Published by the Australian Music Centre, 2008 Paperback ISBN 9780909168650
This new collection of essays tackles an often mentioned but surprisingly little analysed topic. It consists of eighteen refereed papers by prominent composers, artists and academics, divided into three broad sections: Buddhist and Judaic-Christian Overtones – Traditional Asian-Pacific Culture and European Avant-Garde Influences; Pacific Corporeality and Metaphysical Experience – performance-Based Creation and Traditional Asian-Pacific Influences; and Pacific-Inspired Performative-Educative Creativity – Asian-Pacific Music and the Physicality of Performance and Education.
The editors have summarised this three-part exploration of identity even further. The three aspects are (1) free vibrating metal resonances reference gong ensembles of the Asia-Pacific region; (2) SE Asian and by extension Asia-Pacific interpretation of time is metaphysical but arising from a specific place; and (3) a Pacific eclectic attitude underpins the creativity of the region often grounded in a dual awareness of place and global Western culture.
The subjects of individual essays range from the use of Asian-Pacific musics in composition in the primary school classroom, to reinterpreting shakuhachi traditions in a contemporary music context and even microtonality and unusual tunings. There are also many articles focusing on specific works by Australian composers, including Ross Edwards (such as Edwards’s own essay “Etymalong and the Search for Spiritual Identity”, and Paul Stanhope’s “Ross Edwards’s Reflections for Piano and Percussion”), Clare Maclean and Andrian Pertout, as well as texts written from a performer’s perspective.
The essays were written as part of a practice-based research project, realised in collaboration with the Aurora festival (with Dr Michael Hindson overseeing) and co-ordinated by the University of Western Sydney. The research was also conducted through the Australian Music Centre’s online publication Resonate, through Publications by Wirripang scores, and ABC Classic FM broadcasts. Each essay whilst quite short is well referenced and a substantial bibliography is useful.
Whilst most of the writing is in a highly academic vein, the keen teacher or student will be engaged by the depth of the information available, and will find new ideas perhaps never explored before. It is a revelation of the complexities in our surrounding cultures and its impact on the music here in the Asia-Pacific region.
Peter Sculthorpe has said “I could never have dreamed that a book upon this important subject would one day be published here. I treasure it.”