Matilda Deconstructions
for solo piano
(2005)
duration: 4’
GRT • 107
audio sample
score
available from
Australian Music
Centre
program note
These two
miniatures were commissioned by pianist, Elyane Laussade,
to form a set of variations by Melbourne composers on the
unofficial Australian anthem, Waltzing
Matilda. Being a
national theme, it has been subjected to many gruesome
renditions that leave one wondering if patriotism truly is
the last refuge of the scoundrel. For this reason, the tune
has not always been dear to my heart. The opportunity to
write these miniatures, however, has allowed me to reclaim
some personal attachment to the theme and I have taken a
fairly free–form approach to meditate upon it. I have
called them ‘deconstructions’ and not ‘variations’ since my
approach was to extract key notes and intervals from
Waltzing
Matilda and to
take them into a different musical space.
review
“…For the "new"
element, Matilda Mutations, she invited various Melbourne
composers — Michael Betram, William Schmidt, Stuart
Greenbaum, Mark Pollard, Calvin Bowman, Joe Chindamo — to
produce a short take or two on the second national anthem.
Some of the eight variations kept to the tune's contours
pretty closely. Others, such as Greenbaum's, cut back to
bare chords. Mind you, Laussade had a high strike rate with
this score chiefly because she enjoyed the best of a
commissioning performer's world, being able to consult her
composers on their intentions and desired modes of
interpretation.”
Clive O’Connell, The Age, October 2005