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1. Karoola Spring
Nest hangs on empty.
Life begins again
when the Welcome Swallows come.
2. Karoola Summer
Two alpaca dance
in honey-hued fields:
do they hear the crickets too?
3. Karoola Autumn
Breathe deep; smell, pungent.
Bonfires brood in paddocks now
Summer has moved on.
4. Karoola Winter
Frozen pipes morning.
Steam rises off frost-backed cows;
wrens skate the bird-bath.
5. Sun Dance
Tasmania is an island where Irish song and memory are strong. This dance (2007) was inspired by an Irish Easter custom.
On Easter Sunday morning, the sun is said to dance with joy as it rises, in celebration of Jesus rising from the tomb. Families
who rise early to witness the sun's dance bring a pail of water to watch its reflection (because we all know you mustn't look
directly at the sun), and on the water's surface, the dance is seen. I have no evidence of this custom being observed in
Tasmania, but I like to think that Irish immigrants continued the celebration of "the Sonrise".
6. Snow Dance
In December 2006, I set off to walk the Overland Track (in Tasmania's North West wilderness) with a small harp on my back. On the first day, a blizzard struck and I was forced
to leave the harp on the mountain (near Marion's Lookout) while we sought shelter. On the next day, I found the harp in perfect
condition despite its night in the snow...to my great relief! When I began to play it, this little dance sprang into life.
Perhaps it describes the suspense, iciness and starlight of a night spent on a mountain under a blanket of snow.
7. The Dancing Island
...in Lydia in the midst of a lake there be certain floating islands
(if ye will believe it)that after music
will dance.
Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, 1621
I love Burton's fanciful quote from The Anatomy of Melancholy: the image of an island which dances after music is played (presumably
only when your back is turned) delights me. This piece is based on two old dance forms, the siciliana and jig, which would
have been familiar to Burton.
8. Mavista
This was the first piece I wrote in response to a landscape. I wrote it after first visiting the Mavista Rainforest Walk on Bruny Island (one of the islands in Tasmania's archipelago) in 2004. This is one of my favourites, and I'm grateful that
it has communicated some of the beauty and stillness-in-motion of a Tasmanian rainforest to audiences all over the world.
At the still point, there the dance is.
T.S. Eliot
9. Midlands Light
I have grown up in the Midlands of Tasmania. Shortly before leaving for a European concert tour in 2006, I took a walk in the paddocks near my home and
was struck anew by the beauty of the late afternoon light turning the hills to gold and blue around me. I went inside and
improvised this piece. As I finished, I looked out my window and saw to my surprise that a brilliant sunset was in full bloom.
This is perhaps the simplest piece I have written, so it amazes me how often listeners are moved by it.
10. Cradle Song
This title is a bit of a play on words. The piece (2006) refers to the challenge, hope and wonder of reaching Marion's Lookout
on the first leg of the Overland Track and coming into full view of Cradle Mountain's glorious "cradle" after hours of climbing.
Despite its wildness, the Cradle Mountain region has felt welcoming to me since I first visited it as a child. This piece
is dedicated to "The Fellowship of the Overland Track". Tasmanian wilderness photography by Nick Monk.
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