Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Opening with the distinctive calls of Laughing Kookaburras, the scene is set for a new, Australian take on the age-old story of the Nativity.

Through a series of questions posed, the poet depicts Mary and Joseph travelling through the Australian outback. 'Would there have been no room in the pub?' 'Would they have been turned away while drovers and stockmen jostled the bar toasting the end of the day?' Would the Wise Men have brought gifts of 'perfume and oil from the eucalypt tree' or 'gold from a river's bed?'

Inspired by Edwards's strong imagery and fired up by the excitement and sense of celebration which is inherent in the story of the Nativity, I arrived at musical ideas which exhibit an energy and a rhythmic drive that propels the music to an uplifting conclusion, whereupon the choir sings, once more, the poem's opening verse:

If Christ had been born in another time
in a town of a different name,
If Christ had been born under southern skies
would the story have been the same?

Having set the scene at the commencement of the work, the Laughing Kookaburras return to have the last word.

Work Details

Year: 2008

Instrumentation: SATB choir.

Duration: 4 min.

Difficulty: Medium

Commission note: Commissioned by Oriana Chorale.. Commissioned by Oriana Chorale

First performance: by Tobias Cole, Oriana Chorale — 21 Dec 08. National Museum of Australia, Canberra

Analysis

Resonate article: On song: a discussion of selected recent works for a cappella choir by Matthew Orlovich by Matthew Orlovich