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Work

Melancholy duty : for SATB choir, chamber ensemble and pre-recorded sound

by Robert Davidson (2015)

Selected products featuring this work — Display all products (3 more)

Display all products featuring this work (3 more)  

Work Overview

The famous speech by Prime Minister Robert Menzies, in which he announces to the nation that Australia is at war with Germany, is heard with accompaniment by the choir and ensemble that is designed to enhance perception of the melody in Menzies' spoken words. Emphasising the melancholy aspect of the speech, the accompaniment is in the form of a descending ground bass. The sense of doom and depression, with some glimpses of hope, is apparent in the music.

Work Details

Year: 2015

Instrumentation: SATB, soprano saxophone, violin, viola, double bass, piano, stereo playback.

Duration: 5 min.

Difficulty: Advanced — Difficult rhythms derived from speech

First performance: by The Australian Voices, Topology — 29 Jul 15. Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane

The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with this work:
Speech melody

Performances of this work

23 Jul 2017: at The Singing Politician by Topology and The Australian Voices (City Recital Hall). Featuring Topology, Gordon Hamilton, The Australian Voices.

14 Jul 2017: at The Singing Politician (Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)). Featuring The Australian Voices, Gordon Hamilton, Topology.

7 May 2017: at CIMF 2017: The Art of Speech (National Gallery of Australia). Featuring Topology, Gordon Hamilton, The Australian Voices, Luminescence Chamber Singers.

28 Oct 2016: at The Singing Politician (Cairns Choral Society Hall). Featuring Topology, Gordon Hamilton, The Australian Voices.

27 Oct 2016: at The Singing Politician (Tully State High School Multipurpose Hall). Featuring Topology, The Australian Voices, Gordon Hamilton.

21 Oct 2016: at The Singing Politician (St Mary's Catholic College Hall (Kingaroy)). Featuring Gordon Hamilton, The Australian Voices, Topology.

20 Oct 2016: at The Singing Politician (The J (Noosa)). Featuring Gordon Hamilton, The Australian Voices, Topology.

29 Jul 15: Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane. Featuring The Australian Voices, Topology.

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