This is Australia - Winikoff, Michael

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"When I began working on my entry to the ROCS composition competition I struggled to find suitable text. Eventually I thought “Hang on, this is supposed to be an ''Australian'' composition, so why not write ''about'' Australia?” From then, the text, and subsequently music, took shape fairly easily and quickly. The piece is written for three parts for two reasons. Firstly, to create a light and stark texture, reflecting both the text and the Australian landscape. Secondly, to make the piece easier to perform with a small choir. Note that all men should sing the line marked “Men” (or “B”). Specifically, the alto line should only sung by female altos (so that the tone blends well with the soprano line). Tempo markings are approximate, with the precise tempi being left to the conductor’s discretion (based on the choir, acoustics, etc.) The very first note of the piece (the high F) is optional for the men - if it’s too high to sing comfortably, leave it out and come in on the second note, please do not sing the F an octave down! The section with the solo (bars 37-45) could alternatively be performed with the four parts sung by S1, S2, A and men; or even, as a last resort, SATB. The tambourine can be omitted if one is not available, but obviously it would be preferable to obtain one! The tambourine player can (and should!) be taken from within the choir, probably one of the men. The last section of the piece, from bar 78 onwards, should be one long slow build up, leading to the end of the piece. Note that in bars 81 and 87 there is no break between “is” and “Australia”. In a few places the words are written in a non-standard way (e.g. “do-tted” instead of “dot-ted”, or “bu-stling” instead of “bust-ling”) in order to more clearly reflect the placement of consonants. I hope that this piece manages to capture a little of that that is modern Australia, and that you enjoy performing and hearing it. '''Performances:''' * Friday 7th September 2007, RMIT Occasional Choral Society (ROCS), conducted by Philip Legge. * Friday 19th October 2007, RMIT Occasional Choral Society (ROCS), conducted by Philip Legge. * Friday 25th January 2008, Sydney Intervarsity Choral Festival, in a concert titled Visions of Australia, conducted by Brett Weymark."

◈ Genre → Partsongs

♯ Key D minor

⁄ Time Signature 4/4

♬ Voicing → SAB

◆ Difficulty

Elementary

↕ Range B2 – F5

¶ Language → English

Measures 89

Texture Homophonic

Parts 6

Instruments Tambourine ''si placet''

Pages 8

CPDL # 22059

Editor Michael Winikoff

Posted 2010-08-07

License Personal

♫Pitch Ranges

MusicXML Part

B2 – D4

¶Lyrics / Text

This is Australia, stark bare landscapes dotted with shrubs and gumtrees straight roads that seem to never end roads leading to busy bustling cities with manicured lawns despite the drought. This is Australia! Nursery rhymes, from England food from Greece and Italian cafes women wearing headscarves and men with skullcaps, This is Australia! Vivid blue sky scorching summer sun, This is Australia! young, bold and new.