Windsong for Sacred Earth (2021)
(for Solo Oboe)

Windsong for Sacred Earth consists of two sprightly outer sections – the second a modified restatement of the first – framing an introspective, sinuously evolving interlude. Each pays homage to Mother Earth in its own way: the outer sections motivated by patterns and shapes from the voices of living organisms in a natural environment; the central one springing from a fragment of mediaeval Marian chant which, for me, symbolizes the universal Earth Mother and my hope for the survival of life on our planet.

Windsong for Sacred Earth was commissioned by the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) as part of the ANAM Set (2021). It was composed for Noah Rudd, who gave the world premiere on 4 December 2021 at the Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne. The ANAM Set was funded by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government Initiative.