NIGEL WESTLAKE’S OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE: A GUIDE FOR PERFORMANCE INCLUDING A BIOGRAPHY OF THE COMPOSER AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE WORK
DOCUMENT
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
The Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the
Graduate School of the Ohio State University
By
Grant B. Dalton, M.M.
*****
The Ohio State University
2006
Dissertation Committee: Approved by
Professor Susan Powell, Adviser
Professor Russel Mikkelson ______
Professor Marc Ainger Adviser Music Graduate Program Copyright by Grant Beckett Dalton 2006 ABSTRACT
This document is an examination of Nigel Westlake’s first marimba quartet,
Omphalo Centric Lecture. The study includes a biography of the professional career of
the composer, an analysis of the work, a study of the many different versions of the work,
and considerations for the performance of the work.
The biographical material was attained primarily through email correspondence
with knowledgeable people and through published interviews with Nigel Westlake.
Some of these knowledgeable people include prominent Australian percussionists, the
composer himself, and his wife, Jan Westlake.
The analysis is a look at the design of the composition. It is primarily focused on
the rhythmic content of the Omphalo Centric Lecture since the piece is so heavily driven by the rhythms. The primary content of this rhythmic drive is created by the use of multiple ostinati of differing lengths used simultaneously to provide the accompaniment to the melody.
The examination of the many variations on this work traces the development of
Omphalo Centric Lecture from its genesis as a trio for bass clarinet and two percussionists to its arrangement as a marimba quartet for the Australian percussion ensemble, Synergy. Since Omphalo Centric Lecture was published in the version for
ii four marimbas, this piece has been arranged for many different configurations of instruments, and it has been arranged for ensembles that vary in size from six or more down to a duo with electronic accompaniment.
The discussion of rehearsal techniques is derived from email correspondence from leading performers of the work and from percussionists who have contributed to the knowledge of this piece. These performers and educators were limited to those that have published comments on the performance of the work and performers who have commercially available recordings of the composition.
iii Dedicated to my wife, Jennifer, and my son, Beckett
iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to thank my adviser, Prof. Susan Powell for her guidance through this project. Her support in this effort is so greatly appreciated especially due to the extra needs that have presented themselves due to the fact that I have written this paper from my home in Birmingham, Alabama. Her time reading and responding to the numerous email messages has not gone unnoticed.
Thanks also go to Dr. Russel Mikkelson and Dr. Marc Ainger for their time and willingness to take on the additional commitment and workload of being a part of my doctoral committee.
I wish to thank my entire family for their support and encouragement with regard to all aspects of my life. My deepest thanks must go to my wife, Jennifer, for her understanding of the time commitment that had to be made toward the completion of this paper.
I also wish to thank all of the accomplished percussionists that assisted with this project. A special acknowledgement must go to Gary France for allowing me to have an advance copy of an interview he did with Nigel Westlake that had great significance with the focus of this paper. I offer my most sincere thanks to Philip South for his willingness
v to take so much of his time to answer questions regarding this work. His intimate knowledge of Omphalo Centric Lecture through his many performances as a member of
Synergy Percussion has proved to be of immense value to this project.
Finally, I wish to offer thanks to Jan Westlake for her ultimate support in the writing of this paper, and for her permission for the use of the musical examples and scores of Omphalo Centric Lecture. This paper simply would not have been possible without her selflessness and her willingness to spend so much time working with me to get so many details of her, and her husband’s, lives correct. The information that she was able to provide, and the encouragement that she gave during the process, were of immeasurable help.
vi VITA
October 10, 1972……………Born – Huntington, West Virginia
1995………………………... B. S. Instrumental Music Education, Lipscomb University.
1998………………………... M.M. Percussion Performance, The Ohio State University.
1999 – 2001 ……………….. Graduate Teaching Assistant, The Ohio State University.
2001 – present………………Instructor of Percussion, Samford University
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Music
vii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………….ii
Dedication ………………………………………………………………………….iv
Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………….v
Vita …………………………………………………………………………………vii
List of Figures………………………………………………………………………x
Chapters:
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………1
2. Biography of Composer Nigel Westlake…………………………………... 4
3. Analysis of Omphalo Centric Lecture……………………………………... 38
4. Versions of Omphalo Centric Lecture……………………………………...74
5. Rehearsal Techniques……………………………………………………… 100
6. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………. 113
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………….. 115
Appendix A…………………………………………………………………………118
Appendix B………………………………………………………………………… 139
viii Appendix C………………………………………………………………………… 161
Appendix D…………………………………………………………………………167
ix LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
3.1 Diagram of the compositional sections of Omphalo Centric Lecture………39
3.2 Composite rhythm of the accents in measures 1 and 2 …………………….40
3.3 Opening rhythmic motif from measures 4 – 8……………………………...41
3.4 Variation of opening rhythmic motif from measures 8 – 12………………. 41
3.5 Example of variation in the melodic line at measure 18……………………41
3.6 Example of melody and stickings from measures 4 – 6…………………… 43
3.7 Example of part 3 measures 45 – 48………………………………………..44
3.8 Example of part 2 measures 53 and 54…………………………………….. 45
3.9 Musical example of parts 2 and 4 from measures 55 – 60………………….46
3.10 Example of the melody contained in parts 1 and 3 in measures 61 – 65……48
3.11 Example of parts 3 and 4 beginning at measure 69…………………………49
3.12 Example of the original melody beginning in measure 72………………… 50
3.13 Example of the variation of the melody beginning in measure 96………….50
3.14 Musical example of parts 3 and 4 measures 128 – 131……………………. 51
3.15 Musical example of part 1 from measures 140 and 141…………………… 52
3.16 Musical example of part 1 from measures 143 and 144…………………… 52
3.17 Musical example of part 1 in measures 146 – 148………………………….53
x 3.18 Musical example of part two measures 155 – 157………………………….54
3.19 Musical example of part four from measures 158 and 159………………... 55
3.20 Musical example of parts one and four from measures 158 – 160………… 56
3.21 Musical example of parts one, two, and four from measures 161 and 162…57
3.22 Musical example of parts one and three from measures 166 and 167………58
3.23 Musical example of part two from measures 166 and 167………………… 58
3.24 Musical example of part four from measures 166 and 167…………………58
3.25 Musical example of part two from measure 176……………………………60
3.26 Musical example of part one from measures 172 – 174…………………… 60
3.27 Musical example of part three measure 178……………………………….. 61
3.28 Example of parts two and four from measure 178………………………….62
3.29 Example of parts one and three from measure 180…………………………63
3.30 Example of parts one and three from measures 183 and 184……………… 64
3.31 Example of the variation in parts one and three at measures 187 and 188…64
3.32 Example of parts one and three from measures 193 and 194……………… 65
3.33 Solo melodic line from measures 195 – 197………………………………. 65
3.34 Musical example of all four parts from measures 206 and 207…………….67
3.35 Example of broken ostinato patterns from parts one and three from measures 224 – 228…………………………………………………………68
3.36 Musical example of parts one and three from measures 227 – 229………...69
3.37 Solo melodic line from measures 231 – 239………………………………..70
3.38 All four parts from measures 245 – 247…………………………………… 72
xi 5.1 Timothy Jones’s instrument arrangement…………………………………. 101
5.2 Alternate instrument setup…………………………………………………. 102
5.3 Tracy Wiggins’s instrument setup…………………………………………. 103
xi CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Omphalo Centric Lecture (published 1984) by Nigel Westlake is not only one of the most popular works for marimba ensemble, but it has become one of the most often performed musical compositions in all of percussion literature. In spite of this notoriety, there has not been a published study of this piece. As a proof of the popularity of this composition, one should consider the number of times in which it has been performed as a part of a showcase concert at the annual Percussive Arts Society’s International
Convention. Over the thirty-year history of featured ensembles presenting concerts at
PASIC, Omphalo Centric Lecture has been performed five times. This puts it in the same class as other masterworks such as Helble’s Diabolic Variations, Christopher
Rouse’s Ogoun Badagris, and Tom Gauger’s Gainsboro. In fact, the only work that has been performed at more conventions is John Cage’s Third Construction. 1 One must also
consider that Omphalo Centric Lecture did not exist for nearly the entire first decade of this convention.
1 Scott Cameron. “PASIC Percussion Ensembles: A Historical Overview.” Percussive Notes. April 2006, 58-64.
1 Omphalo Centric Lecture has sold over 1,300 copies as of 2006 even though the work has never been actively marketed by Rimshot Music, the Westlakes’ publishing company. It has been recorded by many percussion ensembles from all over the world, and, because of these numerous recordings, many groups attempt to put their own unique stamp on the work by creating different versions of the work. 2
Westlake has stated that he does not mind groups taking his composition and manipulating it to suit the ensemble’s personality so long as it is done in the spirit of the piece. 3 Some of the versions make subtle alterations to the work; however, some of the newer versions make drastic alterations to it. Some ensembles simply alter the number of marimbas that they use to perform the piece. This only requires the shifting of octaves in a few select places in the work. Some groups make such dramatic changes as to perform it with only two players. This necessitates the addition of a digitally created accompaniment to perform parts of the work that simply cannot be covered by two performers.
Email correspondence was the primary method used to obtain unpublished information for this paper. Due to the distance between the author and Nigel and Jan
Westlake a face-to-face interview was not possible. Email was chosen not only because of the cost savings versus phone calls but because it allowed the responder to have adequate time to carefully consider his or her responses. This allows for more accurate information, and it allows for greater insight due to the additional time for reflection.
2 Jan Westlake. email to the author, January 25, 2006.
3 Gary France, email to the author, February 20, 2006.
2 The people who were sought out for their input for this paper were asked because of their unique knowledge of the work and/or their knowledge of Nigel Westlake’s professional biography. Many of the percussionists from whom information was requested have made commercially available recordings of Omphalo Centric Lecture.
The process of recording the piece gives these performers a valuable insight into the intricacies of the composition, and it means that these performers had to make decisions regarding the performance of the piece that they intended to publish. Others were asked to make comments regarding the work because they had shown to have some special insight into the performance of it from their writings that were published on the Internet regarding Omphalo Centric Lecture.
In addition to this email interaction, published interviews of Nigel Westlake were also used to create the biographical information. These interviews came from multiple sources, and many of them came from live interviews that were done for various radio shows or for program notes for orchestras located primarily in Australia. Because so much of the information came of live interviews, there were periodically discrepancies in the dates of some events. In any of these rare cases where dates for an event disagreed, the date that was supplied by Jan Westlake via an email that contained a concise timeline of events was used as the definitive date.
3 CHAPTER 2
BIOGRAPHY OF COMPOSER NIGEL WESTLAKE
Australian composer and performer Nigel Westlake has enjoyed a widely varied
musical career. This career has included both playing the clarinet with such esteemed
ensembles as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and The Australia Ensemble and
composing art music that has been performed by ensembles such as the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra, Synergy Percussion, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the
London Symphony Orchestra as well as composing music for films such as Babe and five
IMAX films by director John Weiley including Antarctica and Solar Max.
This chapter is a biography of Nigel Westlake; however, it is not meant to be a comprehensive biography. Instead, it is meant to present basic information regarding his musical career and provide a general knowledge regarding the life experiences that have influenced his musical compositions.
Nigel Westlake is the son of two professional musicians: Donald, the principal clarinetist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for eighteen years, and Heather, one of the first female violinists with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Nigel Westlake was born in Perth, but the family moved to Melbourne fairly soon after his birth. The family
4 stayed in Melbourne since his father was the bass clarinetist with the Melbourne
Symphony Orchestra for a few years before he was awarded the principal clarinet position with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. This opportunity necessitated a move to
Sydney, which is where Nigel Westlake spent his formative years. These years were comprised of some rather divergent musical experiences. At the age of ten, Westlake showed interest in learning the clarinet, so his father agreed to begin teaching him. At the same time, Westlake began singing with the St. James Choir in Sydney. As a teenager he formed his first “garage” band called Eggs Benedict. This group performed anywhere they could, and they did original compositions as well as “covers” of songs by Frank
Zappa, King Crimson, and Genesis. 4 Westlake would later comment on how rock music influenced him to compose music.
It was Frank Zappa and ‘The Mothers of Invention’ who initially kicked off my interest in composition. I used to think that if this bloke Frank was able to get away with such musical ratbaggery and even make a living from it, then maybe there’d be a place for me to try some of my own noodles. I formed a band and we transcribed some of Zappa’s recordings and also wrote some original pieces. Of course, once you start experimenting, it opens your ears up to everything and I soon found myself listening to music in a completely different way. 5
The early days of his clarinet study were not like so many other young children who take up an instrument simply for fun. His experience was much more businesslike from the beginning. Westlake reminisced about his father’s influence in a radio conversation with Peter Thompson on The Wisdom Interviews:
4 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
5 Jillian Graham. “Collaboration in Creation – an Interview with Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
5 He [Donald Westlake] was very strong about his values and when I embarked on music, he said ‘Well, you do it properly or you don’t do it at all’ and I had to adhere very much to a rigorous practice routine and then when I embarked on that as a career he was very strict about practicing for hours a day and we had several lessons a week because I left school early to pursue this career as a clarinetist.
Westlake’s passion for the instrument grew from more than the prodding of his father.
He was also taken with his father’s passion for the instrument and the joy that others received from hearing him play. After listening to a concert at Town Hall, featuring
Donald Westlake performing on the Copland Clarinet Concerto at the Sydney Proms and hearing the response of the audience to that performance, Westlake dedicated himself to being a musician. As Westlake recalled this performance,
The Hall was absolutely packed with people and it was at that moment that I said ‘That is what I want to do.’ That is just so cool, to get up in front of all those people and play absolutely note perfect performance of such a beautiful piece of music. So I kind of had this agenda but yet it was a struggle for me at certain periods to get off my arse and kind of get to work and there were several periods where he [Donald Westlake] had to crack the whip and get behind me and really say, ‘I’m going to pull the plug on all this if you don’t get your act together.’ For that I’m grateful. 6
Westlake further discusses the impact that the playing ability of his father had on him in an article that appeared in the program notes of a concert he conducted with the
Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He stated,
My father would prepare his performances at home for many hours, and I would always keep an ear on what he was practicing. It was a revelation for me at the final rehearsal or concert to hear the clarinet part fitting into the musical tapestry with the other various types. He played concertos with great authority. The sound flowed from the bell of his clarinet like honey, and the way the audience was enveloped by the spell of the music
6 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
6 seemed quite magical. These were moments of great pride for me and my ambition was to become a musician just like him, although initially he tried to talk me out of this. His performances of the clarinet concerto by Aaron Copland are indelibly printed upon my memory, and his work remains very close to my heart. When I left school early to study the clarinet full time with my father, I thought I had finally made the grade when at last I was deemed good enough to study ‘The Copland’. 7
Westlake did go on to learn the intricacies of the clarinet; however, he was searching for something more than technical proficiency or basic musicianship. He strove to play the masterworks that had been written for the instrument, and it was these masterworks that spurred him to eventually create his own music.
When I was still learning the clarinet from my father, I wanted to somehow find a way of interpreting the great pieces I was learning at that time, such as the concertos by Mozart, Weber, Copland and others, with a deeper sense of insight. I thought maybe one way of doing that is to study composition and find out how the composer’s mind ticks, and maybe that would help me imbue these works with a deeper meaning. And so I started writing music for my friends at that time, who were a very diverse band of musicians, from jazz, classical and rock backgrounds. I got them all together in one room and we tried these pieces out and I recorded them. They all got on well and said ‘It sounds great – we should form a band’.
The group did eventually form a band called The Magic Puddin’ Band. 8
To say that the Magic Puddin’ Band was an eclectic group of individuals could certainly be taken as an understatement. Westlake described these personalities and their backgrounds in an interview with Bill Mackay.
I had friends like (percussionist/hand drummer) Greg Sheehan and (violinist) Cleis Pierce who had rejected the classical music scene and came from “McKenzie Theory.” I just plucked Michael Askill straight out
7 Nigel Westlake. “Music that is Important to Me.” Queensland Symphony Orchestra Program Guide, May 1997, 4.
8 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
7 of the SSO [Sydney Symphony Orchestra]. We had the three wind players: myself, Geoff Dodd, who is now principal cor Anglais [English horn] with the MSO [Melbourne Symphony Orchestra], and Jason Morphett, who is a talented bassoonist and has now made quite a name for himself as a high-profile jazz saxophonist. And there was Mark Isaacs on keyboards who is now also well known for his film scores. 9
At the urging of Jan Loquet Westlake, Nigel’s wife, the Magic Puddin’ Band applied for a grant and received $5000 for a tour that was to last for three months. Those three months turned into three years. The band would best be described as a “fusion” band, or a band that combines aspects of jazz and rock, but the eclectic nature of the ensemble’s personnel caused some changes to take place within the group. The classically trained musicians, who normally rely heavily on written music, began to do more improvising, and the jazz musicians began to enjoy the notated music. This convergence of talents and personalities provided Westlake with, as John Meyer put it, “a fertile ground for his musical ideas.” 10 This was an opportunity for Westlake to try new ideas and to refine his early compositional skills.
Through his work with the Magic Puddin’ Band, Westlake began to attract attention throughout Australia, and this following led to some commissions for musical works. These commissions came from several sources such as the circus, radio, and theatre. 11
9 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
10 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
11 Jan Loquet Westlake. “What is Rimshot Music? – Self-publish & Flourish.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
8 While Westlake was composing and performing with The Magic Puddin’ Band
he, along with three other members of The Magic Puddin’ Band, was asked to form a
band to accompany the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, a circus in which children are the
performers. 12 The circus was so well received that it has gone on to have many tours,
and it has opened a selective secondary school that focuses on the performing art of
circus. Westlake was with this group for three years, and during this time he was able to
tour Canada with the ensemble. 13 Eventually, he was asked to compose a few pieces for that ensemble. During this time with the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, the Nanjing Acrobats came to Australia to, in part, tutor the young circus members. Westlake was also asked to compose some music for the acrobats’ performances in Australia. 14 In this way
composition gradually became a major factor in Westlake’s musical career. 15
In addition to his interest in composition, Westlake had a desire to play non-
western music. He had the opportunity to fulfill this dream in 1982 when he joined
drummer Greg Sheehan’s ensemble, Utungan Percussion, as the bass drummer. Westlake
had hoped for an opportunity like this since age twelve when his grandmother took him
to a concert to hear the Indian sarod performer Ali Akbar Khan with Zakir Hussien
12 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
13 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
14 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
15 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
9 playing tabla drums. He was very taken with the concert, and after that concert he harbored a desire to study tabla. This concert opened his eyes and ears to non-western music. 16 Unfortunately, Westlake had to leave Utungan Percussion due to an illness. 17
In 1982 Westlake also took a formal course in composition for film at The
Australian Film and Television School. 18 His mother recommended the class after she had seen an advertisement that called for composers to attend a film music workshop in which the participants would be tutored by Bill Motzing, Tommy Tycho, Michael Carlos, and George Dreyfus. Nigel applied for the eight-week course and was accepted. Each of the participants was matched with a mentor, and Westlake was paired with Bill Motzing.
