Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

Cast in four movements, Chronicles is the first of a series of works that leans towards, and seeks to create, a new type of structural compression.

The first movement opens with a short introduction played by the flute and the bassoon. A solo episode in the piano part provides a connection to the main part of the movement. In this part, the flute provides the melody with harmonic support from the bassoon and the piano.

In the second movement, the piano part iterates an open fifth. This two-note interval provides a harmonic foil for different types of scale as heard in the winds. Of these scales, the most prominent are the whole tone and the pentatonic.

The third movement represents a continuation, both melodically and harmonically, of the first movement. To begin with, the flute provides the melody. Towards the end of the movement, the melodic role is transferred to the bassoon.

The fourth movement is based on cycles of six bars each as played by the flute and the bassoon. The piano part offers melodic ideas that occur both between these cycles and in conjunction with them.

Work Details

Year: 2007

Instrumentation: Piano, flute, bassoon.

Duration: 6 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Contents note: In 4 movements.

First performance: by Orana Trio — 15 Jul 10. Sydney Cancer Conference University of Sydney