Streaming Audio
Listen online to a full-length recording of this work.
performed by Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; David Porcelijn, conductor
Access to this recording is courtesy of the ABC's classic amp website.
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Work Overview
The composer describes the story on which the composition is based: "The 'Impetuous Male' deity Susanowo is blamed for an episodic disappearance of the Sun, so the other Gods banish him from heaven. He goes down to Japan and finds himself at the mouth of the river Hi where he finds an old man with is wife and daughter, weeping bitterly. They tell him that for eight years a monster serpent with eight heads and eight tails has devoured eight of their daughters and that now it is time for another sacrifice. Susanowo offers to help the old people if they promise their daughter's hand in marriage to him. He tricks the serpent into getting drunk on sake and collapsing in a drunken sleep and then cuts him to pieces with his sword. As he does this he finds within the serpent's middle tail the famous sword named Kuzanagi."
— Michael Smetanin
Work Details
Year: 1999
Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet, bassoon, contra-bassoon, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 2 trombones, tuba, percussion (3 players), harp (amplified), strings (8.6.5.4.3).
Duration: 10 min.
Difficulty: Professional.
Awards & Prizes
| Year | Award | Placing | Awarded for/to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | International Rostrum of Composers | Recommended Work | Michael Smetanin |
Performances of this work
8 Oct 99: Odeon Theatre, Hobart. Featuring Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, David Porcelijn.
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