Score
13 ways of looking at a butcherbird : for piano / Michael Hannan.
Library shelf no. 786.2/HAN 17 [Not for loan]
Work Overview
13 Way of Looking at a Butcherbird consists of 13 short
movements each based melodically on transcribed butcherbird
calls. Three of these were transcribed from commercially
available recordings of the pied butcherbird but the others are
from field recordings made by me in various locations including
Brisbane, Byron Bay, Clunes, Lismore, Nimbin and Bellingen. The
approach to the harmonic accompaniments to these
movements varies according to the intervallic implications of the
tunes: some are dissonant while others use pentatonic or other
recognisable scales. For example a pied butcherbird bird heard
pre-dawn at Clunes (Movement V) employs the whole-tone scale and
inspired a simple parallel chord accompaniment in the same
scale.
The title is a reference to the Wallace Stevens' poem "Thirteen
Ways Of Looking At A Blackbird" (1917), which has inspired many
musical compositions including a song setting by the Australian
composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks.
Work Details
Year: 2005
Instrumentation: Piano.
Difficulty: Medium
Analysis
Resonate article: A lifetime of engagement with Australian music by Michael Hannan
Subjects
- Inspired by: Birdsong
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