From the Beginning (2003)
(for large Choir (SATB), Organ and Orchestra)

From the Beginning was commissioned by the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic to be performed in 2003 to commemorate their 150th year. The text draws on the history of the RMP which was “founded in 1853 by a group of colonial leaders and music lovers who wished to bring musical culture of a high standard to the early Colony of Victoria”. Melbourne poet, Ross Baglin, has interpreted this early activity in terms of occupying “with mass and voice, the void land where the railway ends…” - a form of cultivation; not only of the soil, but also of our hearts and minds through communal singing. This picture forms the arch-like expanse of the first movement.

The second movement takes an aerial snapshot of the contemporary city - a fusion of established buildings and imposing recent architecture set by the city’s river. Within this geographical context, threads exist between generations of ‘voices’ maintaining a tradition of choral singing. What began as a form of coping with ‘exile’ has slowly become a cultural celebration of what is now ‘home’ for people of many different origins.

The piece is dedicated to the RMP: to its conductor, its singers, musicians and supporters.