For Still Sounds Lie, Farr sets to music three poems by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's principal harpist, Carolyn Mills. Farr energizes the poet's impressions of Deep Bay, in New Zealand's Queen Charlotte Sound, with vivid and attractive harp figurations, while the evocative soprano lines enhance the poet's meditations on the cyclical nature of life.
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.
