Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

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Work Overview

If they knew is a piece in two parts about the nature of secrecy.

Part 1, if they knew, is based around the feeling of the preposition "if they knew..." as either a threat or a fear; the fear of holding a secret; the paranoia of a secret held against you. This movement begins in a secretive and panicked manner, and after a brief moment of repose consumes itself with its own momentum.

At the height of part one's collapse part two, a place to keep you, begins. This movement reflects a sense of love and sacrifice, using material from part one to create a safe haven to keep the secret that troubled part one.

My thanks to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Cybec Foundation for commissioning this work, to Johanna Selleck for her mentorship throughout this project, to my friends who reviewed the parts and to friends in Bermagui for the residency that saw the completion of this work.

Work Details

Year: 2019

Instrumentation: Flute, oboe, 2 clarinets (2nd doubling bass clarinet), bassoon, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (2 players), harp, celeste, strings (min. 2.2.2.2.1).

Duration: 10 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Commission note: Commissioned by Cybec Foundation, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.. Commissioned as part of the Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program.

First performance: by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra — 25 Jan 20. Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre, Southbank VIC