Suite No.2 (1982) conveys an image of the ancient sky god An, who poured the waters of immortality on the earth, establishing the water carrier tradition. The first movement features two solo violins enlarging a unison ritornello theme that opens the work, a drum-like passage and a waltzy bitonal venture. The slow second movement uses a pastoral melody characteristic of a folk song. The finale sets up a hiccuping fugato, with the last two notes of the movement being the same as the first two.
John Ritchie was one of New Zealand’s senior composers. Throughout a long composing career, he elected to write in an accessible and traditional manner, often in stark contrast to much of the work being produced by his contemporaries in the style of the European avant garde. He created a body of work which, while less well-known than it deserves to be, is loved and enjoyed by performers and audiences alike for its deft craftsmanship and pleasing melodic grace.
