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Work

FIRE : Composed for the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics

by Michael Askill (2000)

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Sydney 2000, the Games of the XXVII Olympiad

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Work Overview

FIRE was originally composed for the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a musical and choreographic representation of the fearsome Australian bushfire. The kind of 'spot fires' that are common to the tinder-dry bush in the height of the Australian summer are depicted musically with short cymbal crescendos that build underneath a pulsating bass drum ostinato. The ferocity of a full blown bush fire is represented by an explosive and unstoppable sequence of low drums, metals and rapid-fire exchanges on high drums. Finally the drums and cymbals exchange single blows and eventually the fires are 'snuffed' out.

The original scoring for FIRE was designed for 20 players spread across the stage to give a stereophonic effect. Since 2000, many performances have used different arrangements with different numbers of players and different set-ups. These different versions are encouraged!

In particular I would like to thank Tim White (to whom the piece is now dedicated) for championing the piece over many years and directing many different versions.

I would also like to thank Colin Piper who directed the piece during the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and then offered many suggestions for a revised score that was finally realised in 2020.

Thank you to Max Lambert, Musical Director for 2000 Sydney Olympics, who commissioned the piece. Thank you to Alison Low Choy who helped me realise the original hand-written version of the score and parts.

Finally, I am indebted to Graeme Murphy and Sydney Dance Company. It was our 1996 dance/music collaboration 'Free Radicals' that provided the rhythmic ideas that gave birth to FIRE.

Work Details

Year: 2000

Instrumentation: 20 Percussionists: 1. Small Bass Drum & Splash Cymbal, 2. Solo Tamborine & Suspended Cymbal, 3. Congas or Toms & Suspended Cymbal, 4. Solo Tamborine & Suspended Cymbal, 5. Congas or Toms & Suspended Cymbal, 6, 7, & 8. Congas or Tom, 9, 10 & 11. Congas or Toms, 12. 4 Timpani, 13 & 14. Concert Bass Drums, 15 & 16. Suspended Cymbals, 17 & 18. Brake Drums, 19 & 20. Crash Cymbals.

Duration: 3 min.

Difficulty: Advanced — 2 difficult solo tamborim parts

Dedication note: Dedicated to Tim White

Commission note: Commissioned by the Sydney 2000 Olympics

First performance: Sep 00. Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Performances of this work

Sep 00: Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

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