The basic structure of the course was that each of the eight pupils was to compose a score to the same film, and the course concluded with everyone watching that film with each of the different musical scores. One of the people in attendance at the viewing was Jim
McCarthy, the Head of Music at Film Australia. He was quite impressed with the score that Westlake had composed over the course of the eight-week session and immediately offered him work composing for documentaries. Over the course of the next several years, Westlake would work on many documentaries, and he was able to make many connections in the film industry. Westlake continued to engage Bill Motzing even after
16 Nigel Westlake. “Music that is Important to Me.” Queensland Symphony Orchestra Program Guide, May 1997, 4.
17 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
18 Jan Loquet Westlake. “What is Rimshot Music? – Self-publish & Flourish.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
10 the completion of the course; however, in many ways Westlake became his own primary teacher as he gained “on the job” experience. 19 This led to a new source of work: film and television.
The following year, 1983, Westlake took some time to further his clarinet studies.
To do this, he traveled to Holland and studied the bass clarinet with Harry Sparnaay, one of the world’s leading performers and teachers of the bass clarinet. While he was in
Holland, he also furthered his study of composition with lessons from Theo Loevendie.
Loevendie began his performing career in jazz, and this was also a very strong influence for Westlake. Another key element in this relationship was that Loevendie was closely associated with the modern classical movement because of his use of tonality. 20
Westlake also shares this philosophy that music should be written for the enjoyment of the listener. He is “simply finding ways of putting notes together in a manner that is somehow aesthetically pleasing.” He goes on to say, “So much energy has been spent on turning audience alienation into an art form, composers have only themselves to blame.”21 One of the great influences on Westlake’s desire for a pleasing aesthetic was his mother. In his interview with Peter Thompson, Westlake recalled a shared moment with his mother where she emphasized this to him. “I think it was before…my first appearance as a soloist, when I think I was playing the Weber Concerto with the Lane
19 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
20 “Theo Loevendie – Biography.” Peermusic. http://www.peermusic- classical.de/loevendie2_e.htm.
21 Jillian Graham. “Collaboration in Creation – an Interview with Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
11 Cove Symphony. She took hold of my shoulders and that was the most intense and most passionate thing I’ve ever heard her say. She looked into my eyes and said, ‘Music must always be beautiful.’ I always think of that moment, it’s echoing in my mind whenever I work.” 22
When Westlake returned from his studies with Loevendie and Sparaay in Holland, he formed a trio with percussionists Michael Askill and Grahme Leak called
“Touchwood.” It was for this instrumentation, bass clarinet and two percussionists, that
Westlake composed Omphalo Centric Lecture. 23
October 17, 1983 was a very significant day for Nigel and Jan Westlake. It was both the day their first son, Joel, was born, and it was the day that Nigel was offered his first commission. This commission was from Film Australia for the motion picture
Marathon, a documentary about Cliff Young, a 61 year-old farmer who runs the
Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Marathon, which is an 875 kilometer footrace. 24
Omphalo Centric Lecture was published in 1984. This published version, for marimba quartet, is Westlake’s first published work, and it demonstrates many of the techniques that he eventually developed as his signature sound. The most important of these compositional techniques is the use of polymetric ostinati that do not necessarily fit evenly into the time signature. Omphalo Centric Lecture is Westlake’s most purchased
22 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
23 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
24 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
12 work, as it has sold hundreds of copies. It is also his most recorded work with more than ten recordings of the work available. 25 Many music critics or musicologists categorize this work as minimalist; however, Westlake denies that the composers of the “Minimalist
School” had any effect on his music. When Westlake was asked about the effect that minimalism had on his compositions for the Magic Puddin’ Band, he responded that at that time he did not know of Steve Reich’s music. Years later he credits the music of
Africa as having some influence on his compositions, and the fact that his works have some type of minimalist slant to them is due largely to the fact that rock music and minimalism have roots in African music. 26
When Bill Mackay questioned Westlake about any direct influence that Steve
Reich or Philip Glass have had on his musical compositions now that he knows their work, he stated that he does not wish to emulate either musician and they have had no real effect on his music:
I can’t stand Philip Glass. I find his work incredibly cold and mechanical. You would never know that there were live performers, it just sounds like sequenced lines. I don’t like a lot of Steve Reich’s music either, although some of it’s very warm and communicates something to me. I’m not actively seeking to associate myself with the minimalist school. As a composer I’m totally untrained – working on intuition I instinctively go to the piano and play repetitive patterns. 27
25 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
26 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
27 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
13 One of the people that Westlake credits with influencing his use of rhythms, such as those used in Omphalo Centric Lecture, is Greg Sheehan. Sheehan often uses sixteenth notes that are grouped into varying lengths, and Westlake has borrowed this idea from him for many of his compositions. Of course this is a technique that is occasionally utilized in the compositions of the composers of the Minimalist School, but, according to Westlake, Sheehan’s major influence was the music of Africa. 28 “I learned a lot working with Greg, he would whip out all these African albums and explain how the rhythms worked. He really took my hand and led me through this amazing world of music that I hadn’t been exposed to previously…. Having my eyes opened to that music, by such an enthusiast of this particular sound world really inspired a lot of my ideas in percussion, and I think Omphalo came out of that for sure.” 29 With regard to the continual comparison of his musical compositions to the music of the Minimalist composers Westlake states, “I see the minimalism link as a storm in a teacup. As Boulez says, ‘Minimalist music is minimal.’ There’s not much substance – it’s nice to listen to… I recognize that my music is not overly concerned with content. It basically draws upon unadventurous harmonic and melodic principles and tries to be interesting rhythmically.” 30
28 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
29 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
30 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
14 Also in 1984, Westlake was awarded third prize from the Jazz Action Society in
1984 for his work, Onomatopoeia. 31 This work for solo bass clarinet utilizes digital
delay and some extended clarinet techniques. Westlake had been introduced to Dutch
music when he traveled to Holland, and he found that the Dutch style of music
incorporated many effects such as circular breathing, slap tonguing, flutter tonguing,
multiphonics, and the performance of high tones that extended the range of the bass
clarinet to five octaves. He felt that these were all interesting techniques, and so
Onomatopoeia was composed as an effort to bring these techniques together. 32 In that same year Westlake reformatted the Magic Puddin’ Band as a Trio with Cleis Pearce on electric viola and Greg Sheehan on percussion. 33
Westlake arranged Omphalo Centric Lecture for Synergy Percussion in 1985.
This version for four players on two marimbas has been performed by Synergy over one
hundred times. This version would later be further altered by Synergy to add ethnic
percussion. This allowed the ensemble to put their unique stamp on the work, and it
allowed all six members of Synergy to perform on their signature piece. 34 In 1985,
Westlake and his wife Jan also purchased some land in St. Albans, NSW, and they began
31 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
32 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
33 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
34 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
15 building their home in St. Albans. This town is roughly one hundred kilometers from
Sydney. Westlake was also awarded the first prize from the Jazz Action Society for his composition Our Mum was a Waterfall, a chamber ensemble work with tape. 35
In 1986 Westlake was awarded a position with the Australia Ensemble. This was
Westlake’s first “regularly paid job.” 36 The ensemble is based at the University of New
South Wales and after the departure of their original clarinetist, Murray Khoori,
Westlake’s father, Don, had been filling in with them. Eventually the group began looking for a full-time clarinetist, and Westlake was invited to audition for the group.
“They were trying-out various people and they asked me along to do an audition, and much to my disbelief I got offered the job, and it was a wonderful experience. I toured with them around the world and also throughout Australia and performed all the great classical works with them, and we commissioned quite a lot of new Australian compositions by various Australian composers, so it was a great experience working with them.” 37 While Westlake was a part of The Australia Ensemble, the group visited the
USA, United Kingdom, Europe, Russia, Japan, China, India, Korea, and New Zealand. 38
35 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
36 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
37 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
38 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
16 His years with the Australian Ensemble were productive years. Westlake’s performing
career was solidified, and the call for new compositions quickly became a second full-
time job. 39
In addition to composing a film score for the movie Candy Regntag in 1987,
Westlake was very productive with his works for percussion. He wrote two works for percussion instruments, both of which utilized electronics, and both of which were written for Synergy. 40 The first was Moving Air. This work for percussion quartet
features two players who each play on a set of six drums, and two other players that
utilize small multi-percussion setups. The piece uses a highly rhythmic and stereophonic
prerecorded “tape” part that functions as the fifth performer. This prerecorded part also
allows for some visual performance with the addition of snapping sounds and hissing
sounds. These sounds are notated in the performance parts of the four live performers;
however, there is no way for them to actually be heard snapping their fingers or hissing,
so those sounds are on the tape. This gives the visual cue from the performers, but the
sound that is heard in the audience is actually that of the tape.
Later that year Westlake expounded on his earlier composition, Onomatopoeia,
by using the digital delay in his new work for solo marimba and drums, Fabian Theory. 41
This work uses many of the same techniques that Westlake had utilized in
39 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
40 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
41 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
17 Onomatopoeia. These include the use of digital delay and sound looping. He also uses an extended technique for marimba in that he requires the performer to play a significant portion of the work with five mallets. The performer must hold two mallets in the left hand and three mallets in the right hand. The title of this work is a reference to the delay tactics used in battle by the Roman dictator Fabius Maximus. 42
Westlake’s use of the digital delay was developed when he was a teenager. The
Roland SDE 3000 that he used to create Fabian Theory and Onomaopoeia was purchased in 1984. This may still very well be the best delay to use when performing these works, as it is capable of a loop time of 4.6 seconds. Westlake still declares that it is the best value for the money. 43 In fact, as of 2006 he still has a Roland SDE 3000 in his studio.
Although Westlake certainly recommends the old Roland unit that he used to create the work, he also recognizes that this may be an impractical requirement for the performance of this work as these units become increasingly more difficult to find. He encourages performers to find methods of utilizing modern technology to perform this work, and he also helps to disseminate this information by way of his web site, http://www.rimshot.com.au. On this page he catalogs many different suggestions for the successful performance of Fabian Theory. One of the other issues with this work is in
42 Stephen Lalor. “Three Post-1970 Australian Pieces.” Thr Australian Music Centre, Sydney. 1995.
43 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
18 dealing with the issue of “looping” short sequences. This is possible with the use of the
Roland unit; however, there are other solutions to this problem on the webpage as well. 44
In Fabian Theory, the most pressing concern outside of the technological issues has to do with the use of the three mallets in the right hand. Gary France questioned
Westlake about “the subject of holding three mallets in one hand” and after some laughter
Westlake replied, “I have had a few complaints about that (although there are some players who don’t know what all the fuss is about and play it with three anyway!). You’ll notice that this section of the piece was recently revised and I now include an “ossiá” in the published score for those who prefer to play it with two mallets.” 45
Fabian Theory shows, to a small degree, the comfort with which Westlake uses digital effects. In fact, while he was the composer in residence with the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation in 1987, he composed theme music for their radio program,
“Radio National.” He began this compositional process with the use of many synthesizers and with two live performers, Graeme Leak (percussion) and Danny
Mendelow (trumpet).
Up to then I was quite happy with the piece, using a lot of sampled sounds, DX7 sounds and sequences. But then I had the MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) for a three-hour recording session – quite frankly I was shocked at the lack of rhythmic impetus from the orchestra. Many factors contributed to this. Firstly, I was used to hearing 25 synthesizers playing the piece in perfect synchronization. The introduction of human rhythmic imperfections on such a large scale was difficult to come to terms with. 46
44 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
45 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
19 In 1988 Nigel had two compositional opportunities. The first of these was his collaboration with Michael Askill on the four-part documentary Roads to Xanadu. He also composed Entomology, a work for tape and small ensemble. The tape utilizes, as the name of the work suggests, recorded bug sounds. He was also awarded the gold medal at the New York International Radio Festival for Best Original Music for a theme written for ABC radio entitled Cudmirrah Fanfare. 47
Westlake and his wife also finished their home in St. Albans in 1988, and this allowed them to have a studio in their home. Jan explained this move to St. Albans, which is in the Macdonald Valley, as a move to a small rural community that is a long way from the suburbia of Sydney. It is more than fifty miles to the nearest shopping center. For the first several years that they lived there, Westlake was often away performing with the Australian Ensemble. This meant that he was often gone for long periods of time, but it also meant that he was able to spend many weeks at home in between tours. It was during these long periods at home in the country that Westlake became more involved with composition. The family lived in St. Albans until 1997 when they moved into Sydney for the two boys to attend high school. 48
46 Bill Mackay. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
47 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
48 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
20 Westlake composed a work for The Australia Ensemble in 1989. This work was entitled Refractions at Summercloud Bay. 49 This work for five players (violin, viola, cello, flute, bass clarinet) is in four short movements with strong rhythmic and melodic elements. Westlake won the APRA (Australian Performing Rights Association)
“Classical composition of the year” for this work. 50
In 1990 Westlake renewed his connection with Synergy with Malachite Glass.
This work for bass clarinet and percussion ensemble was recorded by Synergy with
Westlake performing the bass clarinet part for the recording. 51 Michael Askill was the impetus for this composition because he wanted to have something that could involve
Westlake with Synergy. Because Westlake composed this work for his performing talents, the bass clarinet part is quite demanding. It resembles Omphalo Centric Lecture in that it often has two percussionist playing ostinati on mallet instruments. The other two performers play on small multi-percussion sets. Westlake recommends that the bass clarinet be amplified to allow it to balance with the percussion instruments. 52
Another film opportunity came in 1990 for Westlake. This was an offer to compose and produce the film score to the IMAX movie Antarctica, a forty minute
IMAX feature film directed by John Weiley. 53 This was the first of several IMAX films
49 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
50 Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
51 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
52 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
21 for which Weiley would employ Westlake. For this first film, which involves such a stark setting, Weiley requested that Westlake create a score that was more edgy than a typical documentary film score. In an interview with John Meyer, Westlake said,
He wanted something that stood up and barked a bit…He fashioned me in a way to write music that I would never have written had he not taken me under his wing. That score, as I look back now, is very elemental, it’s very basic, but in a way it had to be because the medium of IMAX is so overwhelming it actually requires very simple ideas. The orchestration is very raw in a way, because I hadn’t done much orchestration at that stage, but I think he had wanted that anyway, a very earthy and raw approach to orchestration, very percussive elements predominating. 54
Westlake’s original intent for the film Antarctica was to create a guitar solo with orchestra. Weiley did not feel that the guitar sound would be a strong enough force for the movie, so Westlake altered his original plan and used a cello instead of the guitar. 55
The following year, 1991, Westlake had the opportunity to use some of his original sketches for the solo guitar works when he was commissioned to create a guitar concerto for the Australian guitarist John Williams and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra for the occasion of the Australian Broadcasting Commission’s sixtieth birthday celebration.56
Westlake used some of the old material, and he created some totally new material for this guitar concerto. 57
53 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
54 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
55 “Antarctica Suite for Guitar and Orchestra By Nigel Westlake – Lecture 12/02/01.” Association of Music Educators (Vic) Inc, http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/VCE/solo/Westlake_lecutre.pdf.
56 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
22 One of the other works that came about because of Antarctica was the percussion
ensemble composition Penguin Circus. This percussion ensemble work exists exactly as it is scored in the movie.
Well, that section of the score came about because we needed some comic relief in the midst of a very serious scientific documentary. The penguins put on a bit of a show for the cameras, jumping into the water, stealing rocks from each other’s nests, waddling around and so forth, and I decided to support these antics with a very slapstick, incredibly corny, “cartoon- hack” style circus track using xylophones, flexatones, duck calls, wobble boards (to depict the penguin’s rapid head shaking), and so on. To my eternal embarrassment, this piece has gone on to have a life of its own outside of the movie. I cringe whenever I hear it, but I think kids especially get something from playing it. I never really intended for it to become so popular. 58
Westlake’s relationship with the Australia Ensemble lasted for several years, but
in 1992 his work as a composer pulled him from the group. Due to a backlog of
commissions, he had to go to the group and resign his position.
I said to them ‘Look, I’ve got all these films and commissions and I think I’m going to have to leave the group. I just can’t keep practicing every day and keep up this workload.’ And I think they kind of thought that I wouldn’t really make it as a composer, so they kept that job position open for me for a couple of years, and every few months Dene Olding, the violinist, would ring up and say, ‘Well, when are you coming back, we’re still waiting for you.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, I’ve got some more films and I can’t exactly see when.’
57 “Antarctica Suite for Guitar and Orchestra By Nigel Westlake – Lecture 12/02/01.” Association of Music Educators (Vic) Inc, http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/VCE/solo/Westlake_lecutre.pdf.
58 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
23 Eventually the ensemble had to replace Nigel because of the demand for his musical compositions. This was the major turn in his professional career from a full-time performer to a full-time composer. There were certainly several years in which he lived in both worlds; however, the need to compose finally won out. 59
The main reason for leaving the ensemble was that he felt that to continue to perform at such a high level he had to practice every day.
I know some musicians who don’t have a problem with covering this sort of ground, who work well as instrumentalists and who are also able to find the time to compose, but for me to play properly I feel that I have to be playing at my peak and that involves several hours of practice each day, and I really admire instrumental musicians. It’s a real grind sometimes that having to do your long notes and your scales and stuff every day and some players can get away without having to do it, you know, they have this sort of natural ability, but I’m not one of them.
