Genre: Choral

score available from Wise Music reviews “The four Australian works presented in Adelaide’s Samstag Museum were at times provocative. Stuart Greenbaum’s The Foundling (1997) seemed to musically describe the plight of abandoned children, and by extension adults too, who face a compassionless world — “Love, in the end, is the adoption we all seek”, read … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note Ötzi the Iceman is the name given to a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC (53 centuries ago). The mummy was found in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps, on the border between Austria and Italy. He is Europe’s oldest natural human mummy, and has … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note The Night that the Museum Burned sets a new text by poet Ross Baglin, written specifically for this commission. It contrasts the removed opulence of a high-rise penthouse arts function simultaneously with the museum burning below at street level. Baglin’s poem alludes to rioting on the streets, but … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note The Twelve Days of Christmas is a new setting of the traditional Christmas carol with the addition of some modern ‘pop’ commentary. It was written at the invitation of Hildy Essex, conductor and director of Australian Contemporary Chorale, for their performances at Melbourne’s Federation Square on 5 December, … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note This brief choral piece is a setting of William Carlos Williams’ famous anecdotal poem, This is Just to Say. The words speak for themselves. The setting is dedicated to my brother, Jamie, who had originally shown me the poem. I set it late at night on the evening … Read more

score available on request

CD available The Green CD The Song Company, Roland Peelman (cond.) Tall Poppies score available from Wise Music program note Set to a text by Ross Baglin, Upon the Dark Water was commissioned by The Song Company with assistance from the Music Board of The Australia Council for the Arts. It is dedicated to Roland … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note This piece is based on the famous “siren song” of the Odyssey, however Homer’s sailors are represented by a submariner, hiding but trapped in his alien environment. The Sirens seek to seduce him from his protective shell by projecting the loveliness of water in its civilised forms ashore … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note I grew up with the traditional English Christmas carol, I Saw Three Ships, and love it perhaps more than any other. As I was born on Christmas day, it has occurred to me from time to time that I ought to set it. When Michael Leighton Jones asked … Read more

score available from Wise Music program note One Day was originally written as a pop song to words by Ross Baglin. It subsequently went through a range of forms – this one for a cappella choir (SATB). It’s a song of love – of finding perfection and beauty in another person. The musical setting is … Read more