Abstract
'Three Pieces' was commissioned by Donald Maurice and Matthew Marshall for their tour to Europe in 2005. They are re-arrangements of songs from the cycle Five Dunedin Songs for tenor and guitar (1996), which set poems by Bernadette Hall. Hall was the Burns Fellow at the University of Otago and the composer struck up a friendship with her, leading to this collaboration. ‘Song’ is a whimsical depiction of a stone sculpture in Christchurch, of a mother and child. ‘Tomahawk Sonnet’ is about the burial of the poet’s father at Anderson’s Bay (Tomahawk) in Dunedin. ‘Lovesong’ is a light-hearted song about the absence of a lover.
'Three Pieces' was first performed by Donald Maurice and Matthew Marshall at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Germany on 9 June 2005. It was subsequently adapted for violin and guitar by the composer in 2011.