Hindson's Lament draws on the expressivity of the cello to respond to the Port Arthur massacre, in which a young man with a gun killed 35 people at the Port Arthur Historical Site in Tasmania, Australia. Amid the audible sorrow in the cello line is an accompanying inner strength that suggests the power to eventually overcome tragedy. At one point the cello melody employs a ‘setting' of Psalm 23 ("The Lord is My Shepherd"), which was read at the memorial service for the victims.
Matthew Hindson is one of the most-performed and most-commissioned composers in the world, and a leading Australian composer of his generation. His music often displays influences of popular music styles within a classical music context.
