• Home
    • Archive
  • About
    • Biography
    • Connections
    • Supporters
    • Inspiration
  • Music
    • LARGE ENSEMBLE >
      • Wind Orchestra / Concert Band
      • Symphony Orchestra
      • String Orchestra
      • Chamber Orchestra
      • Brass Ensemble
    • INSTRUMENTAL >
      • Piano
      • Woodwind
      • Brass
      • Strings
      • Mixed Ensemble
    • VOCAL / CHORAL >
      • Choir
      • Voice
      • Spoken Word
  • Writing
  • Blog
    • About this Blog
David John Lang

Anthochaera carunculata

Violin






See this piece performed by Simone Slattery in Bowerbird Collective's Where Song Began (from 39:40 to 46:10)
The rhythmic song of the red wattlebird

Program note:

When Simone Slattery approached me about composing something for her Where Song Began project, I had (fortuitously) just finished reading the book of the same name by Tim Low, which had inspired her. I was so excited about the commission that I quickly wrote, not one, but three standalone violin solos (see also Colluricincla harmonica and Currawong at Black Hill). It was the first of the three, Anthochaera carunculata, which Simone chose to include in Where Song Began.

For this piece, instead of choosing one of the more mellifluous songbirds of Australia, I chose to write a piece inspired by the harsh, guttural calls of the red wattlebird. I had long been interested in the rhythmic patterns produced by this bird, which I'd overheard in many an early morning walk around Adelaide.

© David John Lang 2022

Sample of a real-life red wattlebird's song:

This music is available to
PURCHASE
from the Australian Music Centre

Duration: 8 minutes
Difficulty: Advanced
Instrumentation
violin solo

This piece is aleatoric, with a flexible number of repeats and rhythmic values for each bar. It is rather more open to interpretation than most of my other works.

Home

Contact

Copyright © David John Lang 2015–2023
  • Home
    • Archive
  • About
    • Biography
    • Connections
    • Supporters
    • Inspiration
  • Music
    • LARGE ENSEMBLE >
      • Wind Orchestra / Concert Band
      • Symphony Orchestra
      • String Orchestra
      • Chamber Orchestra
      • Brass Ensemble
    • INSTRUMENTAL >
      • Piano
      • Woodwind
      • Brass
      • Strings
      • Mixed Ensemble
    • VOCAL / CHORAL >
      • Choir
      • Voice
      • Spoken Word
  • Writing
  • Blog
    • About this Blog