Work
Australiana - Folksong Frolic
for wind octet
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About
In January 1992 the Queensland Wind Soloists requested a short piece using Australian folksongs to be played as an encore number during their coming tour of Canada. The result was this work based on three tunes: the traditional 'Waltzing Matilda', the Queensland version of the same, and 'Click go the Shears'. To the composer's pleasant surprise all three fitted together, as they do in the final section of the music. The work begins with a somewhat 'drunken' phrase from 'Waltzing Matilda' (to the 'amusement' of the players) before breaking into a traditional setting of the tune. Each folk-tune gets its share of the limelight. Short interludes of untraditional chords provide some contrast in this light-hearted composition for wind octet.
Commissioned note
By the Queensland Wind Soloists in January 1992 for their up and coming tour of Canada.