Westlake decided to give up the clarinet temporarily in order to dedicate himself to composition. 60
This same year Westlake also toured with guitarist John Williams’ ensemble,
Attacca, as a composer and performer for tours of the United Kingdom and Australia. 61
He had met Williams a few years earlier while Williams was touring Australia, and this meeting set Westlake’s involvement with Attacca into motion. It was also the impetus
59 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
60 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
61 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
24 for Williams’ eventual connection with the Antarctica Suite for solo guitar with orchestra. Westlake made these tours with John Williams and Attacca; however, after these tours were concluded the ensemble disbanded. 62
In 1993 Westlake was fortunate to have a very interesting commission from the
Bell Shakespeare Company for a new musical score to Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, this commission was interrupted when the Westlake family was in a car accident on the
Sydney Harbour Bridge. An off duty police officer was allegedly driving drunk when he crossed over the center line and straight into oncoming traffic that included the Westlake family. Westlake veered to try to miss him; however, the oncoming car struck
Westlake’s car on the driver side. The force of the accident broke Westlake’s pelvis in four places. John Bell of the Bell Shakespeare Company came to visit Westlake while he was recovering in the hospital. Westlake had been continuing to work on the Romeo and
Juliet project from his hospital bed, but Bell offered to get someone else to write the music. Westlake reasoned that he already had half of it finished and replied to Bell, “No, no, let’s go through the notes and you tell me what you need and I’m going to do it because whether I sit up to work or lie down, I’m in pain so it will help me take my mind off it.” He did go on to finish the work, and he was able to attend the premier; however, he had to attend it in a wheelchair. 63
62 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 13, 2006.
63 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
25 Once Romeo and Juliet was completed, the Westlake family moved to Byron Bay,
a small coastal resort town near the northern border of New South Wales, for Westlake to
study composition with Richard Meale. This study was provided by way of an Australia
Council grant. Westlake was still confined to a wheelchair for the three months that the
family stayed in Byron Bay. During this time Westlake received a call from John
Weiley, the director of the IMAX film Antarctica. He wanted to discuss a new IMAX film called Imagine. By this time Westlake was able to stand with the support of crutches, so he was able to fly to Canada for a week to discuss this new 3D IMAX film.
Upon arrival back in Australia, the family returned to St. Albans. 64
Once he had completed the IMAX feature, Westlake had the freedom of an
artistic commission for the Australian Chamber Orchestra for a composition that was to
be premiered at the Adelaide Festival. This was the first opportunity in quite some time
that Westlake was free to compose without any type of direct oversight from either a film
or theater director. He was, as he put it, “left simply to my devices.” This ended up
being a time of great angst for Westlake as he experienced “the absolute desolation of
having no ideas” for the first time. Westlake searched for anything that could spark his
creativity, but it seemed to have totally disappeared from him. This was an extremely
tiring and shocking period of his compositional career. Up to this point Nigel felt that he
could simply sit down to his keyboard and compose. He had done just that for hours a
64 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 13, 2006.
26 day, but now he had to question his ability. He eventually did find his muse, and he was able to get this commission finished on time. He decided to call the work Out of the
Blue. 65
After having composed two scores for IMAX films, Westlake’s notoriety for his film music began to grow, and he began to see a gradual increase in the number of film and television scores that he was asked to compose. In 1994 these included a four part series that celebrated one hundred years of Australian cinema called Celluloid Heroes, and the score for a feature length film entitled Children of the Revolution. 66
Westlake was not only composing music for film in 1994, he was also quite busy with his art-music as well. He bridged the gap between film and the concert hall with the feature recording of his Antarctica Suite. This was the work he arranged from his film score to the IMAX film Antarctica. This work was recorded with the London Symphony
Orchestra with John Williams as the guitar soloist, and it was released on the Sony
Classical label with the CD title of From Australia. He also composed a new work for
John Williams and his guitar duo partner, Tim Kain, entitled Songs from the Forest. This guitar duet was released on the Sony disk Mantis and the Moon. Westlake also made his first attempt in the string quartet genre with High Tension Wires, which he composed for the Electra String Quartet. 67
65 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
66 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
67 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
27 Westlake’s most widely known film score was completed in 1995. This was the internationally released feature length film, Babe, directed by George Miller. This movie about a small pig that herds sheep won many awards including the APRA music award for Best Film Score in 1996 and the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best
Original Music in 1997. 68 Westlake credits his time working with director George Miller as very formative. “I’ve learnt so much working with different directors, such as George
Miller – a genius film-maker. He likes to become involved in the music process, and in a great amount of detail. You can’t help but learn in those situations, working with him on a day-to-day basis over a period of months. We worked together for two or three months at a time on the scores for the Babe films, so that was very informative.” 69
In the same year, Westlake composed the bass clarinet concerto, Invocations, for the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra. Westlake appeared on the premier of this work as the bass clarinet soloist. 70 He also toured this work with several Australian orchestras in
1996. 71 Prior to this composition, Westlake had been forced to give up the clarinet due to the time commitment of his composing; however, the commission from the Adelaide
Chamber Orchestra and Richard Mills stipulated that Westlake would play the premier,
68 Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
69 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
70 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
71 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
28 so he had to spend several months getting back into playing shape. After Westlake
toured the work throughout Australia, he put the clarinet away again to return to
composition. 72
In 1996 Westlake composed a work for percussion ensemble that combined two
of his most popular formats, music for percussion and music for film. The work, The
Invisible Men, is a percussion quartet written to accompany a silent film by the same name. The work was composed for the Australian percussion group Synergy. 73 The members of Synergy knew of Westlake’s work with film, and so they asked him specifically for a work that utilized a silent movie. Westlake went to the Australian
National Film and Sound Archives in Canberra to do some research, and this is where he came across the film. The Invisible Men is a French silent movie made in 1906, and it contains some of the very earliest efforts at trick photography. Westlake liked the quirky nature of the film, so he chose it for the commission.
The score to The Invisible Men utilizes many traditional percussion instruments such as the traditional mallet instruments and drums, but it also uses many sound effects such as flexatones, whistles, ice bells, and other sound effects. Westlake uses many of these sound effects to directly support the on-screen action. For example, the whistles are used often to mimic the sounds of the actors yelling and talking to each other. He also
72 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
73 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
29 supports a great deal of the on-screen action by use of “Foley” writing, or sound effects that depict the action that is occurring on stage such as doors closing, or windows breaking. 74
To make these sound effects workable, Westlake devised a click-track to keep the performers in synchronization with the film. This click track is contained on the DVD in the form of the soundtrack. This soundtrack is not audible to the audience. It is to be played on some type of personal listening device (headphone, earbud, etc.) for each player. This click track obviously contains a click for the tempo, but it also contains occasional measure numbers as a fail-safe for players who may have lost their place on the music. 75
Westlake also was able to return to the IMAX format again to work with director
John Weiley in his film The Edge. This film showcased The Blue Mountain, the world heritage area that is about 100 km west of Sydney, Australia. 76
After the success of the movie Babe in 1995, Westlake was asked to compose the music to the sequel Babe, Pig in the City, in 1997. This film again featured George
Miller as the director. Also that year Westlake composed the music to the film A Little
Bit of Soul. 77 He won an A.G.S.C. (Australian Guild of Screen Composers) award in the category of “Best Original Music” for his score to this work. 78
74 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
75 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
76 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
30 Westlake composed his first piano sonata in 1998. This piece was composed for
Michael Kieran Harvey, and it won the Jean Bogan Memorial Prize for solo piano
composition. 79 It also won rave reviews in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Westlake has been busy, and highly successful, writing the film scores for the Babe films and there was every reason to fear he might be lost to the low-return business of cutting edge music. Quite the opposite seems to be the case, for his Piano Sonata is an emphatic rejection of the middle-of- the-road populism of movie music. It begins with tumultuous dissonances and steadily works its way towards the kind of rhythmic propulsion for which Westlake’s music is renowned; but it never gets too comfortable. Even in the slow movement, which is a beautiful exploration of sonorities, the questing nature of the composer’s intelligence is clear – and highly exciting. 80
After spending much of the previous two years composing for film, Westlake
returned to art music in 1999 with two compositions, Images, for guitar solo with orchestra, and Oscillations, for the Australian piano duo Australian Virtuosi. 81 Images
was composed for Timothy Kain, and it was later toured, in 2000, by the Australian
Chamber Orchestra with Slava Grigoryan as the guitar soloist. 82
The year 2000 brought the Summer Olympic Games to Sydney, and Westlake’s
work was used many times in the international broadcasts of those games. In addition to
77 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
78 Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
79 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
80 Laurie Strachan. Sydney Morning Herald, January 1998, Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
81 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
82 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
31 the use of his work for the Olympic Games, Westlake composed his symphonic work,
Between Silence and Moonlight for he Symphony Australia of Melbourne. He also completed the Piano Concerto for Michael Kieran Harvey and the Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra. 83
The culmination of the millennium year was Westlake’s work on his most recent
IMAX film, Solar Max. 84 Solar Max touches on many of the different ways in which the sun affects mankind worldwide. It explores the powerful religious, scientific, and historical perspectives of the sun. 85
In 2001 Westlake was asked to return to the Australian Film, Television, and
Radio School. He was hired to run the screen composition department in a temporary capacity. 86
Westlake was back to composing for film in 2002 with two feature length films.
He began with the movie The Nugget, and followed it up with the film Horseplay. 87 As
Westlake’s career turned gradually more toward composing for film, he discussed working in the areas of both film music and concert music in an interview with Gillian
Graham. He stated,
83 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
84 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
85 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
86 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
87 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
32 Even though both strands of composition place a very different set of expectations on the composer, I generally gain a great deal of satisfaction from working in both areas. In contrast to the isolation of composing concert music, film can be a much more collaborative process and working closely with a good film director can be a fascinating experience. They might push your work into areas you wouldn’t normally consider. It can also be gratifying to see your work exploited in such a functional manner. I always hope to emerge from a film with some new skills and try to utilize the experience to try new ideas wherever possible. 88 After spending much of his energy on film music in 2002, Westlake again
returned to art music with his composition Urban Myths for the Macquarie Trio, a piano trio ensemble. He also returned to his work for guitars with Six Fish for the guitar quartet
Saffire, and Jovian Moons for guitar and piano. His largest composition of the year was
an orchestral work entitled Shimmering Blue. This work was composed for Symphony
Australia in Western Australia. 89 Shimmering Blue was a commission for the seventy-
fifth anniversary of this orchestra. Westlake’s work was titled as an honor to the former
principal clarinetist with the orchestra. This clarinetist was Percy Newton, and he was
one of Donald Westlake’s principal teachers on clarinet. Donald Westlake once
described Percy Newton’s playing as having a “shimmering blue tone that rose to a
glittering sliver in the upper register.” 90
After some time away from composing for percussion, Westlake returned to the
genre after being awarded the HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship at the Australian
National University. This fellowship allowed him to revise several of his compositions
88 Jillian Graham. “Collaboration in Creation – an Interview with Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
89 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
90 John Meyer. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
33 including his Piano Concerto and the guitar concerto Images. He was also able to put together an orchestral suite that featured his works for film. His contribution to the percussion repertory from this period is his follow-up to his first marimba quartet,
Omphalo Centric Lecture. This follow-up work is called Kalabash, but it is sometimes referred to as the “Son of Omphalo.” 91 In fact, the original working title was “Son of
Omphalo,” but it was officially changed to Kalabash. This work was written for Gary
France and his ensemble DRUMatiX, and, like Omphalo Centric Lecture, it uses the
African balofone music as a point of departure. This is the musical style that Westlake uses as an inspiration for all of his marimba works. Before he began working on
Kalabash, he specifically listened to the xylophone music of Northern Ghana, Gambia, and Senegal. This is not to say that his music is an attempt to recreate the music from those cultures; it is simply a departure point. Westlake feels that by getting in touch with the heritage of the marimba he creates music that is more enjoyable for the listener.
To me, traditional European harmonic and melodic concepts on the marimba sometimes sound uncomfortable and even occasionally boring; whereas, the traditional repetition-based balofone music seems to make perfect sense. I’m not sure if anyone else shares this idea, but whenever I hear this traditional music, it seems to me to be the source of the sound of the marimba and that’s where my ideas originate. So, I spend some time listening, absorbing the gestures of this tradition. It has such a joyous, festive feel to it. That’s what I try to plug into when I am writing. 92
Gary France had a fair amount of influence over the creation of Kalabash.
Westlake consulted him with regard to the use of the two 5-octave marimbas, the use of
91 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
92 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
34 the four splash cymbals, and the use of the logdrums. The instrumentation is strikingly
similar to that of Omphalo Centric Lecture. Both works utilize logdrums, and both use
the splash cymbals, one in Omphalo and four in Kalabash. Prof. France strongly
encouraged Westlake to compose a work that demands the skill of a professional to be
performed adequately even though it is understood that many university ensembles will
perform this work. 93
Kalabash is also distinctly different from Omphalo Centric Lecture in that
Omphalo is written with a generally straight quarter-note feel and Kalabash is more jazzy. In fact, Kalabash is a shuffle. At one point in the composition process, Prof.
France even made the suggestion that Westlake might want to consider notating the work as a jazz chart that is to be swung. By this he meant that the composer could write straight eighth-notes and the performer would translate this into a swing style. Westlake decided that it would probably be better to notate the music in a more literal manner because this would allow traditional players to feel more comfortable with the score, and it would prove difficult to make the swing notation work due to the simultaneous use of swing and straight rhythms in some sections of the work. 94
Certainly, one of the overriding factors in the compositional process for Westlake
is the use of technology. This came about, in part, due to his relationship with the film
industry.
93 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
94 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
35 Working in the film industry…I am required to deliver to a director very sophisticated, sampled representations of the score as a ‘work in progress’ prior to the final recording with live musicians. So, as a result, I’ve got the latest in sampling technology and sample libraries: the full Vienna Symphony Orchestra library, Larry Seyer Drum Kits, some great marimba / vibraphone samples libraries and so on. I can use these libraries to create a mockup of my orchestral score for any director that I’m working with. Once the director has approved my ‘template’ for the score, the next step is to record it with live musicians. For example, when writing Kalabash the files I played to you (Gary France) in the early stages of composition were generated using a gigasampler and MOTU’s digital performer, just to give you an idea as to where I was heading with the piece. It was very useful to get your feedback and ideas for refining the instrumentation this way. 95
In addition to his work with the HC Coombs Fellowship, through which Kalabash
was created, Westlake was able to compose the score for the television movie Hell Has
Harbour Views in 2004. 96 This movie depiction of the Richard Beasley novel by the same name was aired on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 97
Westlake is currently working on another work for percussion with his first foray
into the percussion concerto genre. This work is for Rebecca Lagos and the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra. 98 He is also composing the score for the Telemovie Stepfather of the Bride. 99
95 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
96 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
97 Hell has Harbour Views. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200501/highlights/248239.htm.
98 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
99 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
36 Nigel Westlake summed up what music means to him and what he would like for his music to say to others when Peter Thompson asked, “What does music bring to the world?” He responded,
It’s different for everybody. Everybody experiences music in their own way, but for me it’s like when I go and write a piece of music, I’m surrounding myself with my own world in a sense. It’s somewhere to escape in a way. It’s something of great consolation. I think that’s what people look for in music. They want to be consoled. People who have a passion for music, they have their favorite composers and their favorite works and they listen to them time and time again and I think that’s interesting because if you like a film you don’t go and look at it again and again and again. But people will keep returning to performances of Beethoven’s symphonies or whatever at least once a year for their whole lives and that’s quite interesting, I think. And it is consolation for me. It’s being able to realize things that are in your head that no one can hear and bring them out into the world and for them to be appreciated is a wonderful feeling. When you feel that a performer has communicated the original intentions of the work in a clear fashion that has been understood by an audience that is a very wonderful feeling. It doesn’t always happen that way but when it does nothing beats it. For me it’s creating your own sacred environment. You’re surrounding yourself with this chasm of beauty and creativity. I can’t imagine life without it. 100
100 Peter Thompson. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
37 CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS OF OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE
The analysis of this work is meant to provide an understanding of how the piece is constructed. The analysis deals primarily with the rhythmic content of the work, but it also explores some of the harmonic ideas as well.
Omphalo Centric Lecture can be divided into roughly six distinct compositional areas. One of these areas is repeated verbatim, but most are repeated with only the basic material remaining the same. These sections are given the distinction of “prime” which is designated by a single apostrophe. The sections of Omphalo Centric Lecture are arranged in the order of A – B – A’ – B – C – D – E – D’ – C’ – F. Many of these sections share common themes such as the use of static harmonic underpinnings with syncopated rhythmic drive; however, they are different enough to signal a distinct change in thought.
38 A B A’ B’ measures 1 - 44 m. 45 - 68 m. 69 - 103 m. 104 - 127
C D E D’ C’ m.128-157 m.158-177 m. 178 - 197 m. 198-215 m.216-228 F m. 229 - 287
3.1 Diagram of the compositional sections of Omphalo Centric Lecture
One of the things often a constant throughout this work is Westlake’s use of deception in
the rhythm to create rhythmic tension. Westlake often utilizes one marimba player in a
manner that creates an unmistakable sense of pulse. He allows the listener enough time
to feel comfortable with this sense of stability when he adds a rhythmic layer that distorts
that feeling of pulse. It is this rhythmic complexity that creates much of the musical
interest in Omphalo Centric Lecture.
One of the other concepts that Westlake uses in Omphalo Centric Lecture is that of timbre to create unexpected changes. He requires that two of the players play on slightly muted instruments while the other two play on instruments that are not muted at all. Late in the work he also uses “dead strokes” (pushing the mallet heads into the marimba bar with no release) to create a muted sound. He then gradually removes this dead sound to create a timbre that grows over time from a stark muted sound into a full sound that is more typically associated with the marimba. This adds to the effect of climax late in the work. In addition to the four marimbas, Westlake requires three of the
39 players to have an extra instrument. Player one has a splash cymbal; player two must
have three log drums; and player three has a shaker. The splash cymbal and log drums
are used in the E section, and the shaker is utilized in the concluding F section.
