Dear Horizon is one of four pieces from the Royal New Zealand Ballet's 2015 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.
Gareth Farr is an indisputably colourful figure in New Zealand music. And whether scored for percussion duet or the resources of two large orchestras, Farr's music reflects his personality – bold, brash, or delicate and sensuous, but inevitably, immediately, engaging. Rhythmic elements of his compositions can be linked to the complex and exciting rhythms of Rarotongan log drum ensembles, Balinese gamelan and other percussion music of the Pacific Rim. In addition to his music for the concert chamber, Farr has written music for dance, theatre and television.
