Abstract
Composed by Gareth Farr for marimba and cello, Tahu-nui-ā-Rangi was commissioned by Duo Col Legno (Heleen Du Plessis and Yoshiko Tsuruta). The piece was performed by the duo, Heleen Du Plessis (cello) and Yoshiko Tsuruta (marimba), at the King's and Queen's Performing Arts Centre, Dunedin on 11 May 2019. The work was filmed and edited by Chris Watson for the Resound Project, with audio produced by Danny Buchanan during a closed recording session.
'Tahu-nui-ā-Rangi' is the Māori word for the Aurora Australis, visible from the southernmost parts of New Zealand. The work is based on a Māori belief that the aurorae are ancestors’ campfires reflected in the sky, emphasising universal belonging and spiritual connection. The idea for the commission stemmed from cellist Heleen du Plessis’s concert and CD projects Cello for Africa and Cellists Aotearoa, in which the role of music in strengthening roots, connecting to place, and finding a ‘sense of place’ was investigated through the commissioning, performing and recording of new music. Tahu-nui-ā-Rangi builds upon the idea of belonging to a single nation and multiple belonging, to ultimately being part of an infinite connection to the universe and a member of one human family.
The work makes use of extended techniques in both instruments, creating cello-marimba sound blends that range from ethereal to pounding and percussive, and capturing the mystical and ethereal atmosphere of the natural light, its colourful dancing veils, and the electrically charged energy caused when particles from the sun collide with particles from gases in the Earth's atmosphere.