Westlake is not a trained composer, and this creates some complexity in the
analysis of his harmonies. He stated in an interview with Prof. Gary France of the
Australian National University,
For me (composition) is almost a subliminal process. I don’t know where the ideas come from, but I spend time trying to develop riffs and rhythmic inventions and then play with them – shuffling them around and trying to fit them into the bigger scheme of things. I go through a lot of ideas when I’m writing. I throw a lot of things out… I have to feel really comfortable with the groove that I’m working with. It doesn’t matter what the piece is, whether it’s a piano concerto, a percussion work, or a film score. You’ve got to feel good about the instrumentation and, you know, the tempo and feel just have to ‘click’ somehow, and when you’re on that track it becomes a stream of conscience-ness…the notes almost write themselves. Ideas flow, you’re in an environment where you can comfortably develop and use the ideas as stepping-stones to other ideas, and the piece just organically grows. 101
The first four measures of Omphalo Centric Lecture introduce the opening ostinato. This ostinato functions as a pedal tone throughout the opening A-section. The ostinato is also a contributor to the natural stress and release of the section. The opening beat and a half of each 2/4 measure contains a minor seventh that resolves to a perfect octave on the last eighth note of the measure. It is also significant to mention that the two parts have a composite accent pattern built into them. This accent pattern
101 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
40 3.2 Composite rhythm of the accents in measures 1 and 2 leans heavily toward the syncopation of the lower part due to the dynamic marking of f in part four as opposed to the mf that exists in part three’s accented upbeats. This is a rhythmic pattern that is very typical in calypso music, and it gives the music a syncopated drive.
The first melodic idea enters on the last eighth note of the fourth measure. This entrance is marked as “solo” in the score. At all points where there could be any question as to which part contains the most important melodic material, the composer uses this marking to remove any question. In this case the melodic idea is little more than a short motif that is used in high repetition at a fairly slow rate of harmonic change. For example, the opening motivic idea is repeated from the end of measure four to the end of measure twelve with almost no variation. In fact, the only change that does occur is a rhythmic variation that occurs in the penultimate repetition of the motif in measure ten.
This variation creates a moment of interest. Again the composer has created something that almost instantly becomes predictable to the listener, and he alters it slightly just as the listener gains a sense of security in the motivic pattern.
41 3.3 Opening rhythmic motif from measures 4 – 8
3.4 Variation of opening rhythmic motif from measures 8 – 12
The above variation is repeated throughout the A-section; however, Westlake does have one other variation that only occurs once in the entire section. This variant occurs in measure 18 when the expected accents should be on the first two eighth notes of the measure. Westlake uses a delay tactic to again give the listener a change of pace. In measure 18 the accented melodic notes are on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the first beat.
3.5 Example of variation in the melodic line at measure 18
The motivic harmonic pattern that Westlake uses at the beginning of the work is a simple three-note idea. The primary tonality note is the lowest of the three. This note is used as a drone under the syncopated rhythm of the upper two notes. This lower note fills in all of the sixteenth note gaps left in the accented rhythm mentioned above. The
42 short motivic idea begins anew on the last eighth note of the even numbered measures.
The upper note, the first of the two notes, is always a perfect fourth above the drone, and it always resolves into the second note that is a major third above the same drone. This four-three resolution is a strong harmonic shift, and it is consistent throughout the A- section. The tonality does shift regularly, but the relationship of the three notes involved does not change.
Most of the stickings that are required of the marimba one player are fairly obvious due to the configuration of the instrument and the accented notes. All accented notes may be performed with the right hand. The question of sticking comes when the unaccented notes are considered. It is commonly accepted among percussionists that doubling, or playing two sequential notes with the same hand, is an acceptable method of performance practice; however, it is also fairly commonly accepted that tripling, playing three notes with the same hand, should be avoided if possible. In this section the player should avoid tripling. The notes that are to be played are close enough together not to warrant tripling. The way to avoid tripling is to strictly alternate hands when the same note is written more than two times sequentially.
3.6 Example of melody and stickings from measures 4 - 6
43 The B-section of the work begins on the downbeat of measure 45. The change of style is sudden, but this is similar to the composer’s earlier use of sudden change to create interest. In this section the composer uses odd rhythmic groupings to veil the meter of the work. The work shifts from the opening time signature of 2/4 to 3/4 at the section change; however, the third marimba part begins a repeated pattern at the section change that is written in 3/4 but sounds as if it is in 7/8. This means that the pattern begins on the downbeat of measure 45 and then elides the barline of 46 to begin again on the second eighth note of that measure. This continues until this 7/8 motif abruptly comes to an end at the end of measure 54.
3.7 Example of part 3 measures 45 - 48
While the 7/8 motif is being played at mf in the marimba three part, the marimba two part is playing a marked solo section that requires three mallets. This solo part is extremely static with regard to its harmonic material as it is comprised of simply an “a” that is played with the left hand and octave “b’s” that are played with the right hand.
There are no marked accents in the second player’s part until measure 53; however, the octave “b’s” create the sense of an accent since the upper “b” is an octave above the
44 range of either part. In measure 53 the solo part begins a short descending 5/16 pattern, even though the written meter of the measure is still 3/4. This 5/16 pattern elides the barline at measure 55 and leads into a series of rapidly changing time signatures.
3.8 Example of part 2 measures 53 and 54
Beginning in measure 55, marimba three rests and marimba two is changed to a
“non solo” part even though the basic texture of the material in that part is the same as before. This change occurs to allow the marimba four part the dynamic space to become the solo part. This is the beginning of a six measure musical idea that still loosely fits into the same structure as the B section. These six measures are, in fact, building up to one of the early climax points of the work. These measures change time signatures every measure from 11/16 to 3/8, 2/4, 11/16, 7/16, and finally 3/4. Marimba two is still playing the same octave idea as before; however, now there is a written accent on the downbeat of each of these measures. This same accent exists in the solo melodic part as well. This helps to drive the sense of imbalance that is desired for this small section, and it makes its climax into the seemingly stable 3/4 time signature even stronger.
45 3.9 Musical example of parts 2 and 4 from measures 55 - 60
After these two parts have passed through so many time signatures in such quick succession, the parts suddenly drop to a piano dynamic at the beginning of measure 60.
Measure 60 is key to setting up the climactic point since it is so heavily encumbered with a sense of quarter-note pulse. The rhythm, which had been designed to sound so insecure in the previous five measures, now dictates six even eighth notes that crescendo from piano to fortissimo in part two. This sets up measure 61, which is the first time in the piece where all four players are playing simultaneously. Part two continues with the octave rhythmic idea; however, the accent pattern that is written implies a 7/16 rhythmic pattern even though the actual time signature is 3/4. The bass part is written in a similar manner, but the accent pattern in it is a two-measure syncopated accent pattern in 3/4.
Parts one and three have the melodic content of this section, which is played in octaves and is extremely syncopated. This musical idea ends in much the same manner as the previous section, whereby the melodic idea vanishes into the next compositional section.
46 Rhythmically, the last sub-section of B, measures 61 through 68, is very rich with texture. The bass part’s accents sound very syncopated; however, these accents occur in a simple two measure pattern, so the overall rhythmic pattern is easily described by the time signature of 3/4. Against this regularly reoccurring syncopation of the bass line,
Westlake lays a 7/16 rhythmic pattern that is grouped as 2-2-3. These two parts (2 and 4) combine to create a rhythmic screen. They interlock only in that they are both based on sixteenth notes, but, outside of that, they have little to do with each other. This may seem as if it is chaotic in nature; however, the manner in which these two relatively unrelated accent patterns interlock is both beautiful and functional. This complicated interlocking rhythm sets up the presentation of the melody in a very unique manner. The melody is contained in the marimba one and marimba three parts, and these two parts are written in unison at the octave. The melody is primarily based in straight eighth note pulse; however, the eighth notes are not always simply on the downbeat and the upbeat. Often, in fact the majority of the time, these eighth notes occur on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the beat. This movement of the eighth notes on and off of the beat again shows how Westlake uses the unexpected to create interest in the work.
47 3.10 Example of the melody contained in parts 1 and 3 in measures 61 - 65
Measure 69 marks the beginning of the A’-section. This section of the work shares much in common with the original A-section; however, the presentation is changed enough to warrant the prime marking. The marimba three part at measure 69 is strikingly similar to the marimba four part near the beginning of the work. The differences are that the earlier marimba four part is slightly more syncopated, and it has accent marks that do not exist in the A’-section. The A’ marimba four part is a mix of the marimba two part from the A-section and the marimba two part from the B-section. It has the same type of octave texture that is created in the marimba two part from the B- section; however, the tonality is simply octave “a’s” which is similar to the marimba two part at the beginning.
48 3.11 Example of parts 3 and 4 beginning at measure 69
The melodic content is based upon the same melodic ideas of the A-section. The basic rhythmic content is exactly the same, and the relationship of the notes is the same, but the melody contains multiple measures of rest that do not occur in the first A-section. This breaks the section into four statements of the melodic idea. A short break occurs in between each of these melodic statements. The only musical idea that exists in these breaks is the ostinato that is contained in parts three and four. Of the four statements of the melody, the first two are nearly identical in content to the melody of the A-section.
The third and fourth statements of the melody, which begin in measures 88 and 96, are edited down from the original. In these two instances, the melody is shortened from its original four-count length to a length of 5/8. This means that the last repetition of the upper two melodic notes in each statement of the motif is not present in these last two statements. Again Westlake has used a musical idea with which the listener should be comfortable, and he has altered it to create a new version of the original and create more interest. These last two statements also differ in the movement of the melodic line. In the first two examples, the melodic line is more similar to how it appears in the first A- section. In fact, the exact melodic line of the first two examples exists in the opening A- section. The last two melodic statements are very close variations on a theme. The
49 movement is abbreviated, and the movement is descending (E,D,C,B,A); however, the texture and the basic rhythms are so similar that it is certainly related to the opening A- section.
3.12 Example of the original melody beginning in measure 72
3.13 Example of the variation of the melody beginning in measure 96
Following the A’-section is an exact repeat of the B-section. This repeat includes all of the dynamic markings and the markings for solo or non-solo parts. The section begins at measure 104 and goes through measure 127. Measure 128 marks the beginning of the new material of the C-section.
The C-section of Omphalo Centric Lecture begins in 4/4 time, and only the bottom two voices are active. The upper voice, marimba three, is written as an ostinato accent pattern on a single note: the “c” below “middle c.” Part four is written as a rhythmic ostinato; however, the tonality shifts every measure. This ostinato consists of
50 simply two notes. The upper of these notes is the “g below middle c,” and this note does not change through the entire section. The lower note shifts every measure. This regular shift in tonality propels the music forward, and it is actually the unifying melodic factor in this section.
3.14 Musical example of parts 3 and 4 measures 128 - 131
It is important to keep in mind that this is not a traditional type of melody; it is, in fact, best described as a minimalist melody. It is understandable as a melodic idea, but the line is slow and deliberate in how it develops. This slow and deliberate movement becomes more complicated starting with the entrance of the marimba one part at measure 136.
Westlake again veils the notated time signature by writing for repeated dotted-eighth notes. This establishes a simultaneous 4/4 pulse and a 3/16 pulse. The repeated dotted- eighth note pattern functions as another drone since it is simply a repeated “Eb.” The
“Eb” is both marked at p and deadstroked.
51 After almost four measures of repeated dotted-eighth “Eb’s” the pattern becomes more complex. The composer adds one note to the pattern, a “middle C” on the sixteenth note before the “Eb.”
3.15 Musical example of part 1 from measures 140 and 141
This continues for a little more than two measures, and then gives way to an alternating
“C to Eb” and “C to G” pairing of notes. This continues for almost four measures before it changes again.
3.16 Musical example of part 1 from measures 143 and 144
The next change to the melodic idea occurs at measure 146. In addition to a change in the melody, the composer calls for the notes to be played in an open style, as opposed to the deadstroke that was required earlier. The same rhythmic pattern is still utilized for this part of the melody; however, the melodic motif doubles in length from taking two dotted-eighth notes to taking four dotted-eighths to complete the pattern. To accomplish this, the composer adds only three notes to the motif: a “Bb” and “A” below “middle C”, and a “C” in the treble staff. This addition allows for a very different combination of
52 tones. The notes are split into two groups of three notes. The upper group is comprised of “Eb,” “G,” and “C,” and the lower set is “A,” “Bb,” and “middle C.” In each of these groupings, one note stands out as a primary tonality, and the other two add harmonic color. In the first grouping, the primary note is the “Eb.” This note is played in the first and third dotted-eighth groupings. The secondary notes are played in the second and fourth groupings: “G” in the second, and “C” in the fourth. This same arrangement is used with the second grouping as well. The “middle C” is the primary tonality in this grouping. The interest in all of this is created in the way in which the two patterns interact. The primary tonalities are never played in the same dotted-eighth grouping, so each grouping has the primary tonality of one group and a secondary tonality of the other three-note grouping.
3.17 Musical example of part 1 in measures 146 - 148
The end of the C-section is marked by a four measure long crescendo that comes to a false resolution into a three-measure transition into the D-section. This false resolution is further strengthened by the alteration in the bass part melodic idea. From the beginning of the C-section to measure 151, the bass line changes tonality every measure; however, for the last four measures of the section the bass part stays in “C#.”
This repeated tonality is unexpected and, coupled with the crescendo, creates a very
53 strong push to the climax of the section; however, just as it seems that a climactic point is about to happen, the composer changes direction into a highly rhythmic transition into the next section of the work.
The three-measure transition is written in the second marimba part. This part has been totally inactive for the entirety of the previous section, and after the three-measure transition, the part is again rather inactive. This makes the timing of the entrance difficult. The transition melody is a call and answer in which both the call and the answer are four sixteenth notes long. The time signature for the first two measures of the transition is 5/8. The call and answer are separated by one sixteenth in the first 5/8 measure. The second 5/8 measure has no break between the call and answer. This builds momentum going into the third, and last, transition measure. This last measure is written in 4/4, but it is based on the dotted-eighth for the first three beats. The fourth beat reestablishes the quarter-note feel and completes the transition into the 4/4 D-section.
3.18 Musical example of part two measures 155 - 157
The D-section begins at measure 158 with only two of the four parts. The melody is in part 4, and it is simply a two measure repeated motif. The written rhythm is simply straight sixteenth notes; however, a clearly defined syncopated melodic idea is present in
54 these sixteenth notes. The melodic idea is notated with accent marks above each note of the melody. The non-accented notes are all “Eb’s,” and although they do add to the tonality, their primary purpose is to hold time and keep the melodic idea moving forward.
3.19 Musical example of part four from measures 158 and 159
Part four’s melody in the D-section is exactly two measures of 4/4 time in length which makes part one’s ostinato that is played against this very interesting. Instead of writing an ostinato of equal length, the composer creates 7/16 rhythmic pattern that is repeated from measure 158 through 165. The first seven notes of the pattern are different from the rest of the pattern. The basic rhythm repeats after seven sixteenth notes; however, the exact notes repeat only after two complete repetitions of the pattern. The ostinato consists of an upper and a lower voice. The upper voice is on the pulse, and the rhythmic pattern’s pulse is eighth, eighth, dotted-eighth. The complexity in the ostinato is created in the play between the upper voice and the lower voice. The upper voice is reset at every repetition of the 7/16 pattern. The lower voice is not reset, and since it consists of only two notes, it flips on each repetition.
55 3.20 Musical example of parts one and four from measures 158 - 160
The driving force in the early part of the D-section is in the second marimba part.
This is the only non-repetitive musical idea in this section. The line is inherently very drum-like in the way in which it is written. Each note is written as a sfortzando. This dramatic dynamic marking is an interruption to the musical repetition that begins at measure 158. The first two notes of the interruption are marked simply as sfz; however, the following entrances are marked with the same dynamic, but they are muted. This infers that although all of the entrances are given the same dynamic marking the first entrance should be played more aggressively to create a more substantial impact.
The rhythm of the marimba two part is also very different from the straight sixteenth notes that are played in parts one and four. The syncopation that is written forces the line to stand out from the other two parts. This syncopation usually takes one of two forms in this section. It is either in the form of a dotted-eighth idea, or it is a series of straight eighth notes that are written on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the pulse.
56 In addition to being rhythmically unique, the tonality of the second marimba part makes it stand out as well. Parts one and four are both based upon the “Db pentatonic scale.” This scale includes the notes “Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, and F.” The tonality of the marimba two part begins with an “A natural.” This tonality creates dissonance against the “Db pentatonic” and forces the listener to take notice of its presence.
3.21 Musical example of parts one, two, and four from measures 161 and 162
At measure 166, a brief interruption of the general musical idea of the D-section occurs. This is only a two-measure interlude, but it is effective in creating a disturbance in the established texture. Within these two measures, the composer briefly changes the tonality to be more dissonant. In addition to this dissonance, Westlake also creates three distinct rhythmic divisions. The notated measure lengths are 5/8 for measure 166 and 4/8 for 167; however, none of the written rhythms fit into the traditional rhythmic breakdown of either of these measures. The melodic idea for this section resides in the unison rhythms of parts one and three. Both of these parts play four sixteenth notes and then they rest for a fifth. This creates a 5/16 grouping. To further emphasize this 5/16 grouping, each part repeats the exact same motif for the duration of the two measures.
57 3.22 Musical example of parts one and three from measures 166 and 167
The rhythm of part two implies a 3/8 rhythmic idea. The first eighth note is silent, but there is an eighth note on the second beat and two sixteenth notes on the third beat.
This is then repeated over the course of the two written measures.
3.23 Musical example of part two from measures 166 and 167
Part four’s rhythm is in 6/16. This compound meter alternates pitches on the first and fourth beats of the pattern, “A and C” on beat one, and “Bb and D” on beat four.
3.24 Musical example of part four from measures 166 and 167
58 The tonality of these measures is more dissonant than what precedes it. The “Db” pentatonic tonality that existed from the beginning of the D-section is gradually eroded by what becomes a dissonant hexatonic tonality in measures 166 and 167. This hexatonic example uses a diminished “A” triad and a “Bb” major triad. This choice of tonality allows for a greater use of dissonance to set it apart from the pentatonic tonality of the preceding measures. Westlake uses this type of tonality throughout much of the work.
The relationships of the notes change, but he often employs only six notes at a time.
After this two-measure interruption, the parts return to the same motivic pattern that existed from the beginning of the section; however, part three adds a degree of rhythmic dissonance by introducing a solo melodic line that did not exist before the interruption. This solo line begins with a syncopated rhythm that is new to the texture, but the true rhythmic dissonance occurs in measure 169 when the part goes into eighth note triplets that are played against the straight sixteenth note subdivisions of parts one and four.
