Te Tai-O-Rehua translates from Māori language as 'The Tasman Sea' – the turbulent body of water that separates New Zealand from Australia. The piece was commissioned by the Goldner Quartet and Chamber Music New Zealand and as such is a testament to the sibling relationship our two countries have.
After some thought, I realised that I was writing about the sea (as I so often do) and an analogy of the body of water, being the only thing that separates us, came to me.
String quartet music is where I started. One of my first professional commissions I wrote in 1993, as part of my residency with Chamber Music New Zealand, was my first string quartet. String quartet has always been one of my favourite media to work in, as I love the possibility for "discussion" between the players in the music. It's like a really interesting dinner party for four people! I feel that I've now come full circle by writing another string quartet for CMNZ 20 years later with another dark and rhythmic piece about the turbulent water that surrounds New Zealanders.
In Te Tai-O-Rehua, I have used an unusual scale built out of minor thirds and minor seconds which, contributes to the dark mood of the piece. The melodies are very rhythmically-constructed with irregular phrase lengths to keep it unpredictable.
One of the inevitable things about the process of creating a piece of music is that whatever inspiration you begin with, the piece will ultimately take over and tell you what it is. I intended to write a happy and joyous piece because that's the way I feel about my relationship with Australia and New Zealand, particularly after being a composer in residence for the Australian Music Centre in 2005. The music, however, came out dark, mysterious and edgy.
