Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Work Overview

This suite of miniature songs was commissioned in 2015 by The Song Company for inclusion in their "Leunig Almanac" concert series; a concert involving 12 composers and 12 new works representing a different month of the year and a different aspect of Michael Leunig's work.

I chose to focus on the image of the duck in this miniature song cycle. Leunig's duck is an important character in his cartoons. I asked Leunig if I could use his idea for this project, and he asked the duck for me, and the duck agreed we could go ahead, so that just goes to show. Not knowing exactly what goes on inside of a duck's brain, but not wanting to miss anything out, I divided the songs into 7 small vignettes. Apart from the first movement, the piece is a vocalise.

Work Details

Year: 2015

Instrumentation: 6-part mixed voices (Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass).

Duration: 8 min.

Difficulty: Advanced — Detailed pitch and rhythmic accuracy required. Some vocal effects.

Contents note: Duck -- Thoughts -- Waddle -- Whimsy -- Language 1 -- Language 2 -- Wisdom.

Commission note: Commissioned for The Song Company.. Commissioned by Bob and Anita Berghout for The Song Company for inclusion in their "Leunig Almanac" concert series

First performance: by The Song Company — 1 Nov 15. City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney

The composer notes the following styles, genres, influences, etc associated with this work:
Polyphony, Michael Leunig, Vocalise, Sound-effects