Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

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Work Overview

I have been fortunate to visit the site of the former city, Pompeii, some years ago now (in 2000). How strange it felt to retrace the steps of a past community over cobblestones, into buildings, and to contemplate the artefacts that now remain. The invitation to compose a work in close connection with the 2025 exhibition on the city as frozen in time by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD led me down all sorts of narrative paths from the eruption to the surviving artefacts. Eventually, I settled on a pair of Cameos in blue and white glass (items 153651 and 13110 ex 153652).
Thought to have been set in a piece of furniture, they depict the stories of Ariadne and Bacchus. Ariadne's tales in particular were fascinating to me, with strong connections to places from my heritage. Ariadne's savvy assistance to Theseus nagivating the Labyrinth with a ball of string is based in Crete. Later, Theseus abandons Ariadne on the island of Naxos. Both islands are connected to my own maternal heritage. I mused on the threads, voyages and paths that eventually led Ariadne's story to Pompeii, and the music has ended up in two labyrinthine sections surrounding a middle "blues":

Labyrinthum I: Threads

Shards of Blue Glass

Labyrinthum II: Ashes

Work Details

Year: 2025

Instrumentation: Clarinet, vibraphone, harp, 2 violins, viola, cello.

Duration: 8 min.

Commission note: Commissioned by Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

First performance: by Musicians of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra — 20 Mar 25. National Museum of Australia, Pompeii exhibition season