Work
Conflagration : The Tasmanian bushfires, summer, 2018-19: A Cantata in 8 episodes
by John Honey and Don Kay (2019)
Score
Conflagration : The Tasmanian bushfires, summer, 2018-19: A Cantata in 8 episodes / music by Don Kay ; text by John Honey.
Library shelf no. 782.554/KAY 2 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
'My wife Maria and I have lived in the southern Tasmanian bush
since 2001. In the summers since then we've been very
bushfire-aware, keeping our eyes on the weather, the fire
conditions, and the Tasmanian Fire-Service website. We're always
packed, ready to evacuate if necessary. Like other bush dwellers,
we've watched the progress of fires occurring around the state,
and tried to learn from them.
The fires of summer 2018-19 behaved radically differently from
anything we've seen in almost two decades, and raised the
question of whether or not they marked a pivot point, a
transition into a new epoch of climate-change related fire
behaviour threatening the fundamental well-being of the benign
island we love, and reflecting the recent mega-fires in the
northern hemisphere.
Fearing this to be the case I was moved to write an account of
the fires, emphasising the new factors that seemed to me to set
them apart from fires past. As is my habit these days, I wrote
this account with musical setting in mind - setting by Don Kay in
particular - in the hope that he would share my belief in the
importance of making a potent artistic statement about a local
event with universal ramifications. And of course, he did, and
the result is 'Conflagration'; a large-scale work appropriate for
a subject of large-scale importance to us all.'
Note by John Honey
Work Details
Year: 2019
Instrumentation: SATB soloists, SATB chorus, 2 pianos, percussion (6 players).
Duration: 36 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Dedication note: Dedicated to firefighter, householder, anyone in the fire's "many paths"
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Cantatas
- Has as subject/About: Bushfires
- Has as subject/About: Environmental themes
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