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The Dying Sun

Composers have long been inspired by the idea that we are not separate from nature but part of it and music can speak from that innate part of us. Award-winning composer Rebecca Erin Smith's piece is both a connection to and a reflection on natural landscapes. It features violinist Madeleine Antoine and pianist Setsu Masuda.

The Dying Sun depicts the natural environment as precious and rare. It is an homage to the land, made all the more important because of our knowledge of the frailty of wilderness and the rapidity with which the environment is diminishing.

The 1st movement Blood, meaning ‘lifeblood’, is in reference to the sun. It is mostly slow and gestural, and explores images of a wide expanse of land over the course of the day. The sun rises and the sun dies. The movement explores the detail which can be created out of a single note through the expression and texture.

The 2nd movement Milk depicts the vast Milky Way constellation.

The 3rd, Nectar, refers to the canola fields, the rustling harmonic sounds evoking the movement of wildflowers and insects.

The final movement Salt explores the coastal area at Sugarloaf Rock - a large natural granite island rising dramatically out of the ocean near Cape Naturaliste in the south west.

Artists

Madeleine Antoine

Albany-born Violinist Madeleine Antoine completed a Bachelor of Music at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2010. She since studied at the Prague Conservatory of Music and at The University of Western Australia.

Setsu Masuda

Setsu Masuda started piano at the age of 5 in Japan and did training privately under late Professor Mr. Arai of Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo. Since being awarded the Licentiate of Music Diploma in Australia under the guidance of Dr. Adam Pinto, she has enjoyed performing in a variety of chamber music contexts and toured in Japan, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and WA.


Audio previews

Track Listing

Performers

Composer

Rebecca Erin Smith

Rebecca Erin Smith is an award winning Australian composer who specialises in collaborative media and concert works. She works primarily with orchestra and large ensembles of acoustic instruments (at times electronically manipulated and set alight with found sounds) and the human voice, exploiting its full spectrum of sound from speech to song.


Where to buy

The Dying Sun is available for download from the iTunes Music Store.
It's available for streaming through Apple Music.

The Dying Sun is available as as CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer secure online ordering.

Move CDs can be ordered through music retailers across Australia including Readings.

Product details

List price
$15.00 AUD
Release date
March 2022
Copyright
© 2020 Rebecca Erin Smith
Phonogram
℗ 2022 Move Records
Category
Classical
Catalogue number
MCD 609
Alternate catalogue number
MCD609
Barcode
EAN 9314574060928