$POA
This item may be available to purchase from the Australian Music Centre.
Please contact our Sales Department to confirm pricing and availability.
Score
Mandala 4 : for string quartet / David Lumsdaine.
Library shelf no. 785.714/LUM 1 [Not for loan]
Work Overview
Though it doesn’t sound like the music of Messiaen, Mandala 4 is closer than any other work of mine to his aesthetic. Every musical idea derives from the birdsongs, in particular those of Spirey Creek as I heard them one dawn in the spring of 1984. There is no attempt to imitate the original songs, but their gestures, contours and harmony are the heart and the taking off point for all the music.
The work begins with an introduction in the spirit of a formal dance. The dance is interrupted by a gong (played by the violist) which leads into the main body of the work, an extended viola solo based on the dawn song of a Pied Butcherbird. A mosaic of counterpoints (a kind of anti-development) derived from the song of the Butcherbird’s neighbours grows out of the heterophonic accompaniment. After a reprise of the opening dance, which has been re-shaped by the songs of Currawongs and Little Friarbirds, the essential harmony of the piece gradually dissolves nad the sound of the gong leads to a gentle close, a closure without cadence.
Work Details
Year: 1983
Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello.
Duration: 17 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Commission note: Commissioned by BBC.
First performance: by Arditti Quartet — Sep 91. London, UK
Analysis
Program note: David Lumsdaine's "Mandala 4"
by David Lumsdaine
Source: the score of this work
Resonate article: David Lumsdaineās soundscapes by Michael Hooper
Article: The country of my childhood : reflections on David Lumsdaine's music / by Michael Hall.
Subjects
- Inspired by: Birdsong
Performances of this work
Sep 91: London, UK. Featuring Arditti Quartet.
User reviews
Be the first to share your thoughts, opinions and insights about this work.
To post a comment please login.