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Sculthorpe: Songs of Sea and Sky (ABC Classics) (Songs of Sea and Sky; Earth Cry; Mangrove; Kakadu; From Ubirr) ‘The single most important Peter Sculthorpe CD, this release features his most famous works in new versions for didjeridu and orchestra. Released to celebrate the composer’s 75th birthday. Destined to be a classic.’ ‘Another mode of musical time travel arrives with Peter Sculthorpe’s Songs of Sea and Sky, a panoramic evocation of timeless vistas achieved with help from a primal-sounding didjeridu (soloist William Barton), especially powerful in Earth Cry and From Ubirr. Sculthorpe’s soundscapes rely on an acute feeling for shifting perspectives and the Queensland Orchetsra under Michael Christie achieve just that.’ ‘This new CD contains several orchestral works with the didjeridu added, as well as an astonishingly effective arrangement for these same forces of a five-movement suite originally for clarinet and piano, entitled Songs of Sea and Sky. The first thing to say is that the indigenous instrument seems completely at place in Sculthorpe’s musical world. There is something about his rich orchestral sonorities, particularly his brass writing, that seems to welcome the didjeridu. More importantly, this is music with very little harmonic movement, so if you pick a didjeridu in the right key, it will fit in just fine. That is mostly what Sculthorpe has done. He tells Barton which instrument to use and where to play. But he doesn’t tell him what to play. That’s between Barton and the piece itself. The result is strangely compelling. The music fits the didjeridu like a glove.’ ‘Christie conjures a…rounded tone, but edgy and laden with menace nonetheless, from the Queensland players…utterly haunting. Kakadu (1988)… finds…Christie alive to every nervy detail…[and] responds…naturally to its mercurial changes… …Christie summons a shining performance from the Queenslanders and shows a fine understanding of every nuance of the intricate orchestration. Christie’s disc includes…[a] work revised to include didjeridu: From Ubirr, which is conceptually and audibly related to Earth Cry. Sculthorpe wrote it for Kronos, and Christie has arranged it for larger forces. I feel this version works better than the quartet original: the orchestra finds greater sonic depth and the didjeridu emphasises the earthly quality of the music.’ The Gramophone (Ivan Moody), February 2005
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