At measure 172 the dynamic drops suddenly to pp and a gradual crescendo is indicated. This crescendo mimics the rhythmic intensity of the work over the next five measures. Part four remains constant except for the crescendo. Part two continues with the ascending syncopated line; however, it has none of the lengthy breaks that existed earlier in this section. As it nears the climax at the end of measure 176 part two actually has straight sixteenth notes written, but a feeling of syncopation is maintained because of the placement of the note changes. To maintain the syncopation, the composer changes notes only on the second or fourth sixteenth note of each beat.
59 3.25 Musical example of part two from measure 176
Part one contains a motif that is new to this section, but it is one that existed in an earlier part of the work. The right hand must play octave “Bb’s” while the left hand is on a single “Ab.” The “Ab” is played on every second and fourth sixteenth note. This gives a straight eighth feel; however, it is never on the downbeat. The “Bb” tonality is played only on selected downbeats or upbeats. This is more sporadic in measures 172 and 173, but it is used more often in measure 174, and by 175 only the first downbeat lacks a note.
From that point to the end of measure 176, the part one is written with alternating “Bb” and “Ab.” This also adds to the growing intensity of the work.
3.26 Musical example of part one from measures 172 - 174
60 Part three does not play anything in measure 172, and this adds to the rapid dynamic shift to pp. When the third part does make its entrance on the last eighth note of measure 173, it plays straight dotted-eighth notes until the upbeat of count 4 in measure 176. This gives both a feeling of syncopation, due to the multi-meter feel, and a feeling of intensity due to the increasing dynamic. All of this combines to create a climax at measure 177, but that climax is withheld. Where the climax should have been, the composer instead leaves a void. Measure 177 is simply a two-count rest. This abrupt silence creates a suspense that is only satiated by the downbeat of the new E-section.
The E-section begins with two new sounds. Part one has a splash cymbal strike on the downbeat. This is the only use of the cymbal in the work. Part two calls for three logdrums.
The time signature for the E-section is also something new. This is the first instance of 7/4 in the work. This new section does have one major similarity to the previous sections: the manner in which the different parts are utilized. Part three begins with a simple three-note pattern. This pattern consists of a “D” on every downbeat, and a
“C” on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the beat. This implies a quarter-note pulse.
3.27 Musical example of part three measure 178
61 Parts two and four work against this quarter-note pulse; instead, they describe a 7/8 pulse.
The parts do not readily sound like 7/8; however, the pattern that is played repeats exactly
half way through the 7/4 measure. Part two’s logdrum pattern mimics the marimba
notation of part four. The accents are identical, and the general shape of the pattern is the
same. The only notated difference is in the dynamic marking. The logdrums are marked
at mf, and the marimba is marked at f. The obvious deduction is that the marimba part is the most important line, and the logdrum’s timbre should be simply supportive.
3.28 Example of parts two and four from measure 178
Westlake give the listener two full measures of this sound to acclimate to the
tonality and the texture. At the end of this fourteen-count respite, he scores for the first
and third marimba parts to play a repeated ff sixteenth note pattern. This pattern must be
played with four mallets, but it is not technically difficult. The right hand plays identical
double stops on the first and second sixteenth notes, and the left hand repeats this gesture
on two lower notes on the third and fourth sixteenth notes of the beat. The two parts
combine to create close harmony; however, this harmony falls into the overall hexatonic
62 formulation. The harmony at work in this section is hexatonic based on “Gb major” and
“Ab major.” Again, it is two major triads separated by a whole step. This pattern is repeated for six full beats.
3.29 Example of parts one and three from measure 180
Parts one and three do have another method of producing a musical interruption.
The first example of this comes in measure 183 and continues into measure 184. Here both parts play the exact same rhythm and notes, but they are separated by an octave.
The interruption begins on the upbeat of the fifth count, and consists of eighth notes. As with other places in the work, the composer does not simply use all eighth notes on the downbeats and upbeats. The first three notes are on the traditional down and upbeats, but the response is written on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the beat, which again creates interest by variation from the expected rhythm. The tonality is a dramatic departure from the existing tonality. It is also hexatonic, but the new tonality only shares one note in common with the previous tonality. This new tonality is hexatonic based on
“F” and “G.” Of course, this could also be considered as “F Lydian” without the seventh scale degree. The eighth-notes are each three-note chords that have a third, either major or minor, stacked above a second, which creates a progression of G7, Am7, Bm7.
63 3.30 Example of parts one and three from measures 183 and 184
The composer uses both melodic ideas throughout this section; however, the six count motif on “Gb” and “Ab” is used more consistently. The “F” and “G” idea is used far less frequently, but it is used in greater variation. The first example of this motif is explained above. The second variation on this motif begins in the same manner as the first example; however, after this direct repeat of the first statement is finished, the ascending line jumps to the Dm7 chord and goes from straight eighth-notes to dotted- eighths, which give more interest to the rhythmic idea.
3.31 Example of the variation in parts one and three at measures 187 and 188
64 In the last 7/4 measure of the section, measure 193, parts one and three begin a highly syncopated melodic motif that utilizes the same tonality as the eighth note motif.
This melodic idea is used as a transitional element into the part four solo that leads into the near repeat of the D-section. The melodic idea primarily consists of eighth notes that are on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the beat.
3.32 Example of parts one and three from measures 193 and 194
The solo measures that occur after this, measures 195 – 197, are rhythmically the same as measures 155 – 157; however, the general shape of the solo is inverted from the original. As with the earlier statement, the three-measure solo section is used to introduce the “A natural” tonality, which is interjected throughout the D’-section.
3.33 Solo melodic line from measures 195 - 197
The beginning of the D’-section is an exact repeat of the original D-section.
Measures 198 – 205 correspond to measures 158 – 165. The only minor difference is at the very end. In the original, the sixteenth notes in measure 165 of part one go all the
65 way into the following measure, but in measure 205 the same part stops on the last eighth note. This small space in the sound allows the downbeat of measure 206 to be slightly more pronounced.
Measures 206 and 207 mark the first serious departure from the original D- section. In the original, the corresponding two measures, 166 and 167, were in 5/8 and
4/8 respectively. These time signature markings themselves are fairly inconsequential, since the melodic idea and the ostinati are not bound by the notated time signatures and freely move within them. The treatment of these musical ideas is more straightforward in the D’-section. Here the time signature change is simply to 3/4 for both measures. Both the altered melody and the unaltered ostinati fit into this time signature evenly. The ostinati of parts two and four are simply extended to fill out the extra three eighth notes of the two measures. The melodic material is better described as four groupings of 3/8.
Obviously, four groupings of 3/8 fit evenly into two measures of 3/4, but the feeling of pulse is quite different. The melody truly feels like it is in 3/8 due to the accents and the shape of the melody. The accents happen on beat one and on the upbeat of two, and, in addition to the accents, these two notes are also the high point of the musical line. In fact, in part three, which is mostly a perfect octave below part one, there is a double-stop on these notes. The double-stops are accented major seconds, “Ab” and “Bb,” which have enough dissonance to further emphasize the 3/8 grouping.
66 3.34 Musical example of all four parts from measures 206 and 207
The second, and final, major change from the original occurs in the next two measures, 208 and 209. In the original, part three had a solo melodic line that was in competition with a secondary melody that was in part two; however, that solo line has been totally omitted, and the entire idea has been cut by half. Measures 210 through 215 are a perfect repeat of measures 172 – 177, and this ends the D’-section with the same two-count pregnant pause.
The C’-section has several major differences from the original version, but it is certainly similar enough to the C-section to warrant the same designation. The C’-section is a leaner version of the original; in fact, the first 18 measures of the C-section have been totally omitted. This allows the C’-section to jump right into the main melodic ideas.
Part four begins the section with an exact copy from the C-section. Measures 140 – 152 from the C-section correspond to measures 216 – 228, which is the entirety of the C’-
67 section. Part two is responsible for the ostinato that was originally in part three, the “C natural” accent pattern. This leaves parts one and three to share the rhythmic ostinato material.
The rhythmic ostinato that parts one and three share is the same material that existed solely in part one in the C-section. The new version breaks it into one-measure segments that are traded back and forth between parts one and three. This allows for a sense of stereo separation of the part. The patterns are also much more concentrated than the earlier version of the material. The single note “Eb” rhythmic ostinato is eliminated entirely. The first entrance of part one is actually with the “C” and “Eb” ostinato. This rhythmic pattern is continued by part three for one measure. On the second entrance of part one, measure 218, the harmonic material adds a “G.” This is continued for the next three measures, and in measure 222 the “Bb” is added. This completes the pattern and is continued through the conclusion of the section at the end of measure 228.
3.35 Example of broken ostinato patterns from parts one and three from measures 224 - 228
68 Throughout this section the composer uses the timbre of the marimba to add another level of complexity to the ensemble sound. Parts one and three, in addition to playing the evolving ostinato pattern, must play with dead strokes from measure 216 through measure 221. In measure 222 the parts are to be played with “quasi dead stroke,” or with a lighter version of the stopped sound; thus, the players are adding resonance to the sound. At the beginning of the final section of the work, the first part is to play the complete ostinato pattern, but it is played with a normal open stroke, which is notated as
“non dead stroke.” Because of this indication, the marimbas change character from a short staccato sound to the open rich timbre that is normally associated with the instrument.
The final section of the work, the F-section, begins in measure 229. For the first time in the work the meter is in 6/8, and it stays in 6/8 all the way to the conclusion of the work. Interestingly, the new 6/8 time-signature is barely perceptible at the beginning of the section. The reason for this is that the composer has taken the entire previous section to prepare the listener for this change, so it occurs in a seamless manner. The preceding rhythm of two sixteenth notes and a sixteenth note rest fit evenly into the 6/8 meter without any adjustment. The sixteenth note remains the same, and all of the rhythmic relationships of the ostinato are preserved.
3.36 Musical example of parts one and three from measures 227 - 229
69 Measure 229 contains the ostinato alone, and it is repeated four times. The following measure contains the same ostinato and is also repeated four times, but it introduces a new sound. This new sound is the shaker that is to be played at mf in straight sixteenth notes with each eighth note accented. This accented pulse of the shaker continues through to nearly the end of the work. The melodic figure of the final section begins in measure 231. This figure is heavily driven by its rhythm. The melodic figure begins with the bulk of the figure being on the beat. As it progresses, it moves from the beat to being off of the beat. For example, measure 231 has a “C” on all six beats, but by the third measure of the figure, the “C” is primarily on the off beats, and by the ninth measure, it exists only on the off beats.
3.37 Solo melodic line from measures 231 - 239
In fact, it is at this point, measure 239, that the bass part enters, but the bass line does not emphasize the downbeat as is typically expected; instead, the bass notes all occur on the upbeat of the second beat of each measure. Because the melody and the bass line are both on upbeats the feeling of pulse switches from the downbeat to the upbeat. To further complicate the rhythm, the feeling of pulse is not even on the upbeat of one. It occurs halfway through the three eighth grouping and lands on the upbeat of two which
70 makes it very easy to perceive the upbeat of two as the downbeat of the measure. The ostinato in part one also plays into this perception of a moveable downbeat because of the construction of that ostinato. Since the pattern is always eighth, sixteenth, eighth, sixteenth, etc. the upbeat of two is an eighth note that is prepared by a sixteenth. This is the same rhythmic formula that is used for the downbeat, and it makes these two, the upbeat of two and the downbeat of one, virtually interchangeable. The only part which functions with a sense of 6/8 pulse where the downbeat is stronger than the upbeat is the shaker in part three; however, even though the six pulses of the measure are accented by the shaker, there is no designation of a stronger accent on beats one or four. The shaker accent is inherently weaker than the overall composite rhythm of the other three marimba parts.
Measure 245 marks the second statement of the melodic material, and again the upbeat of two is featured. The ostinato of part one continues, as does the bass line that only occurs on the upbeat of two, and the melody begins on this upbeat as well. To further complicate the rhythm, the opening melodic motif is the same as the first melody of the section except that it begins a dotted-eighth late. All of the rhythmic relationships are the same, so whereas the first measure of the melody had six “Cs” on the six beats of the measure, here there are continuous “Cs” on the upbeats starting with beat two.
71 3.38 All four parts from measures 245 - 247
One of the most unique sounds of the entire work is scored for measure 248.
Player three, while playing the shaker in one hand, must drag a group of hard mallets up the “naturals” of the marimba keyboard. This creates a glissando, and the drastic change of mallet hardness creates a sound that is barely reminiscent of the typical warmth of the marimba. This marimba glissando occurs often throughout the final section. The glissando is always four measures in length, but the time in between occurrences varies from three measures to five measures.
The third, and final, entrance of the melody occurs in measure 263. The opening of this melody is the same as its first appearance in the section. It is primarily on the beat in the beginning, and it gradually moves to the upbeats as the piece progresses. The melodic figure eventually becomes only upbeat “Fs” and the figure gradually fades out.
This fading out of the sound occurs over the course of eleven measures, 274 – 284, in which the only sound from the melody instrument is the repeated upbeat “F.” Because of
72 this gradual change, the listener’s attention gradually shifts from the melodic voice of part two to the high ostinato of part one. Once the melodic voice stops playing in measure 284, the only voice that remains for the final three measures is this high ostinato from part one. This high ostinato then fades out over the last three measures, and it ends on beat four of the final measure.
73 CHAPTER 4
VERSIONS OF OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE
This chapter presents some of the different versions of Omphalo Centric Lecture.
It specifically details the changes that have been made to the piece by Synergy
Percussion, but it also explores the alterations that have been made to the work by several different individuals and performing ensembles. Some of these alterations include sextet, trio, and duo versions. There are versions that use four marimbas, three marimbas, and two marimbas, as well as versions that add instruments and electronic effects.
Omphalo Centric Lecture was created as a trio for the ensemble Touchwood. The work was written for an instrumentation of two percussionists on marimbas, log drums, and a splash cymbal, and one bass clarinetist. The piece has been transformed over the last twenty years into many distinctly different versions. Each new version has, at its core, the original, but each takes its own distinct slant on this original. These versions range from duets to sextets. Some utilize dramatically different instruments from the
74 original specifications, and some make only slight alterations. The end result is that the
piece has now taken its place among the masterworks for the percussion ensemble genre,
and many performers are trying to put their own stamp on this musical creation.
Westlake embraces this spirit of adventure with regard to this work. Many of his
more complex musical works would probably not be so easily manipulated into so many
different forms, but the simple beauty of Omphalo Centric Lecture inspires creativity.
Westlake discussed his view of the creation of new versions of the work in an interview
with Gary France where he stated, “as long as people are able to bring something fresh to
it…working with the general feel of the piece and entering into the optimistic spirit of
celebration… Then why not!” 102
This simplicity of design is actually what brought Westlake to title this work as he
did. Soon after the work was completed Westlake found a bag in the gutter just outside
of the front door to his home. In this bag was a framed picture of the painting by Paul
Klee with the title Omphalo Centric Lecture. Westlake was drawn to the simplicity and the focus of this painting, and he felt that it mirrored what he was trying to achieve in his newly composed musical score, so the musical work was named after the painting. 103
One possible consideration for the different versions of Omphalo Centric Lecture
is that when most people discuss this work they speak of one of the versions of the work
and not the original. Certainly the most popular version of this work, and the only one
currently available for purchase, is the version for marimba quartet. This version has sold
102 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
103 Gary France. email to the author, February 21, 2006.
75 over one thousand copies of the score, and more than three hundred copies of the full score with parts. 104 It has been recorded many times and is typically the inspiration for all of the other versions of the work; however, it is not the original version of the piece.
The original version of Omphalo Centric Lecture, as was mentioned earlier, was for bass clarinet and two percussionists. Like so many of the early works that Westlake created, this composition was written for an ensemble in which he played. He also frequently composes music for players that he knows well, and this was the case with
Omphalo. He had previously worked with Michael Askill and Graeme Leak on projects, and he admired their playing ability.
A look at the marimba quartet version of the work shows the basic construction of the original version of the piece. The marimba quartet version often utilizes only three players at any one time. One of these players performs the melodic content, and the other two are responsible for the accompaniment that often contains the polymetric ostinati that dominate so much of this work. In the case of the original version of the piece, the bass clarinet part carried the majority of the melodic lines, and the two marimbas provided the accompaniment.
The work was expanded into a marimba quartet at the request of the members of
Synergy Percussion. The ensemble was a quartet at that time and was looking for new works for the percussion quartet format. Westlake arranged this version of the work in
1984, and Synergy has performed it many times.
104 Jan Westlake. email to the author, February 7, 2006.
76 The marimba quartet version of the work proved to be too logistically complicated for Synergy to take it on tour, so the group again asked Westlake to re- arrange the piece. This new version was still for a marimba quartet; however, the quartet of players played the piece on just two marimbas. This meant that each marimba was played by two players, and some alterations had to be made to the four-marimba version to accommodate this restrictive instrumentation. Westlake arranged this version for
Synergy in 1985.
The newer two-marimba version has two of the parts renamed. The Synergy score lists part one and part four exactly the same as the quartet version of the work; however, part two and part three are flipped. This is done to allow each marimba to have one player that performs primarily in the treble section of the instrument and one player that is primarily a bass player; therefore, players one and two share one instrument and players three and four share the other. Both instruments may be “low A” instruments.
The two-marimba version begins exactly the same as the four-marimba version of the work. Part one contains the melodic content, part two contains straight sixteenth- notes on an “A” with the upbeats accented, and part four contains a syncopated bass line.
Synergy did make some slight changes to the parts. For example, the bass part is written with all of the notes accented at the beginning of the piece and then with no accents once the melody enters, and the dynamics are slightly altered with all of the parts marked at mf. In the four-marimba version, the accent pattern that is played on the “A” starts off louder than the bass part (marked f), and then it drops to mp once the melody enters. This is a minor alteration and would most likely not be noticed by a listener.
77 One of the more distinct alterations to the four-marimba version occurs at measure 61. The four-marimba version utilizes two voices that play the melodic idea in unison at the octave. In the Synergy version, player one plays both of these parts as double stops, and the notes are transposed up one octave from the four-marimba version.
Player four plays the same melody two octaves lower than the lowest notes of player one, so there are three parallel melodic ideas covering a range of four octaves. The parts are also reorganized to make this possible. Part one of the Synergy version, in essence, takes the place of both parts one and three of the four-marimba version. Part two of the
Synergy version takes over part four of the four-marimba version, and part three of the
Synergy version continues with the material of part two in the four-marimba version.
