Mamaku

Premiere: August 2003
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conductor Mattias Bamert
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington.

Programme Note

The mamaku is the black tree fern, the tallest tree fern of New Zealand. Like other ferns, its fronds open out, forming the koru. Off one shape, more of the same shapes unravel, and then off these in turn, tiny parts of the frond unravel, and so on. From the moment of 'birth', the gradual cycle continues until the magnificent tree fern towers, quite different from its original form and the koru is still present. In this piece I've explored slow metamorphosis, with the aim to grow sounds out of each other with contrasting results. Diatonic chords out of chromatic clusters, beauty out of chaos. All of this begins from a single note, f, at the start which is born out of string harmonics and imperceptible pitches, and concludes with hint that the cycle an ongoing one.

Mamaku was a finalist in the 2003 NZSO Douglas Lilburn Prize.

Audio