Program note: Victor, a ballad Victor Field
- The Song Company
- Source: M for Murder 20,21 June 1997
Victor, a ballad Victor Field (b. 1963)
Victor Field is currently studying composition with Gerard Brophy at the Queensland
Conservatorium of music and is a member of the Brisbane NV New Music Collective. His
duet for flute and guitar Disjecta Membra will be workshopped at this year's International
Guitar Festival in Darwin, while Victor, a ballad was first performed last year as a solo song
with piano accompaniment. The newly revised version, performed tonight, was specially
written for The Song Company.
Auden's poem which provided the inspiration for the piece was first published in 1937 and
reflects his concern to convey spiritual and moral concerns through popular verse. The
tradional ballad metre of this long narrative recalls ancient epic poetry from the British Isles as
well as blues lyrics from the United States where Auden was resident for the better part of his
life. Field's setting also deliberately uses traditional formulas reminiscent of thirties cabaret
style.
