Abstract
'Nocturne and Sunrise' was commissioned by Serenata a Tre for performance during their 2009 tour of New Zealand. It was written for performers Donald Maurice, viola, Barbara Hill, flute, and Giovanni Seneca, guitar. The work is in one continuous movement, divided into three sections:
1. Languid but uneasy
2. Slow, creeping
3. Fast, energetic
The trio was started while the composer was on study leave in France. It is inspired by the transition from evening through night and on to morning. Different moods and atmospheres are created, from the slightly moody opening that bursts into a rock-like passage, through to the sounds of night-time in a small Parisian apartment – with distant echoes of footsteps, doors shutting, and so forth. There is tension and uncertainty in this middle section, which is then dispelled by the buoyant final section, a jig.
This creation of this work was funded by The University of Otago, as part of the composer’s 2008 study leave.