Passing

Since its establishment in 1973, the Asian Composers League has been very active organising new music festivals and promoting collaboration between composers in the Asia-Pacific region.

The music of the Australian and New Zealand composers has its unique qualities which play an important role in this meaningful exchange. ACL is very grateful to the organiser of the Asia Pacific Festival 2007, a marvellous event that contributes to the world some great music of our region.

For many years New Zealand composers have looked to Asia for inspiration, and we continue to do so in increasing numbers. CANZ was proud to host the 2007 Asia Pacific Festival on behalf of the Asian Composers League. This is the third time New Zealand has hosted the festival, and it was again under the visionary leadership of Jack Body, assisted by many other enthusiastic composers and musicians. I believe this CD is a fine summary of what the Asia Pacific festival is all about: diversity, innovation and cross-fertilisation of cultures.

The Asia Pacific Festival held in Wellington in February 2007 was the 26th in a series of such festivals organised under the aegis of the Asian Composers League, an organisation established in 1973 by a group of prominent Asian composers.

It is significant that Australia and New Zealand have been members of this organisation for some years, reflecting the socio-political shift that has taken place as we reposition ourselves within the Asia-Pacific region and draw closer to our Asian neighbours.

The program recorded here was a feature concert of the Asia Pacific Festival. This sampling of Australian and New Zealand orchestral music was a way of presenting ourselves, the non-Asian members of ACL, to the many Asian guests at the festival.

We heard Asian resonances in Helen Bowater’s gamelan inspired New Year Fanfare, in Barry Conyngham’s moving tribute to Toru Takemitsu (Passing), and in Julian Yu’s exquisite Future of Water. Gerard Brophy’s Republic of Dreams, with its intriguing modal melody suggested Middle Eastern models. Sophisticated responses to environment we heard in Chris Cree Brown’s Antarctic-inspired Icescape, and in Leonie Holmes’ Frond, whose curving shape suggested the Maori koru motive. Youthful aspirations made their point in Chris Gendall’s So It Goes, in Samuel Holloway’s Fault, and in the startling orchestration (and title!) of Mark Zadro’s Promiscuous.

This was a program that both entertained and illuminated – which is what every concert should aim to do, surely?