Betty Beath
Betty Beath composes chamber music, art song and piano works that lean toward lyric line and reflective mood, often coloured by Balinese and Javanese scales and a quiet sense of place.
Her suite From a Quiet Place pairs viola and piano in two still movements and a quicker close, music of mood rather than display. Mikri Thalassa, for mandolin forces, needs rise and fall within the phrase and room to feel the line. On Homegrown her art song sits among settings concerned with nature, motherhood and belonging. Research in Bali and Java has fed the writing: gamelan-inflected scales and textures enter otherwise Western chamber and solo piano scores, including the pentatonic Merindu Bali.
Compositions by Betty Beath appear on
Homegrown
Themes of nature, motherhood, and a profound spiritual connection to place pervade Homegrown — a luminous new recording of art song performed by soprano Rebecca Cassidy and pianist Alex Raineri, featuring works by Australian women composers.
Brolga Dances
This new disc from the Melbourne Mandolin Orchestra showcases contemporary Australian Music for Mandolin and Guitar.