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Peter Sculthorpe's Earth Cry with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Feb. 25, 2014

Peter Sculthorpe's <em>Earth Cry</em> with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Peter Sculthorpe’s exquisite Earth Cry, an orchestral ode to his native Australia, receives three performances this month by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya. The American Record Guide calls Earth Cry “an exhilarating display of motor rhythms and Aboriginal elements that show the composer's abiding concern for the preservation of Australia’s indigenous culture.”

Earth Cry was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Company and was given its premiere in 1986 with Jorge Mester leading the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. The work, scored for full orchestra with optional didjeridu, is a poignant and often harrowing tribute to the natural world and to Aboriginal Australia. Sculthorpe writes:

[Australia] has seemed to me to be one of the last places on earth where one could honestly write quick and joyous music. I decided, therefore, to write such a piece. Reflecting upon this, it soon became clear that it would be dishonest of me to write music that is altogether quick and joyous. We still lack a common cause, and the self-interest of many has drained us of much of our energy. A bogus national identity and its commercialisation [sic] have obscured the true breadth of our culture. Most of the jubilation, I came to feel, awaits us in the future. We need to attune ourselves to this continent, to listen to the cry of the earth, as the Aborigines have done for many thousands of years.

Performances take place on March 21, 22 and 23 at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas.

Visit www.fabermusic.com for more information on Peter Sculthorpe.

For concert details, please visit www.fwsymphony.org.

Peter Sculthorpe
Earth Cry (1986)
for orchestra with optional didjeridu
2.2.2.2.cbsn-4.4.3.1-timp.3perc-str-(opt didjeridu)
11’

abridged version (1999)
for full orchestra
6’

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