Audio Sample
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Performance by Musicians of the National Academy of Music, Paul Dean from the CD Chamber pieces |
Work Overview
The title of this work comes in part from a 1950 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa called Rashomon. In the film, four people witness the apparent murder of a nobleman and the rape of his wife and then give four differing but equally plausible accounts of what took place.
The film takes place in twelfth-century Japan, and one of the four main characters, the woodcutter, tells his version of the events to a passer-by in a ruined stone temple named Rashomon. The stories of the three other main characters - the nobleman, his wife and a bandit - are delivered at a trial through flashback. (The dead nobleman, incidentally, recounts his story through a medium). The film is a study in how people will lie to protect or even big-note themselves. I attempted to represent this musically by having two contrasting concepts running in each of the movements.
Work Details
Year: 2009
Instrumentation: Clarinet in A (doubling bass clarinet in B flat), 2 violins, viola, cello.
Duration: 18 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Contents note: Confession I -- Confession II -- Confession III.
Commission note: Commissioned by Sydney Opera House with funds provided by Regina Ridge Trust.
First performance: by West Australian Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players at WASO Chamber Players (Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room) on 13 Dec 2009
Subjects
- Inspired by: Film
Performances of this work
22 Jun 2011: at ANAM: Third Breath (Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)). Featuring Musicians of the National Academy of Music, Paul Dean.
13 Dec 2009: at WASO Chamber Players (Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room). Featuring West Australian Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players.
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