The Pohutukawa Stands
Peter Meechan
Ensemble: Wind Orchestra
Grade: 4
Duration: 04:45
Year of Composition: 2011
Publisher: Peter Meechan
Year of Publication: 2013
Publisher Catalog Number: PMM083
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Publisher, Purchase
Links:
Piccolo
Flutes 1,2
Oboe
Bassoon
B♭ Clarinets 1,2,3,4 (4th doubling E♭ Alto Clarinet)
B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ Alto Saxes 1,2
B♭ Tenor Sax
E♭ Baritone Sax
B♭ Trumpets 1,2,3
F Horns 1,2,3,4
Trombones 1,2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Double Bass
Percussion (3 players): Timpani, Tubular Bells, Vibraphone
Dedicated to the lives lost in the Christchurch earthquake.
Adapted by the composer in 2013, from the original work for brass band.
Program Notes:
The earthquake that hit Christchurch in February 2011 took the lives of 181 people. Being asked to write this work in their memory was an honour, but I didn’t want it to simply be performed as a memorial. I wanted to compose a work that conveyed the sadness and grief for those lost – a work of remembrance – but also a piece of music that represented peace, hope and strength.
The title and dedication come direct from the commissioners of the work, Woolston Brass Band. The Pohutukawa trees stay standing and secure, defiant of the earthquake, in Christchurch’s "Garden City", and they also have special significance beyond their physical appearance. According to Maori mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife to leap off the headland, climb the roots of the 800 year-old Pohutukawa tree, and descend to the underworld to return to their traditional homeland of Hawaiiki-a-nui, using the Te Ara Wairua, the "Spirits’ pathway".
(Peter Meechan)
