The opening phrases of From Forgotten Forests establish the liminal space that the work inhabits, at the threshold between consonance and dissonance. Beginning with the pitches A–E–D-sharp–C-flat, its initial scalar material is gradually introduced to reveal several semitone intervals. Octave displacement, harmonics and the absence of meter add to the the work's sense of mystery and spaciousness, but eventually a slight acceleration is perceived and the piece locks into a hypnotic pattern in 7/8 consisting of a repeated figure whose constituent pitches undergo a gradual change, the now quickened tempo periodically slackening and tightening. Winding down, we arrive at a recapitulation of the A–E–D-sharp–C-flat opening motif, now transposed down by a fifth.
When I joined the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1989 as a percussionist, it was also Carolyn Mills' first day as principal harp. I was already a fan of the harp, and we became friends very quickly. After writing a couple of pieces for her, she commissioned me to write From Forgotten Forests – which was really my first chance to write a piece that would become part of the harp repertoire.
This work had two rather eyebrow-raising early showings – the premiere was at Wellington Zoo and one of the subsequent performances was on a cruise liner in Antarctica.
In my experimentations to bring out sonorities that I hadn't heard from the harp before, I started imagining a walk in an ancient forest inhabited by extinct birds, their unfamiliar and long-forgotten calls filling the air.
"...it has a sense of wandering discovery which is both disturbing and beautiful."
