Altered States
mandolin, guitar, harpsichord, percussion.
1988 rev. 1998: 8 mins.
"...Where do I stand in the pageantry,
whose is my voice?..."
from A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers, by Peter Hammill.
Altered States was commissioned by the ELISION Ensemble and premiered by them in Melbourne in August 1988, under the direction of Christopher Lyndon-Gee.
Caper
oboe, vibes, guitar, viola.
2005 rev. 2010: 10 mins.
Cogs
keyboard percussion quartet (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba).
2000: 3 mins. 15 secs.
Cogs can be performed either as a standalone work, or as the seventh of seven in the cycle The Eternal Surge.
“We measure time according to the movement of countless suns;
and they measure time by little machines in their little pockets.”
from Sand and Foam, by Kahlil Gibran.
“Just a little bit.
Just a little bit more time.
Time left to live out my life.”
from The Musical Box, by Genesis. (Banks, Collins, Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford)
Cogs is dedicated to Peter Neville, in gratitude for his talent, patience and support.
It was premiered by SPEAK Percussion on 1-12-2000 at the Bennett’s Lane Jazz Lab, in Melbourne.
DisTanz
percussion quartet (assorted instruments):
2002: 9 mins. 20 secs.
German: distanz = distance / tanz = dance.
dis = a prefix from the Latin variously implying separation / negation / deprivation / thoroughness.
Although DisTanz is typically quite precisely constructed it will, in some regards at least, be somewhat loosely realised. It is scored for an assortment of so-called un-pitched percussion that is perhaps more closely allied to an industrial sound world than any other.
It is predominantly a mixture of metals and woods [ranging from wood pieces to steel bowls and saw blades] that will of necessity vary with what is available and/or can be begged, borrowed, or bought. And although these instruments are [mostly] called for in fours, there is quite deliberately no master plan to dictate that, for example, Steel Bowl 1 is pitched between Bottles 1 & 2, and the result may differ widely from one performance to the next.
The ideal set-up calls for the performers to surround the audience. This is also flexible given conducting considerations and the physical limitations of any given venue, and will likewise influence any individual performance.
DisTanz was commissioned by SPEAK Percussion, and premiered by them on 23/2/2003 at the Richmond Town Hall, Melbourne.
Ebb
keyboard percussion quartet (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba).
2007: 2 mins. 45 secs.
Ebb can be performed either as a standalone work, or as the first of seven in the cycle The Eternal Surge.
“Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between the fear of death and the hardship of life; they are unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how to die.”
Seneca (Roman philosopher, 1st century AD)
Ebb was premiered by SPEAK Percussion on 18-9-2010 at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Matthias Schack-Arnott, Eugene Ughetti, Leah Scholes, Peter Neville.
InQuietude
percussion quartet (assorted instruments):
2011: 9 mins. approx.
Proxima
string quartet.
2001: 13 mins. 45 secs.
Score Sample (PDF)
The Eternal Surge
keyboard percussion quartet (glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba).
2000/2010: 30 mins. approx.
for Score samples see individual works:
“How little do we know that which we are!
How less what we may be!
The eternal surge of time and tide rolls on,
and bears afar our bubbles:
as the old burst, new emerge,
Lash'd from the foam of ages;
while the graves of empires heave
but like some passing waves.”
from Don Juan (Canto XV), by Lord Byron.
“Let's go down to where it's clean
To see what time it might have been
The tides have carried off the beach
As you said
The sun is out of reach”
from As You Said, by Jack Bruce & Pete Brown.
i) Ebb
(glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba)
2007: 2 mins. 45 secs. approx.
ii) PNEUma
(vibraphone, marimba)
2004 rev. 2008: 5 mins. approx.
iii) ...as the waves...
(solo vibraphone)
2007: 5 mins. 30 secs. approx.
iv) ...tempus fugit...
(glockenspiel, xylophone)
2010: 3 mins. approx.
v) Pro Tempore
(solo marimba)
2002 rev. 2004: 7 mins. 30 secs. approx.
vi) Clash
(xylophone, vibraphone)
2006: 3 mins. approx.
vii) Cogs
(glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, marimba)
2000: 3 mins. 15 secs. approx. | 
