Dynamo, Gary Ryan 

Commissioned by the New Zealand Guitar Quartet 

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Dynamo is part TV thriller theme tune, part final movement of a neo-Baroque suite, part imaginary old folk tune of indeterminate nationality and a short, brightly burning, minimalistic piece with multiple repeated figures used like lego bricks in various combinations. 

 

The piece centres heavily around the note G, which acts almost like the hub of a rotating musical wheel or an electrical hum. After a few attempts at ‘ignition’ with motifs rotating around the quartet, the music gradually builds, leading towards the main theme which is then interrupted by a recurring machine gun-like figure. An ascending five note scale in the manner of a two-part invention marks a new direction in the middle with the theme building upwards in 2,3,4 and then 5 note steps.

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All of the motifs then gradually fit together like mechanical parts, with a fleeting major section leading to a new syncopated theme played in octave unison. Eventually the main theme returns in combination with various earlier material and the momentum continues unabated towards the final bar.

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Definitions:

 …a machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, typically by means of rotating coils of copper wire in a magnetic field…

From Greek ‘dunamis’ meaning ‘power’

An extremely energetic person…

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The Rainhouse, Polina Nazaykinskaya

Commissioned by the New Zealand Guitar Quartet 

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The Rainhouse is an allegory of life inspired by the stunning vision of Tarkovsky’s groundbreaking cinema, namely “Solaris.” The protagonist exists in a dry and hot world where for generations there has been no water. Our protagonist is a visionary artist so he wills the image and concept of water into reality but only in his home. It always rains in The Rainhouse. As one touches the cascading walls the edge of the reality and fantasy blurs as we feel the heat outside the walls of rain. While it’s a refuge for dreamers it is also a place of isolation for only the believers  can enter and experience one’s artist’s vision. The rain is only real if you are able to dream it up. The soundscape is on the border of these antithesis- heat and water, reality and fantasy, fading in and out of focus and inspiring us to dream. 

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Away to New Zealand, Vincent Lindsey-Clark

Commissioned by the New Zealand Guitar Quartet 

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I was delighted to be commissioned by the New Zealand Guitar Quartet to write a piece for them in 2019. They asked for a Celtic theme along with a narrative depicting the journey made to New Zealand by early settlers in the 1800s.  The piece begins with a gathering of peoples from the four nations of the British Isles as they board ship and prepare for the journey ahead. They set sail, heading off into the swell of the open ocean. During the many calm evenings. they entertain themselves onboard, starting with a cheery song from the English. On the bow of the ship, a lone Scottish piper plays. The Irish sing and dance to a jaunty tune and a Welsh harpist plays a soothing melody.  

A terrifying storm brews and rages through the night. After the last drops of rain subside, they all softly sing the Old One Hundredth, giving thanks for their survival. Eventually, sounds of the sea shaw are heard in the distance as they approach the end of their great journey to begin a new life on the opposite side of the world.

 

Equinox, Michael F. Williams 

Commissioned by the New Zealand Guitar Quartet 

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The spring Equinox in the southern hemisphere marks the point at which the sun shifts from the northern to the southern hemisphere. During the equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west – a time of great change, as we move from winter into spring. It also brings with it, gusty and unpredictable winds, quiet winds, brooding winds. It is these changes - these winds - that inspired this piece for guitar quartet.  Each movement of the piece aims to capture (albeit vaguely) the changes that occur within ourselves, and the consequences of phenomenon beyond our reckoning and control.

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Perpetuus, Marek Pasieczny

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Perpetuus’ (Jack Body: In Memoriam) for guitar quartet (2017 and revised in 2019) is commissioned by, and dedicated to the New Zealand Guitar Quartet. It was requested to be written in memoriam of the New Zealand composer, Jack Body, who passed away in 2015. 'Perpetuus' is Latin for perpetual, continuous, everlasting. As a title to this piece, it fulfils two meanings. Firstly, this composition is a tribute to Jack Body, perpetuating his ideas, music and

style beyond his time on earth, contributing to the continuance of his musical influence and legacy.

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Secondly, this piece is one monolithic work in six “movements” to be performed attacca. Each movement is linked by the appearance of ‘Psalm – Reminiscence’ adapted from ‘Psalm 137’ for choir (2011) by Jack Body. The extract is taken from the first five bars of the tenor voice, appearing a total of five times throughout the piece. With each appearance, the extract is modified and revealed more fully until its fifth and final return where it emerges in its entirety before the final movement.

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Taking my inspiration from Jack Body’s wide array of pieces and compositional styles, each of the six movements has its own distinct character, signifying the diversity of Jack Body’s compositional range.

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Part One: Fanfares

The piece opens with a rich, colourful and orchestral-like opening, founded on the idea of ‘Fanfare for Bert’ (2003) which was written for orchestra. The whole range of the guitar ensemble is displayed, in a style reminiscent of film-music, or post-classical, post-impressionistic tonal orchestral music. After the lively introduction, a tranquil ‘Psalm – Reminiscence’ appears briefly for the first time.

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Part Two: After Bach

Named after and prompted by Jack Body’s ‘After Bach’ (2001), the second movement is a fourpart fugue in Baroque style. While Jack Body used polyphonic techniques in conjunction with Nonwestern music, this fugue stays entirely within Western art-music boundaries, indicating the classical foundation of his musical training. A transformation can be witnessed towards the end of the movement where minimalistic wave-like passages appear, pre-empting the minimalist style of the movements to follow. The fugue comes to an abrupt open ending which leads to the second

appearance of ‘Psalm – Reminiscence’.

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Part Three: Waiata

The third movement is based on ‘Tama Ngākau Mārie’ ('Son of a peaceful heart'), a traditional Maori hymn, often sung at funerals. The title ‘Waiata’ means a Maori Song, which Jack Body also used in his titles of pieces that had adapted Maori music. The main melody of this hymn is carried entirely by the 1st guitar. To mimic the continuous quality of the voice, the player will use a guitar slide, and fast, gentle tremolos to sustain the pitch. The rest of the quartet performs arpeggios that together produces post-impressionistic harmonies that underpin the melody.

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Part Four: Contra Waves

Based primarily on a cluster of four notes – c, d, e, f sharp (C Lydian scale) – taken from Melody No.1 from ‘Five Melodies’ (for piano) by Jack Body (1982), the fourth movement is a series of sound waves counteracting, united mainly by the concept of time and pulse. The execution of sound is peculiar in that all players are using the guitar slide, not in their left but right hands, to tap on the strings.

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Part Five: Bells

The fifth movement is based entirely on the tapping/hammering technique, again producing wave-like sonorities, but in a more echoing fashion. Bell-like sounds ring out intermittently when the notes are stopped. The seamless weaving of sounds is inspired by ‘Arum Manis’ (for string quartet and tape) by Jack Body (1991), where “the listeners' ears are charmed by music which passes seamlessly between the tape and the live performers.”

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Part Six: Spinning Dance

The sixth and final movement is centred on the concept rhythm (7/16, 2+2+3) of ‘Ratschenita’ (Bulgaria) from ‘Three Transcriptions’ (for string quartet) by Jack Body (1987). The movement is fast, rhythmical and vibrant, proving highly virtuosic and energetic. It boasts a percussive section in the middle of the movement, before entering a spinning finale culminating in a celebratory exclamation of "Jack!"