Sun Cycles
For Flute/Alto Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Horn, Trombone, Percussion concertino, Piano concertino, Electric Harp concertino, Electric Violin, Cello & Double Bass.
For Anastasia Ryan.
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Program note
This piece is the culmination of musical ideas I've developed over the past ten years, since the premiere of my first concerto grosso, Prelude and Jason’s Song. That work never quite achieved the musical impact I intended. I revisited its key ideas several times but never fully realised my vision. So, when I embarked on this piece, I aimed to achieve a blazing brightness, followed by a period of dark and mysterious sounds, before returning to that blazing light.
This work is a three-movement piece depicting the journey of the sun—from its setting to the night sky, and then its eventual return, accompanied by a dawn chorus of birds.
Commissioned by Forest Collective.
Premiered by Forest Collective at their 2022 performance Sun Songs & Cycles 18 - 20 November 2022, Abbotsford Convent.