded for a time by a fashion for the Anglo-French acousmatic approach, the aim being to explore sound in the abstract, removed from perceived source. In a significant move away from that view, and returning to an ethos more in tune with Lilburn's original vision, on this disc Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns perform their work on traditional MŠori instruments. The voices of these instruments rise up from the depths of the land, yet 'Te Hau Kuri' also requires electronic technology to exist. Studio machines have been humanly integrated with acoustic instruments, a direction of musical development predicted over thirty years ago by Steve Reich, among others. The piece extends their previous work and the expressive boundaries of the electroacoustic medium. A complementary approach has been taken by Ian Whalley where acoustic and electroacoustic elements are worked seamlessly within a cross-cultural context. These two works signal a new dimension in New Zealand music and, I believe in time, others will also be encouraged to explore these directions in electroacoustic music. Other works in this wide ranging compilation reflect some of the main strands of development in New Zealand sonic art, from Phil Dadson's 'Zitherum Voice' through Kit Powell's 'Contrasts' to Michael Norris's 'Aquarelle'. Only a few of the many submitted contributions could be included on the final disc, and this small collection documents just part of the work currently being produced. Our thanks to all composers who submitted material and made the project possible.
- Martin Lodge, University of Waikato, December 2002.
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