New work captures the soul of a coastal settlement

Another world premiere of a work by a Dunedin composer will be given on September 11, this time by members of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which commissioned the work for its upcoming NZSO In Miniature tour.

Dr Anthony Ritchie's Purakaunui was composed while he was living in his bach in the seaside village a few kilometres north of Dunedin.

"I like the shapes of the place, particularly the shapes of the bay. You get the tide coming in and out and different shapes in the sand. It seems to echo the shapes of the land and the sounds of the place tend to inspire you, but also just the quiet and slow pace of living out there is good for creativity."

The work starts with the oboe playing a bird song he heard, he says.

"I've tried to imagine, at the beginning, the sun rising over the bay with still, shimmering music, then it moves into a section that's somewhat more haunting and sad. That's reflecting on the past.

"Purakaunui has an interesting Maori history as well as whaling, and some quite sad things have happened there over the years.

"It moves through a sadder section to a more happy section, which is, to my mind, people playing in the summertime, swimming and jumping."

He says he tried to get a whale into the music because a whale came into the inlet last year and became stranded, but in the end there wasn't room in the five-minute piece.

He says he's tried to make it colourful, entertaining music that school-aged children as well as adults will enjoy, and to show the instruments.

The NZSO In Miniature tour includes about 25 instruments and will be playing several short pieces and extracts in its school and community concerts.

In Dunedin, there's a public concert at King's High School on September 11 at 6.30pm, and the following morning a concert for the school. On September 13, it gives school and public concerts at Timaru Girls' High School before moving on to Christchurch.