Score
Resonances : 12 movements for solo piano / Michael Hannan.
Library shelf no. 786.2/HAN 30 [Not for loan]
Score
Resonances IV : three movements for solo piano / Michael Hannan.
Library shelf no. 786.2/HAN 29 [Not for loan]
Work Overview
Resonances IV (1997) is the last of a series of four
works, each with three movements, which explore the complex
resonances of the piano by means of a constantly depressed
sustaining pedal. Like George Crumb's Makrokosmos works, the
complete cycle of twelve Resonances movements corresponds to the
twelve astrological signs. Each movement is dedicated to one or
more friends or associates (mostly composers) who
have been born under the relevant sign. Some aspect of their work
or personality has been used as a source of inspiration for the
composition of that movement, and occasionally there are actual
musical references to the works of these people.
The Capricorn movement of Resonances IV, "Sky Song" is
dedicated to Ross Edwards, a composer whose works I have studied
closely. His quick Maninya style has structural, rhythmic and
tonal centring characteristics which may be considered to be
influential in the formulation of this movement. Given Ross's
love of the sounds of nature, it is fitting that the melodic
material of this movement is based entirely on birdsong. Calls of
pied butcherbirds heard at Byron Bay and Clunes, and of grey
butcherbirds heard only at Clunes have been selected for this
composition for their compound metrical qualities.
These have then been transposed to fit with the modally static
left hand ostinati.
The Aquarius movement, "Cosmic Waves," is dedicated to Jim
Franklin, a composer whose involvement with the shakuhachi has
stimulated my own continuing engagement with this instrument and
its unique performance practices. Like "Sky Song," "Cosmic Waves"
also uses birdcalls, this time a number of characteristic calls
of the pied butcherbird as heard in the village of Nimbin where I
live. The harmonic
accompaniments to these melodic ideas are derived from other
parts of the Resonances series: from "Mercurial Orbits" and
"Mysterious Clusters". The harmonic ideas heard at the opening of
the movement are taken, however, from an earlier work,
Bracefell's Story.
The Pisces movement, "Star Cycle", is dedicated to Fred Cole and
David Matthews, both composers with whom I have collaborated on
film and theatre music projects. In this movement I have chosen
to symbolise the end of the astrological cycle by drawing on some
of the structural characteristics of Javanese gamelan music. All
the genres of gamelan music rely on the cyclic use of pitch
material in the various layers of their
textures. "Star Cycle" also makes reference to other movements in
the series. The opening music, for example, combines the main
textural idea of "Perpetual Inversion" with the melodic material
of "Conjunction". In addition it contains the alternating A flat
/B flat idea of "Celestial Ground," in order to reinforce the
cyclic nature of the whole Resonances series.
Work Details
Year: 1997
Instrumentation: Piano.
Difficulty: Advanced
Contents note: I. Sky song -- II. Cosmic waves -- III. Star cycle.
Dedication note: Dedicated to Ross Edwards, David Matthews, Fred Coyle, Jim Franklin
Analysis
Resonate article: A lifetime of engagement with Australian music by Michael Hannan
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