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Sculthorpe has written for the full range of musical genres, including
works for orchestra, string quartet, solo instrument, voice and choir,
film, ballet, theatre and opera. His music is flexible and versatile;
he often rearranges a piece for different instrumental combinations. He
views his compositional output as a whole and, as a result, there are
many inter-connections between works and each piece builds upon those
that precede it.
Australia
Sculthorpe has a very strong sense of his Australian identity. For him
it is a natural choice to write in his music of the
country and of our history. He says, Its who I am, what
Im about. Works such as Earth Cry (1986) and Kakadu
(1988) reflect the breadth, vastness and loneliness of the Australian
landscape and the sounds of its wildlife.
Other works, like Port Essington (1977) and Burke and
Wills (1985), deal with the history of European settlement. Sculthorpe
also has a strong appreciation of the heritage of Indigenous Australians
and their experience of the land. Many of his works draw on Aboriginal
history, language or melody. In particular, the Aboriginal melody, Djilili,
has become something of a leitmotiv in his music. Sculthorpe writes
in his autobiography, Its always seemed foolish not to take
heed of a music that has been shaped by this land over many thousands
of years.
Dualism and complexity: Port
Essington
Port Essington (1977) is one of Sculthorpes best-known works. It
tells of the attempted British settlement in 1838 of Port Essington in
northern Australia. The settlers showed tenacity in withstanding a devastating
cyclone in 1839, but ultimately failed to adapt to the conditions of the
land. After 11 years of hardship and isolation, the settlement was abandoned
in 1849.
In the music, a string orchestra represents the bush and a string trio
the settlement. The two groups are pitted against each other. Against
the background of the orchestra, the trio makes several statements in
a style imitating nineteenth-century drawing-room music. Gradually the
string orchestra dominates, until at the end only the music of the bush
remains. Just before the trio bids farewell, however, the two groups play
briefly in unison, suggesting that a coexistence may have been possible.
Both groups of music are based on the Aboriginal melody, Djilili,
but it is only in the part representing the bush that it is easily recognised.
This suggests a common spiritual undercurrent of which the settlers were
unaware.
Sculthorpe writes that Port Essington is really an allegory
about Australia. It also speaks of his own coming to terms with
his European heritage and illustrates the way in which, for him, personal
and national issues are intertwined.
Port Essington is also a good example of the way in which the
notion of dualisma clashing of opposites until a synthesis is foundhas
been a driving force in both his musical technique and aesthetic. His
music engages the complexity inherent in the issue of Australian identity.
What is Australian music? he asks. If this could be
answered, Id probably stop writing music and answer questions.
Asia and the sun: Sun Music III
Reacting against the European musical tradition, Sculthorpe firmly locates
Australia in Asia and has been strongly influenced by Japanese and Indonesian
music and philosophy. Sun Music III (1967) was his first piece
exploring his Asian interest. In this work, there is direct quotation
of Balinese melody and sounds. In later works, the reference to
Asia becomes subtler as Sculthorpe draws upon the techniques and textures
of Balinese music rather than melodies. The third stage Sculthorpe sees
is when he absorbs something of the essence of the music to the point
where it becomes part of his own music. Sculthorpe also sees this process
occurring with the Japanese and Aboriginal influences in his music.
Four orchestral works make up the Sun Music series. Sun Music
III stands in contrast to the other three works in the series for
its strong melodic elements. The other three are more like sound-scapes.
The impetus for these works came from Bernard Heinze, who, perhaps jokingly,
challenged Sculthorpe to write a work without rhythm, harmony or melody.
Sun Music I (1965) was the result. About this work Sculthorpe writes,
The sun of D.H. Lawrence, the Mexican sun, the Japanese, Asian and
Australianand my own sunare ever present.
After hearing Sun Music I, Robert Helpmann approached Sculthorpe
about collaborating on a ballet version of Sun Music. The work
was completed for the Australian Ballet in 1968, with Robert Helpmann
as choreographer and Kenneth Rowell as designer. The five sections
of the ballet are titled Soil, Mirage, Growth, Energy
and Destruction. This is a good example of the way in which the
sun has been an important symbol for Sculthorpe, as both a giver of life
and a source of death. Sculthorpe has tenaciously chosen life and his
music is imbued with optimism. Many times he has expressed the view that
Australia is the only place where one can still write joyful music; he
sees Australia as a youthful nation whose golden age is yet to come, whose
history is largely unwritten.
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