Part four of the Synergy version adds the low register melodic idea that does not exist in the four-marimba version. Again, there is a slight alteration to the dynamic markings to further differentiate between the melodic voices and the accompaniment.
Another change to the four-marimba version of the work occurs at measure 69 of the Synergy version. In the four-marimba version, parts one and two contain the melodic idea in perfect unison. This is not possible due to the instrument sharing that occurs in the Synergy version, so this melodic idea only occurs in a single part.
The next significant change to the four-marimba version happens at measure 104.
Here the Synergy version adds a new timbre. This new sound is that of a bamboo stick played in a syncopated four-pulse ostinato. This allows for more rhythmic interaction than existed in the four-marimba version of the work. The notated time signature is 3/4; however, the bamboo stick called for in part one is actually in 4/4, and the regular
78 ostinato that exists in both the Synergy version and the four-marimba version is in 7/8.
The pseudo-melodic idea is played exactly as it existed in the four-marimba version, and although the time signature claims that the section is in 3/4, the rhythms of the melody do not easily conform to any time signature. The bamboo stick ceases to be used at the downbeat of the measure 114, the 11/16-measure.
Beginning in measure 164 of the Synergy version and ending at the opening of the
7/4 section, the Synergy version deviates greatly from the four-marimba version. It is difficult to compare the two versions in a measure-by-measure manner due to the addition of measures and insertion of a multi-measure repeat. The four-marimba version has a 5/8 measure at 166, a 4/8 measure at 167, and a 4/4 measure at 168. The Synergy version also is in 5/8 at measure 166, but it stays in 5/8 for the next measure and then adds a 2/8 measure before the 4/4 measure. This alteration allows the multiple ostinati to come out evenly at the 4/4 measure. The next several measures are altered greatly. The four-marimba version comes out of the transitional measure into a triplet based melodic figure. The Synergy version delays the triplet melodic figure for several measures.
When the triplet figure does finally occur, it is introduced by the 5/8 and 4/8 measures that exist in the four-marimba version. The triplet figure is then repeated once. This figure is not repeated in the four-marimba version. After the repeated triplet pattern, the
Synergy version ends with the same six measures as the four-marimba version. In short, both versions have all of the same components in this section; however, they appear in a different order, and the Synergy version repeats the most distinctive melodic element of
79 the section. Both sections do end with a false climax as both build from piano to fortissimo over five measures and the sixth, and final, measure is a silent two-count measure.
All of this is true with regard to the score from which Synergy performs; however, the ensemble does make a cut in the work when they perform it. This cut is from measure 164 – 171 in the Synergy score. Its equivalent in the four-marimba version is from measure 155 – 165. 105
This leads into the 7/4 section of the work. The 7/4 sections in both versions are nearly identical. The only significant difference is that the two-note pattern that exists in part three of the four-marimba version is deleted for the Synergy version. This can alter the way in which the pulse is perceived. The bass marimba and the logdrums are both in
7/8 for all practical purposes. The repetition of the marimba three part provides the quarter-note pulse. Without this part, the pulse is clouded. This can make the six-count interruptions more distinct since they are the only quarter-note driven rhythmic device in the section.
The D’-section of the Synergy version is virtually identical to the corresponding section in the four-marimba version, and the C’-section is very similar in both versions.
The most obvious change in the C’-section is the addition of a crescendo and decrescendo to the broken melodic content. The first measure of the melody, which is
105 Philip South. email to the author, March 3, 2006.
80 played by part three, crescendos, and the following measure, which is played by part one, decrescendos. This pattern of crescendo and decrescendo continues throughout the section. These markings do not exist in the four-marimba version.
The final section, marked as the F-section in the analysis, begins at measure 238 in the Synergy score and measure 229 of the four-marimba version. The first measure of the four-marimba version is marked to be repeated a total of four times. The Synergy version simply repeats this a total of two times. The following measure is repeated the same four times in the four-marimba version, but it is to be played eleven times in the
Synergy version. This allows for the work to stabilize before the syncopated melodic line in part two begins in the following measure.
Once the melody does enter, it is marked significantly softer than the four- marimba version. The Synergy version replaces the mf marking with a p dynamic
marking throughout the section. This change of dynamic also occurs in the melodic
ostinato in part one. The mp marking in the four-marimba version is changed to p in the
Synergy version.
The last alteration of any significance is in the glissando that exists in part three
of the four-marimba version. In that version the marimba glissando is performed by the
same player who is performing the sixteenth note shaker rhythm. In the Synergy version
this glissando is moved to the bass part. With the two marimbas facing each other, the
bass marimba player can play the notated part which consists of two of the lowest notes
on the keyboard, “low A” and “B,” from a position at the extreme end of the instrument,
so the player stands in front of the endboard instead of the standard position. This allows
81 the bass player to perform these two notes on marimba two and simultaneously play the
glissando on the top portion of marimba one. 106 At the very end of the work, the
Synergy version has an ad lib repeat that affects the melodic ostinato and the shaker.
These two voices repeat this last measure together and fade to nothing. In the four- marimba version only the melodic ostinato in part one continues to the very end of the work. The Synergy version also contains a ritardando that does not exist in the four-
marimba version.
This two-marimba version that Synergy regularly performs is not the only altered
version of the work that the ensemble plays. After many years of performing this version
of the work, the ensemble altered it again. When Omphalo was originally arranged for
two marimbas, Synergy was a quartet; however, the group grew over time, and this
brought about another change in the work. This change is often referred to as the “Long
Version” of Omphalo Centric Lecture. In this version several repeats are added, but the
most significant addition is that of hand drums. Synergy added two players on hand
drums to the quartet of marimba players and greatly changed the work. Philip South
describes this transformation as being generated partially from the growth of the
ensemble and partially from the repeated collaborations with other musicians.
When the piece was commissioned, Nigel wrote for marimbas, log drum, cymbal, and shaker. Over the past twenty years, at various times, instruments haven’t turned up, (so) we have used cardboard boxes, tins, and various other instruments when a log drum hasn’t been there.” 107
106 Philip South. email to the author, March 2, 2006.
107 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
82 This may be how Synergy first came to the idea of bringing additional instruments to the work. South goes on to say,
In 1999 Synergy became a sextet, even though now it still works primarily as a quartet. We began enhancing the piece by adding African gangakui, frame drums (riq, bodhran, gaval), djembe, and boogaraboos. We also added some solo sections for the frame drums and the African drums. In 2000 we were lucky enough to have Glen Velez and Ali Ndiaye Rose join us for a live concert here in Sydney. It was fascinating when Glen turned up with his analysis of the piece and how he heard its rhythmic composition. The piece has also been performed with Trilok Gurtu adding his brilliant style of drumming and also Danish trumpeter, Palle Mikkelborg. Another collaboration was with the Sydney Dance Company in a co-production with Synergy called ‘Synergy with Synergy’ from the early 1990’s. 108
Synergy member, Philip South, was instrumental in creating the new version of the work. The long version has no score as it has been generated to a certain degree by improvisation. A recording of this version does exist on the Synergy compact disk entitled Omphalo Centric Lecture. This disk contains only two tracks, and both are recordings of the title work. The first is of the more conventional two-marimba version of the work. The second is of the long version of the work with the addition of the drums. 109
108 Philip South. email to the author, January 13, 2006.
109 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
83 This long version utilizes many African bells and drums, along with drums from other non-African cultures, to add to the complexity of the rhythms. This work is performed from the same set as the two-marimba Synergy version, so it will be discussed in terms of that version of the piece. Philip South described his approach to the use of polymetric rhythms on the drums.
I tend to hear pulse in varying ways. For example, something in 3/4 does not have to be in three. It can be in four (four sets of dotted-eighth notes), or it can be in two (two sets of dotted-quarter notes), or even in five (5 asymmetrical pulses of sixteenth notes, such as 23223). A good example of this is after the first solo the marimbas play a bass line in 4/4 with the upper parts starting a 12/16 (divided in four sets of three). If you feel this pattern, rather than the 4/4 pattern, it gives you a new direction for an improvisation. This is generally how I approach this section.110
The drums and bells make their first entrance with the entrance of the melody in measure 5 of the work. In this opening section of the work, the extra instruments are used to support the pulse of the work with the bell playing on the downbeat of each measure and the drums blending into the overall sound. This is true of these instruments through much of this version; however, the instruments are also used against the prevailing rhythmic structures in several areas. This creates an even greater complexity to the rhythms. Philip South explained that, “The piece is basically in two, but when there are bars in an odd meter I would either play the two feel over this or play with the odd meters, sometimes both.” 111
110 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
111 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
84 When the time signature changes in measure 45 from 2/4 to 3/4, the drum instrumentation changes as well. This includes the addition of a talking drum. The time signature does change to 3/4, but the drums continue playing in a duple meter throughout the section until they rest beginning with the downbeat of the 11/16 measure (measure
55). The drums do not play through the rapid time signature changes of the next five measures, but they do enter with the accent pattern in measure 60. This is the measure that sets up the next section of the work, so this measure becomes transitional for the added percussion in the same manner that it is transitional to the marimbas.
Measure 114 marks the second occurrence of the rapidly changing time signature section (the first was at measure 55); however, this time the time signature is quite different from the first. The changing time signatures are repeated several times to allow for a gaval solo. This repeated section begins with measure 114 and extends through measure 119. The gaval is a Middle-eastern frame drum that has rings, which act as jingles, mounted inside of the drum. The drum is capable of producing many of the traditional frame drum sounds; however, it can also be used to produce an interesting metallic roll sound that slightly resembles a tambourine.
After the gaval solo, the additional percussion strengthens the pulse of the piece until it totally drops out at the downbeat of measure 128. This allows for a period of relaxation in the music before the drums reenter in measure 135. Even after this entrance the drums are more subdued. This allows the polyrhythmic ostinati of this section to be heard clearly, and it fortifies the difference between the bass line, which is in a strong
4/4, and the pseudo-melodic line, which could be described as either a derivative of 3/16
85 or 6/8. The drums themselves are played not in 4/4 but in 3/4, which adds another layer to the rhythmic complexity. The cowbells and gangakui are used to reinforce the 4/4 feel of the bass marimba.
The drums reinforce the accents of the transitional measures that lead into the next section (measures 153 – 155). In this next section, the drumming continues in the same basic style that has been established. This continues through the only major cut in this version of the work. Measures 164 – 173 are removed for this version of the work in the same manner that they are removed from the two-marimba Synergy version. This allows the ensemble to simply substitute one transition area for another. The transition beginning at measure 164 consists of two 5/8 measures and one 2/8 measure. By cutting straight to measure 175, the ensemble substitutes that transition for one that is simply one
5/8 and one 4/8 measure. This transitions into the triplet melodic line that repeats one time. The drums play throughout this section; however, they stop abruptly after the triplet melody is completed. This creates a six-bar rest for the drums. During this six-bar segment, the marimbas build to a false climax, which ends with a two-count rest at the pinnacle of section.
After the two-count rest, the work goes into the 7/4 section. This section features a dialogue between a djembe, a West African goblet-shaped hand drum, and a saba, a
Senegalese drum that looks similar to the conga but is played with a pair of sticks or with one stick and one hand. These two types of drums are featured prominently throughout
86 this section, and the first measure of the section is repeated several times to allow for the drums to solo back and forth. The marimbas and gangakui, or African double-bell, are in
7/4 together; however, the large frame drums are in a 3/2-samba feel underneath. 112
This style of playing continues through the end of the section, and it complicates the highly syncopated transition at the end of the section as the drumming continues in a quarter-note pulse while the melodic line transitions into 7/8 in measure 203. The drumming stops for the transition measures of 204 – 206 and reenters in the new section.
The next two sections of the work are similar to the two sections that precede the 7/4 section, but they are presented in reverse order. The drumming primarily reinforces the groove of the marimbas, but a specifically interesting rhythm is used at measure 219. At this point in the music, the marimbas are beginning a steady build toward another of the false climaxes, so the entire ensemble suddenly drops to piano with a gradual crescendo to the false climax. Parts one and two take the melodic content of the section while parts three and four play ostinati that are not of equal length. Part three contains a repeated dotted-eighth patter, while part four repeats an ostinato that is in 7/16. The drums layer a dotted-quarter rhythm on top of this that helps to build toward the climax.
To further emphasize the false nature of the climax, the drums do not enter on the downbeat of the following section. This provides an even greater difference between the cacophony that leads up to the false climax and the actual resolution. The work is performed as written without any alterations until the beginning of the last section, which begins at measure 238 in a 6/8 time signature.
112 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
87 In the second measure of the last section (measure 239) Synergy makes a major
addition to Omphalo Centric Lecture by adding a traditional song from Senegal. This song begins in this measure and is interspersed throughout the final section of the work.
The singing continues in between the entrances of the melodic line. Also interspersed throughout this section is the mbira, an African instrument consisting of tuned metal tines that are plucked by the thumbs. The version ends with a musical conversation between the vocal part and the mbira.
According to Philip South, who was the creative drive behind the long version of
Omphalo, to set the vocal solo he had Michael Askill, who plays the marimba one part, loop the ostinato while the percussion develops. Tim Constable then enters singing the traditional song from Senegal. South used the mbira to respond to the vocalist and also used Alison Eddington’s off beat eighth-note tune as a counter melody to what is going on between the vocals and the mbira. As South explained, “The spacing of this section was fun to work out. I also tried to avoid the first beat of the bar as much as possible. In
African music (the belief is that) you should be able to hear the first beat, so if it is silent it is stronger to the ear than when it is played – an amazing approach.” 113
The above techniques for the manipulation of Omphalo Centric Lecture are the most prominent versions performed in Australia; however, the interest in Omphalo outside of Australia has spawned many other variations. Some of these other versions do resemble some of the versions that Synergy Percussion has made so famous. In particular, the two-marimba setup is a very popular design for ensembles that do not have
113 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
88 access to four high quality marimbas. Whereas the transformation to two marimbas was done out of convenience for the members of Synergy, and many other groups have created their own two-marimba versions for the same reasons, some ensembles arrange
Omphalo for two marimbas out of necessity.
Prof. William Moersch, from the University of Illinois, performed his own two- marimba version of the work many times. It resembles the basic setup of the Synergy two-marimba versions. He uses the same part reconfiguration so that parts one and three are performed on one marimba and parts two and four are performed on the other. This means that players one and two are on the upper end of their respective instruments, and players three and four are each on the bass end of their respective instruments. 114 The measure numbers listed to describe this version are from the published four-marimba version of the work.
Prof. Moersch’s redistribution of the parts does necessitate a few alterations from the four-marimba version of the work. For example, from measure 72 to 102 part two’s melodic line must be played one octave higher to avoid crossing into the path of player four’s mallets. This changes the melody from being played in perfect unison between parts one and two to being performed with an octave separation. 115
From measure 158 to 229, players two and three switch parts to allow for the register of the music. At the beginning of this extended section, part two contains the melody line, but it is in the extreme lower range of the instrument, so it only makes sense
114 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
115 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
89 to have player three perform this part since that player is on the bass end of a marimba.
The same basic concept is true through the 7/4-section where both parts one and three
would be in the same area of the keyboard if parts two and three were not switched. 116
During the 7/4-section players one and three do have to switch parts to again
make allowances for the range; however, this is not a total change of parts. Throughout
this section parts one and three have repetitive sixteenth-notes that last for six straight
counts. The issue of range only comes into play during these sections, so those are the
only notes that are affected by the switch. The two parts contain unison rhythms, so the
only traded notes are the ones that exist in the left hands of these two players during these
six-count bursts. Part three falls low enough to conflict with player four; however, with
the switch, the parts do not cross. 117
The last section of the work returns all four of the parts to the original players.
The only change of any significance here is that the glissandi are deleted. 118 Tracy
Wiggins of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, addressed this issue when he did a two marimba version of the work. In his version a xylophone was incorporated for only the glissandi. The xylophone was staged in close proximity to the marimba three player so that this player could switch instruments quickly. This change of instruments
116 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
117 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
118 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
90 for the glissando accomplishes two things. First, it does allow for the composer’s original intent to be realized, and second, it can actually create a sound with slightly more presence without doing damage to the more delicate marimba bars. 119
Professor Wiggins also has arranged a three marimba version of the work in which parts two and four are performed together on the same instrument. 120 As Philip
South noted with regard to the difference between the two-marimba and four-marimba versions that Synergy has performed, the two-marimba version allows for better ensemble playing since it allows the players to be closer together. 121 In the Wiggins arrangement, marimba one is facing the audience directly, and the other two instruments are perpendicular to the audience. This creates a three-sided box with the open end facing the audience. 122
Professor Moersch, along with Nancy Zeltsman and Robert van Sice, created a trio version of Omphalo Centric Lecture for the three of them to perform on a series of joint recitals. Since the work was originally composed as a trio, it generally fits into a trio format for percussionists quite easily. The group did have to make some alterations to make this work, but it involved leaving out some of the doublings and switching parts on a regular basis, especially through measures 166 – 176. The trio also had to edit out
119 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
120 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
121 Philip South. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
122 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
91 the logdrums used in the 7/4-section. 123 This deletion may not have been overly
pronounced since, in essence, the part with the logdrums is doubling the bass marimba
voice with its rhythm, shape, and accents.
Another ensemble that has chosen to create a new version of Omphalo Centric
Lecture is the group PercaDu. The unique thing about this ensemble is that it is only a
percussion duo, so parts of the work must be multi-tracked for their recordings. This is
not a new concept for this work; in fact, the first commercial recording of this work was
the multi-tracked version that Michael Askill did alone; however, the duo does put their
own touch on the work in the two different versions they have created. The first is
available on the duo’s recording PercaDu – Works for Marimba and Percussion, which is
available from the Jerusalem Music Centre. The second is not available commercially at
this time; however, it can be found on the Jerusalem Music Centre’s website.
