Dear Horizon

Solo Cello & Brass Band

Work Details

Dear Horizon
(2015)
WORK DURATION
22:00
WORK CODE
GF/DH
Instrumentation
Solo Cello & Brass Band
COMMISSION DETAILS
Royal New Zealand Ballet
Premiere
New Zealand Army Band with Rolf Gjelsten (vc.) at St James Theatre, Wellington, New Zealand on 22 May 2015
The image above is indicative only and may not reflect the specific instrumentatioN. thE image has been generated using an AI model or licensed for use by unless otherwise credited.

Dear Horizon is one of four pieces that make up the Royal New Zealand Ballet's production Salute: Remembering World War I, commemorating the 100th anniversary of ANZAC soldiers joining the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign.

Written for brass band and solo cello, Farr's score for Dear Horizon evokes the heartbreak, anguish and violence that comes with war. Initially mercurial and mysterious, the solo cello is then introduced, its lamenting voice hanging in front of the brass band. Occasional conversations take place between the cello and other brass instruments, while interlaced percussive material alludes to the battlefield. Farr expands Dear Horizon's emotional range with flashes of boldness and passages of sombre reflection, though what comes through most clearly is a railing against war's terrible waste of human potential.