Work
The wild geese : a setting of the folksong 'The Catalpa', for string nonet
by Iain Grandage (2011)
Selected products featuring this work — Display all products (2 more)
Display all products featuring this work (2 more) 
Work Overview
The Wild Geese is a setting of the folk song Catalpa,
and a reflection on the 1876 event most commonly known as the
Catalpa Rescue.
During the mid 1860s, dozens of Irish Republicans were sent by
the British to Western Australia, then still a penal colony.
However, in 1869 J.B. O'Reilly (yes, he with the Leederville pub
named after him) escaped and moved to America and joined 'Clan na
Gael' - an organisation that supported armed uprising in Ireland.
At J.B. O'Reilly and colleagues' suggestion, this organisation
hatched a plan to rescue a number of the imprisoned Fenians by
sailing to Western Australia from the US in a whaler containing a
legitimate cargo (so as not to arouse suspicion) and return to
America with their far more valuable consignment.
The rescue began on the day of the Perth Regatta, when many of the garrison were otherwise occupied, and the prisoners' presence in work parties outside the prison walls allowed easier escape. The prisoners travelled by horse and cart down to Rockingham, where the whaler Catalpa was anchored in wait. Storms and police boats both conspired to delay the prisoners' escape, and only after the escapees' ship raised a US flag and claimed that any attempt to seize them would be an act of war did the escape succeed. The term Wild Geese was adopted by the Fenians on their initial sea voyage to Fremantle, having originally been a name for Ex-pat Irish soldiers who had served in wars in Europe.
The music is dominated by an insistent moto perpetuo figure (often an alternating semitone pattern), which is contrasted with more restrained sections reminiscent of water or of memories of Ireland. The folk melody emerges slowly, from an initial highly-disguised hocketed statement to more bold assertions in the latter stages.
Work Details
Year: 2011
Instrumentation: 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, contrabass.
Duration: 4 min.
Commission note: Commissioned by Ian Potter Cultural Trust.. Commissioned for the Fremantle Arts Centre’s 2011 soft soft loud chamber music series, made financially possible through the Emerging Composer Fellowship from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust
First performance: 24 Mar 11. Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle WA
Subjects
- Inspired by: Western Australia
Performances of this work
12 Aug 2018: at Bangalow Festival: Concert 7 - From the Heart (Bangalow A&I Hall). Featuring Bangalow Festival Artists.
21 Jan 2012: at AYO Orchestral Passions (Llewellyn Hall ANU School of Music). Featuring Australian Youth Orchestra.
24 Mar 11: Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle WA
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