The duo’s version of Omphalo Centric Lecture is, in many respects, very similar
to the four-marimba version of the work; however, the duo does make some significant
alterations to dynamics, instrumentation, and slight adjustments to the form. The first of
these alterations occurs near the beginning of the work. In measure 4, when the melody
first enters, the marked dynamic is mf for the melody. PercaDu alters this to a softer dynamic and then creates a long crescendo to generate forward momentum. It would be a natural assumption to create phrasing to give some shape to the melody; however, this change in dynamic is more substantial than simple phrasing. In this opening section, the duo also alters the melodic line in measure 18. The melodic notes in measure 18 are
123 William Moersch. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
92 written on the second and fourth sixteenth notes of the measure; however, PercaDu alters
them to fall on the first and third. The PercaDu version is more consistent with the
rhythms in the rest of the section; however, this is not necessarily the composer’s intent.
Regardless, it is an alteration worth consideration.
The long crescendo is something that PercaDu uses in many parts of the work. It
is used not only at the beginning of the work but also at measure 45. The duo suddenly
drops the dynamic level at measure 45 and then creates a long crescendo to create
additional interest in this section.
Measure 69 begins the A’-section of Omphalo, and the melody is notated to enter on the last eighth-note of measure 72 at a forte dynamic level. PercaDu changes this dynamic to piano. This diminishes the impact of the initial melody; however, it allows the duo to again crescendo each entrance throughout the rest of this section. This alteration to the dynamic structure again generates propulsion to the flow of this section of music.
The A’-section ends in measure 103 at a loud dynamic, and that dynamic is notated to continue into the next section of the work. PercaDu again drops the dynamic considerably, and the section begins at an extremely soft dynamic at measure 104. The volume grows throughout the section until it again drops to piano in measure 119. This change of dynamic is notated; however, the duo repeats measure 119, which is not notated in the score. This gives the duo more time to make a substantial crescendo to begin measure 120 at a loud volume.
93 The C-section begins as notated throughout the entire section except for one alteration to the marked dynamics. At measure 136 the upper marimba part enters with a dotted-eighth note rhythm. This entrance is to be performed at a dynamic of piano. The group does this exactly as it is written. After this drop of the dynamic, the marking in the score calls for a gradual crescendo throughout the rest of the section. PercaDu does perform this marked crescendo; however, they take it much further than it was intended to go in just four measures. The ensemble then drops the dynamic back and begins the long crescendo that is marked. This is an effort to draw attention to the change in the marimba one part that occurs at the climax of this short swell. At this point part one goes from playing straight dotted-eighth notes on an “Eb” to playing two notes, “middle C” and “Eb,” in a three-sixteenth note grouping where the “C” is on the last note of the grouping of three and the “Eb” is on the first. This alteration to the dynamic marking creates more drama at this juncture.
The next alteration occurs in measure 158 where the marked dynamic is listed as mf in part one, a seven-note ostinato, and forte in part four, a four-count ostinato. Both of these parts drop to a very soft dynamic to create an even greater dynamic contrast when part two enters with the “A natural” interruption. The duo also adds a stereo effect at this point. The first entrance of the “A natural” is panned to the left; the second is panned to the right. Each consecutive entrance is alternated from one side to the other.
At the end of the triplet melody that begins in measure 168 in part three, the notated roll is not performed. Instead of a normal roll, the duo alters this to be straight eighth-note triplets. This continues the polyrhythm that is present with the eighth-note
94 triplets against the straight sixteenth notes; however, the roll eases the listener back into
the straight sixteenths at measure 172. The extension of the triplets makes this a
transition much more stark in nature.
The E-section begins in measure 178 with the 7/4 time signature change, and this
is the first time in the work where an instrument other than the marimba is notated. The
score calls for one splash cymbal and three logdrums. PercaDu changes both of these
instruments. Instead of a small splash cymbal, the duo chooses to use a large tam-tam,
and the logdrums are exchanged for a set of conga drums. This change certainly gives
the beginning of the section more drama, and the substitution of the congas for the
logdrums allows for more variety in that part since so many different sounds may be
gleaned from the congas.
Other than the change of instruments, the alterations to this section are minimal.
There are two obvious dynamic changes that include a diminuendo to the melodic parts at
measure 188 and a crescendo that occurs in the six-counts of sixteenth notes in measure
192.
The following section, D’, has many of the same alterations as the original D-
section. The dynamic is lowered from mf and f to a soft dynamic, and the “A natural”
interruptions are still panned left and right.
The final measure before the last section contains a brief diminuendo that helps to
smooth this transition. The last section begins exactly as it is notated, but near the end of
the first melodic statement that begins in measure 231, two measures are deleted. The
95 second statement of the melodic material is greatly altered, and the third statement of the
melody is more of an improvisation on the general idea of the melody. The number of
measures in each statement is altered greatly, and the glissando is deleted entirely. The
final section of the work has the same general feel and groove that was the composer’s
intent; however, the actual performance of the parts as notated is altered heavily.
The very end of the work is also altered heavily. The original version has the
shaker dropping out of the sound four measures from the end. The bass marimba and the
melodic part drop out one measure later, and the high ostinato in part one continues to the
end. The PercaDu version does drop out the bass and melody; however, the shaker and
high ostinato continue together until the conclusion that is extended several measures and
gradually fades out.
The second version of Omphalo Centric Lecture that PercaDu created involves a substantial use of electronics. With this pre-recorded electronic creation, the duo can perform Omphalo Centric Lecture in a live concert setting in the same way that other works are performed with “taped” accompaniment.
This version with tape begins with a long prelude that is predominately rolled chords with an Aboriginal didgeridoo as a centerpiece. This choral introduction lasts approximately four and a half minutes and is immediately followed by the traditional beginning to Omphalo Centric Lecture. More repetitions of this opening ostinato are played than what the composer notates, but these extra repetitions of the ostinato setup the entrance of a synthesized rhythmic addition. This addition adds an extra six measures to the already extended beginning, but it does provide a strong sense of pulse and
96 tonality. After this lengthened beginning, marimba one enters playing the written part with the same alterations that the duo made to the work in their commercially available version.
At the beginning of the B-section, measure 45, there is an addition of a strong synthesized bass sound. This synthesized sound takes the descending rhythmic line in measure 53 and 54. Synthesized drums are added in measure 61 and continue through the section. Measure 69 begins a four-measure diminuendo, which is the same as the other PercaDu version. The remainder of this section is performed in the same manner as the commercially available version.
The B’-section of the work beginning in measure 104 is presented in basically the same manner as the B-section. The only significant difference is that the final 3/4 measure is performed with a marimba sound instead of the highly synthesized sound used previously.
The C-section is presented virtually as it is written in the beginning; however, as the section progresses there are some slight alterations made to the high ostinato. These involve altering the pattern at times that do not align with the composed score; however, the basic intent of the section is preserved.
The D-section, beginning in measure 158, adds a synthesized didgeridoo sound.
This ties into the lengthy introduction. In addition, the “A natural” interruptive melody is both played on the marimba and synthesized with a hard percussive “chiff” sound. The work proceeds in the same manner as the other PercaDu version until measure 172. At this point the ensemble makes a rather drastic alteration from the score. Four measures
97 are inserted in between measure 171 and 172. These four measures resemble, in order, measures 172, 173, 174, and 172. These four measures are played without the ascending syncopated melody or the dotted-eighth ostinato, and measure 172 does begin and end the sequence. After these four measures are played in their altered state, the duo goes back to measure 172 and plays from there to the end of the section with the ascending syncopated melody in part two dominating the overall sound.
The 7/4-section contains many interesting synthesized sounds. These include bongo sounds, bass drums, tom-toms, didgeridoo, high ringing sounds, and synthesized marimba sounds. These combine to create a very thick texture of sound. In many ways, the section has a rock and roll feel to it because of the addition of the drums and the manner in which these sounds are used. The drumming sounds are often utilized in a manner similar to that of how rock drummer plays drum-fills.
The transition out of this section, measures 195 – 197, is fully synthesized, and there is a lengthy gap between measure 194 and the beginning of the transition. This transition normally leads to the D’-section; however, in this version the D’-section is removed and replaced by the original PercaDu D-section with the duo’s alterations in tact.
The C’-section, measures 216 – 228, is performed in much the same manner as the acoustic PercaDu version. The group takes some liberties with the dynamics, but the basic structure of the section is maintained.
The final section of the work contains a heavy amount of ethereal synthesized sounds. These synthesized sounds create a mystical texture against which the marimbas
98 may perform. The melody that is contained in part two is heavily altered. It fits the basic feel of the original four-marimba version of the work; however, the melody never exists exactly as it appears in that version. The duo also keeps several of the alterations that were done in the commercially available recording. These include the deletion of the glissandi and the alteration to the end of the work that extends the use of the shaker all the way to the conclusion of the work
99 CHAPTER 5
REHEARSAL TECHNIQUES
In any musical work, there are certain techniques that, when utilized, can make the performance of that work more effective for the listeners and easier for the performers. Omphalo Centric Lecture is no exception. If the performers adhere to some generally accepted techniques for the performance of Omphalo Centric Lecture they will, most likely, be more successful in the performance of this work.
Some of the specific techniques that must be addressed with regard to Omphalo
Centric Lecture are the use of specific stickings, phrasings, and voicings. It is also important to note different implements and instruments that could be used for the performance. The arrangement of the instruments can also play a major role in the success of the performance. Obviously, many different methods may be applied to all of these different areas of interpretation. The objective of this chapter is to demonstrate methods that have worked for some performers in their interpretations of the work.
100 The many versions that now exist of this work make a comprehensive study of the
rehearsal techniques for Omphalo Centric Lecture nearly impossible. The methods discussed in this chapter deal exclusively with the four-marimba version of Omphalo.
This version was chosen because it is the commercially available version of the work; therefore, measure numbers may be easily referenced.
Several physical choices must be considered before work may begin on the musical aspects of the performance. These physical considerations include the arrangement of the instruments, mallet choice, and instrument choice.
The instrument arrangement may be done in several manners. The marimbas could be placed in a box configuration to allow for maximum visibility among the players, but this configuration does not always allow good visibility for an audience.
Timothy Jones and his ensemble at the University of Nevada Las Vegas utilize this setup in their performances of the work. In his setup players two and three are opposite each other as are players one and four. The corner of the box that is shared by players three and four is the closest to the audience. 124
1 2
4 3
5.1 Timothy Jones’s instrument arrangement
124 Timothy Jones. email to the author, March 24, 2006.
101 Another method that works well is to have players one and three face each other with player one stage right and player three stage left. Player two is situated at a slight angle behind player one, and player four is at a slight angle behind player three. This allows players one and two to be near each other since those parts play in unison at various points in the work, and it allows players one and three to be close to each other since those voices are also often playing similar parts. The other added benefit is that players three and four are near each other since those two players often perform the rhythmic ostinati together.
2 4
1 3
5.2 Alternate instrument setup
Tracy Wiggins, of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, utilizes a slightly non-traditional approach to the setup of his ensemble. He uses only three marimbas. He places the three instruments in a three-sided box with the open end of that box toward the audience. Player one is on one marimba, and player three is on another marimba. Players two and four share one marimba. The instruments are set up so that
102 the marimba that is being played by player one is facing the audience, and the other two instruments face each other and are perpendicular to the audience. This allows for the players to be in closer contact with each other, and it creates a more intimate setting for the work. 125
1
4 3
2
5.3 Tracy Wiggins’s instrument setup
Many ensembles, such as Prof. Wiggins’ ensemble, are choosing to forgo the use of four separate instruments. Many simply use two marimbas. Some changes must be made to the music for this to work effectively; however, it does create the most intimate setting for the work, and, in the end, it may very well create the best performance situation. Synergy Percussion uses only two marimbas as does Gary France of the
Australian National University 126 and William Moersch of the University of Illinois. 127
125 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
126 Gary France. email to the author, March 13, 2006.
127 William Moersch. Email to the author, January 18, 2006.
103 The mallets used by various ensembles also differ. Many ensembles use common yarn wrapped marimba mallets, oftentimes a fairly heavy mallet. Josep Vicent, of the
Amsterdam Percussion Group, utilizes different mallets depending upon the performance situation. When his group performs with amplification, he tends to choose a softer mallet than when the group performs without amplification. He uses medium-soft mallets on the lower end of the marimbas, and he often chooses bass-marimba mallets for player four when the group plays with amplification; however, when an acoustic performance presents itself, he tends to choose a cord-wrapped mallet that is more typically used on a vibraphone. The reason for this difference is that when the group members performs with amplification they can rely on the sound engineer to help create the attack sound that is necessary, but in an acoustic environment, the ensemble has to provide this attack itself. 128 Similarly, the members of Synergy often use hard vibraphone mallets. 129
Some performers prefer to utilize a rubber or latex mallet for the performance of the work. Prof. William Moersch typically uses a medium rubber mallet on the upper voices, and he chooses a softer rubber mallet for the bass marimba part. This allows for a sound that more closely resembles the sound of the African balofon, which was the general inspiration of the work. These mallets also offer a unique attack sound. The
128 Josep Vincent. Email to the author, March 11, 2006.
129 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
104 rubber mallet on a wooden bar results in a sound that has a strong sense of attack; however, it also offers a more sustained sound than simply using a hard mallet on the bars. Both Gary France 130 and Tracy Wiggins 131 use this type of mallet.
The choice of specific instruments for the performance of the work plays an obvious role in the performance of the work. The choice of cymbal for the single splash cymbal is fairly inconsequential. This instrument is only used one time as an effect, and the general sound differences among these types of cymbals are fairly small. The bigger differences occur with the choice of the logdrums and the shaker.
Certainly the logdrums that are most often chosen for Omphalo are the more traditional style of logdrums. This is the logdrum style with multiple notes contained on each box. Most often, these instruments have two pitches per box, and these different pitches are created by variation in the length of the wooden tongue that is to be struck. A longer tongue equates to a lower relative pitch. Most often these notes are created by cutting an “H” shape in the wood on the top of the box, and the tuning of the notes occurs by the placement of the cut that separates the two tongues from each other. The box acts as a sounding chamber to amplify the note. Michael Udow’s company, Equilibrium, has created a different type of logdrum that many ensembles are choosing to use for Omphalo
Centric Lecture. His logdrums utilize only a single tongue on each box, and the individual box is tuned to maximize the amplification of that specific note. Not only does this create an openness to the sound, but it also changes the technique used to perform
130 Gary France. email to the author, March 13, 2006.
131 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
105 this part. Since the traditional boxes with the “H” cut typically only have two notes per box, the player must stack two of these boxes to have the three different pitches to perform the logdrum part in Omphalo. This means that the notes are on multiple planes, and the performer will have to adjust his or her technique to fit the layout of the notes.
With the Udow logdrums, the notes are placed side-by-side. This allows them to be placed in a straight line just like the bars on the marimba. By using this instrument, the player may utilize a similar technique to the performance of the marimba.
Synergy has actually stopped using logdrums altogether for their performances of
Omphalo. They now utilize gangakui (African ago-go bells) for this part. The members felt that the logdrums blended too well with the marimba sound, so they began experimenting with other instruments to find something that had a different sound.
Before coming to the gangakui, they experimented with many other instruments such as cajons and even cardboard boxes; however, the gangokui is currently in use. 132
The biggest variation that occurs with regard to instrument choice happens in the last section of the work when player three must use a shaker. The variation in shaker sounds can be quite extreme, and some groups take this opportunity to put their signature on the performance of the work. In various recordings of Omphalo, one can hear anything from the use of a small light shaker such as the “egg shaker” to the use of larger more raucous metal shakers to maracas or even a shekere (an African instrument consisting of a gourd with a system of beads woven around it). Most ensembles opt for a light sound that adds to the texture but does not compete with the melodic parts of that
132 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
106 final section of the work. Both the Amsterdam Percussion Group and the United States
Air Force’s Band of the Golden West Percussion Ensemble use a small maraca as the
shaker in their recordings of the work. SSgt. Matthew Thomas from the Band of the
Golden West writes, “We used a really small maraca (four inches tall) for a very
articulate sound so that it would compliment the other sounds rather than overpower
them.” 133 Philip South of Synergy says that they typically uses an “egg shaker” for this
section to achieve this same type of light sound. 134 Some ensembles use the shekere as
not only the shaker, but they also drag the beads of the shekere up the keys of the
marimba to create the glissando instead of using the hard mallets that are called for in the
score.
Another consideration for the performance of this work is the striking area of the
individual bars. Omphalo begins with parts three and four creating an ostinato. This ostinato consists, like so much of the rest of the work, of a very limited harmonic palate.
Because of this limitation, the performers must rely on the accents that are notated to bring life to the rhythms. It is possible to use the playing position on the marimba bars to further emphasize this accent pattern. This change of texture may be accomplished by performing the unaccented notes in one location on the bars and performing the accents on a different portion of the bar’s length. Some debate exists among marimbists as to where the correct playing position on the bars. Some say that the bars should be struck in the center where there is a greater sense of the fundamental, and others say that the bars
133 Matthew Thomas. email to the author, March 16, 2006.
134 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
107 should be struck half way between the center and the node where there is more harmonic content to the sound. Both of these playing areas may be used to play Omphalo Centric
Lecture. One method that can be used is to play the unaccented notes on the point in between the center (the antinode) and the node, and the accented notes may be played directly in the center of the bar when the physical movement around the instrument is more reserved. Although this is a possible method, it is one that is not used by Synergy.
Instead Synergy works to achieve more of a groove with the accents simply fitting into that groove. They try to create a consistent sound that allows the groove to be a prominent feature. 135
The melodic line at the beginning of the work is fairly indicative of many of the sticking issues that arise throughout the work. The player only has to deal with three notes at a time. Again, the lack of harmonic information leads to a reliance on the rhythmic interest of the musical line to propel the work forward. The melody at this point in the work is simply comprised of two upper notes and one lower note. These two upper notes are accented, and they constitute the actual melody. The lower note simply fills in the figure to create a straight sixteenth note rhythm. The sticking technique that can be used to perform this melodic line can vary greatly. These variations occur because of the different skill levels of the players and can also be affected by factors such as differences in the tempo from one performance to another. It is generally accepted that it is best to not play three notes in a row with the same hand; however, playing two consecutive notes with the same hand is fairly acceptable. In this first section of
135 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
108 Omphalo, many instances occur where a single note is repeated three times consecutively, and it is generally accepted that these notes should be performed with an alternating sticking (left, right, left or vice versa). This allows for a more consistent sound, and it helps to keep the rhythm stable. The accented notes may all be played with the right hand. By doing this, the performer may fairly easily perform the accent pattern that is called for in the score. Some performers take another approach to the performance of the accents, and this can cause a slight variation to the accent pattern if great care is not taken. This alternate method is to play the passages that contain two consecutive accents with an alternating sticking. A player can potentially do this in a manner that represents the composer’s intent; however, it is also very easy to play an extra accent after the two notated accents. This extra accent alters the melody significantly, and it should be avoided to uphold the composer’s intent.
