Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

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Continental drift : music for bass flutes and cello / Judy Diez d’Aux and Peter Sheridan, flutes, and Lachlan Dent, cello.

Library shelf no. CD 2755 [Not for loan]

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Score [ePDF]

Lunar orbit : for cello solo [eScore] / Stuart Greenbaum.

Format	Title	Version	AMC Library	Price
CD	Continental drift : music for bass flutes and cello / Judy Diez d’Aux and Peter Sheridan, flutes, and Lachlan Dent, cello. 1 CD Published by Move Records — March, 2016 [MD3403] Library shelf no. CD 2755	Not for loan	$22.73	Add to cart
Score [ePDF]	Lunar orbit : for cello solo [eScore] / Stuart Greenbaum. 1 digital (PDF) facsimile score (5p. -- A4 (portrait)) Published by Australian Music Centre — 2020	Not for loan	$11.82	Add to cart
Score	Lunar orbit : for cello solo / Stuart Greenbaum. 1 facsimile score (5p. -- A4 (portrait)) Published by Australian Music Centre — 2012 Library shelf no. 787.4/GRE 5	Available for loan	$16.36	Add to cart
CD	800 million heartbeats / NZTrio plays the music of Stuart Greenbaum. 1 CD (76 min.) Published by ABC Classics — 2013 [ABC 481 0504] Library shelf no. CD 2481	Available for loan	$POA

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Work Overview

This work for solo cello is in some ways a companion piece to my percussion quartet, Sea of Tranquility (2004) in that they are both concerned with the Moon. While the material is different, both works also share a triple-time groove, albeit in different tempi.

In the case of Lunar Orbit (2011), I spent some time contemplating the 1969 Apollo 11 mission (that first landed human beings on the Moon) from two perspectives. Firstly, that of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who after landing successfully on the Moon and having done the required 'field trip' (collecting rocks etc.) were then required to sleep before taking off again. This they found impossible, achieving at best a fitful rest in the frigid lander vehicle. Aldrin famously described his impression of the Moon as "magnificent desolation".

And secondly, the experience of Michael Collins who remained aboard the command module Columbia in orbit of the moon while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface. He experienced unprecedented isolation, not being able to communicate with Earth or even his fellow astronauts while orbiting the so-called 'dark' side of the Moon.

This solo cello work, cast in arch form, is somehow a contemplation of all that and is written for and dedicated to Auckland cellist, Ashley Brown.

Work Details

Year: 2011

Instrumentation: Cello.

Duration: 5 min.

Difficulty: Advanced

Dedication note: Dedicated to Ashley Brown

Written for: Ashley Brown