Originally for flute and orchestra, Ritchie arranged the The Snow Goose for flute and piano following Alexa Still's 1995 recording of the work with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The work takes its name from the central figure in Paul Gallico's classic story of the Second World War. Initially imbued with an uneasy peace, an extended solo for flute depicts the bird's flight and its serenity, to be interrupted by sounds of war and imminent tragedy. An accent of belatedness is caught and held perfectly. What we finally hear in the song of the snow goose is the saddest kind of love lyric, one which memorializes only a dream of happiness.
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.
