Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Hyphae (pronounced high-fee), are long branching filaments that form the underground fungal network known as Mycelium. At a fundamental level, individual Hypha grow in two key steps-they branch, and they fuse. I was initially inspired by Mycelium more broadly-a living network that is the connective tissue of our world-but I found myself drawn to its most basic component, and more specifically, how it grows.

The music begins with a single pitch, a drone shared between individual strings. Sudden accents give way to new tones, sustained against the initial drone. As the music unfolds, more parts are added, and more pitches are introduced-branching
away from the starting tone. Naturally, the piece becomes increasingly dense, culminating in a chromatic web of lines that weave around each other.

As I wrote the piece, I held an image in mind of Hyphae extending, branching and fusing. It is a world that I found rich and poetic, both beautiful and dark, hidden in plain sight.

Work Details

Year: 2024

Instrumentation: 2 Flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes, clarinet in B flat, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion (vibraphone, bass drum), harp, strings (15.13.11.9.7).

Duration: 10 min.

Commission note: Commissioned by West Australian Symphony Orchestra.. Commissioned for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra by Prue Ashurst.

First performance: by West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Dmitry Matvienko — 1 Aug 24. Perth Concert Hall, Western Australia