Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

One bright afternoon in early Summer, I ran across my back lawn with Oscar, 6 years old, blowing bubbles. Soapy liquid ran from the bubble wand and through my fingers as Oscar laughed with delight, a steady stream of uniform bubbles floating above his head and drifting with the light breeze off into the sky. It felt like a perfect moment, one of innocence, sacredness, light and beauty.

A mere half an hour later, my darling son and I were sitting at the kitchen table having a stand-off on how quickly he needed to eat his broccoli in order to still have a chance of getting ice cream for dessert.

French philosopher and sociologist Emile Durkheim described the sacred as anything which is set apart from the everyday, and the profane as the mundane, ordinary aspects of human existence. For me, it feels like these two realms intermingle regularly, continually evolving and surprising me with unexpected forms, locations and timings. While engaging in the seemingly useless activity of bubble blowing, for instance, it is a welcome surprise to discover that instead of the familiarity of the profane, you are in fact immersed in the blissful otherworldliness of the sacred.

Work Details

Year: 2017

Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubles piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubles cor anglais), 2 clarinets in Bb, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (4 players), harp, piano (doubles celeste), strings.

Duration: 19 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Commission note: Commissioned by Luke Dollman, Elder Conservatorium of Music.

First performance: by Elder Conservatorium Symphony, Luke Dollman at Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra (Elder Hall) on 29 Apr 2017

The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with the work:
Nigel Westlake.