The overriding remark with regard to the performance and rehearsal of Omphalo is the need for a sense of groove in the work. After all, this is what draws so many to this work in the first place, but it is especially easy for inexperienced players to get so consumed with the technical parts of the performance that they fail to achieve any type of smoothness to their playing. Tracy Wiggins recommends playing with a drum machine in rehearsal to help the ensemble feel more than just the pulse that a metronome gives.
By playing with the drum machine, the instructor has the opportunity to create a custom
109 pulse that more closely mimics the style of the work. 136 Philip South explains that
Synergy does some physical work before performing to create a deeper sense of the pulse.
We also like to set up the feel before we’ve played a note, so we might physically move with the groove in mind together for eight bars and then start. This is a standard practice in recording studios, but, for some reason, does not happen in performances. I guess this is just a result of the classical tradition and conservatorium training.137
When Gary France works with younger players, he often tries to get them to feel the pulse and groove on instruments other than marimbas before actually moving to the marimbas. “They [younger performers] often play too fast and without sensitivity. I have them play the rhythms on practice pads and other non-pitched instruments in order to establish a strong rhythmic union.” 138 SSgt. Matthew Thomas has had similar experiences with player with less experience with the work.
This piece gives each player the huge responsibility of ‘keeping time’ for the ensemble. In our arrangement, the groove is held mostly by two players at a time. This requires both players to be solid time-keepers and also be able to listen and groove with one another. With the groups that we’ve come across, this was the biggest issue. Another issue was just the awareness of the energy being created (or not) by this work. The arrangement implies certain textures and it is imperative for these textures to be realized by the players and, most importantly, by the audience. 139
136 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006.
137 Philip South. email to the author, March 21, 2006.
138 Gary France. email to the author, March 13, 2006.
139 Matthew Thomas. email to the author, March 16, 2006.
110 Another question regarding the performance of Omphalo Centric Lecture has to do with the many ostinati that are written throughout the work. The basic question is in how to phrase them. Should they be phrased individually, or should they exist as a longer line? The responses to the questions regarding the performance of the ostinati varied greatly. Tracy Wiggins prefers to not phrase them much at all. He takes a very
“Reichian” approach to the performance of this minimalist concept of the treatment of the ostinato, so his ensembles tend to actively avoid any sense of agogic accent on the first note of the repetition. 140 Gary France tends to guide his ensembles toward a slight
acknowledgement of the phrase, but does not go so far as to actually seek out to fully
accent the beginning note of the repetition. 141 Matthew Thomas agrees with this concept
saying, “We viewed the ostinati as groove and approached them from that perspective.
We did make dynamic changes as needed to account for balance issues, but did not
phrase them in the traditional sense.” 142 Josep Vicent takes a slightly different approach
with the Amsterdam Percussion Group. He states, “I always like to show how the
grooves relate to different parts of the bar. Accents are, in my eyes, the richness in
music.” 143Obviously, these performers all have different manners of performing the
ostinati; however, the one thing that they all agree upon is that the piece must have a
well-defined groove. Without this groove and pulse, the piece simply does not work
140 Tracy Wiggins. email to the author, February 3, 2006. 141 Gary France. email to the author, March 13, 2006.
142 Matthew Thomas. email to the author, March 16, 2006.
143 Josep Vincent. Email to the author, March 11, 2006.
111 well, and nearly everyone that responded to any of the questions regarding the performance of the work agreed on the single point that no matter how the piece is rehearsed or performed, the players must achieve a high level of groove for the work to begin to take on a beautifully organic pulse and style.
112 CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
Nigel Westlake’s childhood and formative years laid the groundwork for his musical career, and that musical career has included performing on clarinet all over the world and composing musical works that have been performed by many ensembles. His first work for percussion ensemble, Omphalo Centric Lecture, has become standard literature for many groups. This work has become popular enough that many performers have now begun experimenting with ways in which they may put their own personal stamp on the work. Westlake has stated that he accepts these alterations to his work as long as they are done in the spirit of the work.
Westlake’s current professional life includes very little performing since he has dedicated himself to composition full time. He composes art music for various ensembles, but his primary way of supporting himself is through his film music. He has written musical scores for many different formats including television, telemovies, documentaries, feature length movies, and IMAX movies.
113 Westlake’s music often employs percussion instruments, and there are several
compositions, in addition to Omphalo Centric Lecture, that principally utilize percussion instruments. Two of his works for percussion are strongly influenced by his work in the film industry. The first of these is Penguin Circus, which comes directly from his score to the IMAX film Antarctica. The other is a score that was created to be played with a silent film, The Invisible Men. He also has written a work in order for him to perform with the Australian percussion ensemble Synergy. That work, Malachite Glass, features
an amplified bass clarinet with percussion ensemble. His most recent work for
percussion ensemble is Kalabash. This work was written as a follow up to Omphalo
Centric Lecture. Both are marimba quartets; however, Kalabash is written for an
ensemble of advanced performers.
Further study of the percussion works of Nigel Westlake could take on a
comparison of the first marimba quartet and the follow up composition. Omphalo was
written twenty years prior to Kalabash, so one would assume that there would have been
at least some change in the style of the works. One could also consider the use of the
marimba in Westlake’s percussion works. Nearly all of the works use the marimba, but
the treatment of the instrument could be explored. One other possibility would be to
explore the influence that Synergy has had on the composer. Many of the percussion
works were written for that ensemble, and a researcher may want to explore that
relationship.
114 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ford, Andrew. “Nigel Westlake: Composer Nigel Westlake Talks About Writing Music for Films.” Radio National. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/music/mshow/s1124905.htm.
France, Gary. Email to the author. February 20, 2006.
_____. email to the author. March 13, 2006.
_____. email message to author. March 21, 2006.
Graham, Jillian. “Collaboration in Creation – an Interview with Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
“H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellow 2004 – Nigel Westlake.” Australian National University School of Music. http://www.anu.edu.au/music/people/artists.php.
Hell has Harbour Views. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/guide/netw/200501/highlights/248239.htm.
Jones, Timothy. email to the author. March 24, 2006. 2:42 PM CST.
Kroslakova, Katarina. “Inspiration Begins as a Single Note………” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
Lalor, Stephen. “Three Post-1970 Australian Pieces.” Three Australian Music Centre, Sydney. 1995.
Mackay, Bill. “Nigel Westlake, Composer/Performer.” Sounds Australian, Spring 1989.
Meyer, John. “Pigs & Penguins.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
Moersch, William. email to the author, January 18, 2006.
_____. email to the author. March 6, 2006
115 Neville, Peter. email to the author. March 22, 2006.
South, Philip. email to the author. January 13, 2006.
_____. email to the author, January 14, 2006.
_____. email to the author. January 15, 2006.
_____. email to the author. March 2, 2006.
_____. email to the author. March 3, 2006.
_____. email to the author. March 21, 2006.
Strachan, Laurie. Sydney Morning Herald, January 1998, Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
Thomas, Matthew. email to the author. March 16, 2006.
Thompson, Peter. “The Wisdom Interviews: Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. August 11, 2002, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
Vincent, Josep. email to the author. March 11, 2006.
Westlake, Jan. email to the author, January 25, 2006.
_____. “About Nigel Westlake.” Rimshot Music. February 2005, http://www.rimshot.com.au.
_____. email to the author, February 7, 2006
_____. email to the author. February 13, 2006.
_____. email to the author, February 13, 2006.
_____. email to the author. February 27, 2006.
_____. “What is Rimshot Music? – Self-publish & Flourish.” Rimshot Music. http://www.rimshot.com.au.
Westlake, Nigel. Omphalo Centric Lecture. Rimshot Music, 1984.
_____. Omphalo Centric Lecture – Synergy Percussion 1985 Version. Unpublished.
116 _____. “Music that is Important to Me.” Queensland Symphony Orchestra Program Guide, May 1997, 4.
_____. “Westlake Biography Information.” Australian Music Centre. http://www.amcoz.com.au/composers/composer.asp?id=345.
_____. email to the author. January 28, 2006.
Wiggins, Tracy. email to the author. March 14, 2006.
_____. email to the author. February 3, 2006.
117 APPENDIX A
OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE: THE PUBLISHED VERSION FOR FOUR MARIMBAS
118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 APPENDIX B
OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE: THE 1985 SYNERGY VERSION FOR TWO MARIMBAS
139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 APPENDIX C
BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE PROVIDED BY JAN WESTLAKE
161 Age 10 began learning clarinet from father, Donald Westlake.
Boy Soprano Chorister for St James Choir in Sydney from 1968 - 1972 ..became head chorester
Attended St Andrew's Cathedral School (2 years) & N.S.W. Conservatorium of Music High School (2 years)
As a teenager formed "garage " rock bands with his friends including "eggs benedict " which went on to perform publicly (anywhere they could get a gig) original compositions as well as transcriptions of songs by Frank Zappa, King Crimson, Genesis, etc.
Left school in 10th grade to study the clarinet full time in 1974 with father Donald Westlake who was the principal clarinetist with the sydney symphony Orchestra for 20 years. His mother, Heather, was a violinist with the same orchestra.
1975 commenced a professional career doing recording sessions & orchestral work. His first national tour was at age 17 with Ballet Victoria (featuring Russian dancers Valery & Galina Panov.) His first recording for release was at age 19 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra playing 2nd bass clarinet in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. During this time also performed with a folk band called "Flying Fish" (original compositions) & rock band "Eggs Benedict".
1979 Nigel & Jan get together & subsequently start planning for a future band & apply for government funding. Receive funding from Australia Council to form "Magic Puddin Band" 1979 Formed the Magic Puddin’ Band "a revolutionary ensemble blending classical, jazz, rock, and ethnic music" original instrumentation included oboe (doubling cor anglais), clarinet (doubling b. cl), bassoon (doubling sax), electric viola, bass, tuned percussion (Michael Askill) & drums (Greg Sheehan). By the 4th season ('82) the instrumentation had evolved to a more jazz orietated lineup of flute, sax, cl / b.cl, electric viola, voice, piano, percussion, drums. This band played all original compositions written by members of the band & performed in alternative venues such as town halls etc rather than in pubs & clubs. This band developed an enthusaiastic following & the concerts were always an event. Disbanded end of 1982
162 Also in 1979, four members of the Magic Puddin band were asked to form a band to accompany the inaugural season of The Flying Fruit Fly Circus, a children's circus (children are the performers) The first shows of this circus were so warmely received that the FFFC has gone on to become hugely successful, touring internationally & forming a selective secondary school which also focuses on the performing art of circus. Nigel did 3 seasons with the circus including a tour of Canada. (Vancouver & Edmonton)
1982 joined drummer Greg Sheehan's "Utungan Percussion" playing bass drum, but had to leave due to illness
1982 Studied composition at the Australian Film and Television School with William Motzing.
1983 Studied briefly with Theo Leovendie in Holland while studying bass clarinet with Harry Sparnaay.
1983 First son, Joel, born 17th oct 1983, the same day as Nigel was offered his first commission to write for film by Film Australia ( "Marathon" - a documentary about an Australian marathon runner.)
Upon return to australia from Holland, formed a 3 piece band "Touchwood" with percussionists Michael Askill & Graeme Leak. Wrote Omphalo Centric Lecture for this band (B.Cl & 2 percussion) & later adapted it for the percussion quartet Synergy
1984 adapted "Omphalo Centric Lecture" for Synergy
1984 3rd prize jazz Action Society for Onomatopoeia ( for bass cl & digital delay) 1984 Formed Magic Puddin Trio with Greg Sheehan (percussion) & Cleis Pearce (electric viola)
1985 Bought land at St Albans NSW (a rural/wilderness location about 100km from Sydney) & commenced building a house for our family. 1985 Co - composed & performed (live) the score for "The Circus of Tomorrow" (an offshoot of the Flying Fruit Fly circus) with percussionists Michael Askill & Dal Babare. Recorded & co- produced album release of score 1985 won 1st prize jazz action society for "Our Mum Was a Waterfall"
1986 second son, Eli, born on 22nd July,
1986 Invited to join The Australia Ensemble (resident at the University of NSW) - a chamber music ensemble (vln, vla, cello, pno, fl, cl ) that performed standard repetoire & some comissioned new works. Toured extensively through out Australia & also to the USA, UK, Europe, Russia, Japan, China, India, Korea & New Zealand with this group.
163 1987 Composed his first feature film score "Candy Regentag" 1987 composed "Moving Air" for SYNERGY 1987 composed "Fabian Theory" for Synergy for solo percussionist & digital delay
1988 won gold medal at the New York International Radio Festival for Best Original Music for a theme written for ABC radio ("Cudmirrah Fanfare") 1988 Co - composed 4 part documentary "Roads to Xanadu" with Michael Askill. Produced an LP & CD of this soundtrack. 1988 Composed "Entomology" for mixed ensemble & pre-recorded tape of insect sounds. 1988 House at st albans completed & moved in with his family. Built studio at st albans. (St Albans is in the Macdonald Valley, & is a small rural community far from suburbia, ... over 50 miles from a shopping centre . For the first few years of living at st albans, Nigel was spending quite a bit of time away touring with the Australia Ensemble & but his position with this Ensemble also allowed for many weeks to be spent at home. It was during these extended periods at home in the country that Nigel got more & more involved in composition. Lived at st albans until 1997 when we relocated back to Sydney for our sons to attend high school. )
1989 composed "Refractions at Summercloud Bay" for the Australia Ensemble
1990 composed Malachite Glass (perc. quartet & B.Cl) for Synergy. Nigel performed & recorded this piece with Synergy playing bass clarinet.
1990 composed & produced Imax film score "Antarctica". CD released of filmscore
1991 commissioned to adapt the score from "Antarctica" to a suite for Guitar & Orchestra to be toured in Australia by John Williams in celebration of the ABC's (australian broadcasting commission) 60th birthday
1992 resigned from The Australia Ensemble to pursue composition
1992 invited to compose & to perform in guitarist John William's band "Attacca" for tours of the UK & Australia.
1993 Car accident ... Nigel suffered multiple fractions to the pelvis.
1993 Awarded an Australia Council grant to study orchestration with Richard Meale & conducting with Richard Mills.
1993 wrote score for Bell Shakespeare's theatre production of Romeo & Juliet
1993 composed 3D Imax film "Imagine" filmscore
164 1993 composed "Out of the Blue" for string orchestra
1994 Antarctica Suite performed & recorded for CD release by John Williams with The London Symphony Orchestra. Released on Sony Classical cd "from Australia"
1994 composed the score for "Celluloid Heroes" (a 4 part series celebrating 100 yrs of Australian cinema)
1994 composed feature filmscore for "Children of the Revolution"
1994 composed "Songs from the Forest " for 2 guitars for John Williams & Tim Kain which they toured & released on cd "Mantis & the Moon (Sony)
1994 Composed 1st string quartet titled High Tension Wires for Electra String Quartet
1995 Composed the score to "Babe" cd released
1995 Composed Bass clarinet concerto "Invocations" . Premiered at the Adelaide Arts festival with Nigel as soloist with the Adelaide Chamber Orchestra who commissioned the piece.
1996 Composed The Invisible Men for percussion quartet & silent movie for synergy
1996 Composed the score for "The Edge" an Imax film about The Blue Mountains (a world heritage area 100 km west of Sydney NSW) CD released of this filmscore.
1996 Toured " Invocations" bass clarinet concerto as soloist with various australian orchestras
1997 Composed the filmscore for "Babe, Pig in the City"
1997 Composed the filmscore for "A Little Bit of Soul" . CD released of score
1998 composed Piano Sonata No. 1 for Michael Kieran Harvey. This piece won the Jean Bogan prize for solo piano composition
1999 Composed "Images" guitar concerto. for Tim Kain & Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra
1999 Composed "Oscillations" for piano duo for Australian Virtuosi
Several of his compositions were incorporated in feature international T.V. broadcasts during the Sydney Olympics 2000.
165 2000 Composed "Between Silence & Moonlight" for symphony orchestra for Symphony Australia (Melbourne)
2000 Composed "Piano Concerto" for Michael Kieran Harvey & the Melbourne S.Orchestra
2000 composed Imax film score "Solarmax" . CD of filmscore released in USA by Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago
2001 composed Urban Myths for piano trio. Accepted position at Australian Film Television & Radio School running the screen composition department ( a temporary position)
2002 Music from "Celluloid Heroes" released on CD
2002 Composed "The Nugget" feature film score
2002 Composed "Horseplay" feature film score
2003 Composed "Piano Trio" for the Macquarie trio
2003 Composed "Six Fish" for Guitar quartet for Saffire
2003 Composed " Jovian Moons" for guitar & piano
2003 Composed "Shimmering Blue" for symphony orchestra for Symphony Australia (Westlern Australia)
In 2004 he was awarded the "HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship" at the Australian National University. As part of this fellowship composed "Kalabash" for percussion quartet (...a kind of "Son of Omphalo" 20 years after omphalo was written.) Also revised his Piano concerto, his guitar concerto (Images) & prepared a symphonic suite of his film music .
2004 Composed telemovie filmscore "Hell Has Harbour Views"
2005 composed his "String Quartet No 2" for the Goldner quartet
2005 - 06 composing percussion concerto for Rebecca Lagos & the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
2005 - 06 composing Telemovie "Stepfather of the Bride"
166 APPENDIX D
DISKOGRAPHY OF THE RECORDINGS OF OMPHALO CENTRIC LECTURE THAT WERE USED FOR THIS STUDY
167 Amsterdam Percussion Group – Josep Vicent, African Circle, RBA Musica S.L. Barcelona
Michael Askill, Australian Percussion, Celestial Harmonies 13085-2.
Base 4 Percussion Quartet, One, Reler Records B4CD001.
Elbtonal Schlagwerk, Time Twist, Arte Nova Classics 74321 80773 2.
The Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble, World Music Tour, DMP CD-514.
PercaDu, Works for Marimba and Percussion, Jerusalem Music Center JMC CD-124.
Synergy Percussion, Omphalo Centric Lecture - Nigel Westlake, Synergy CD 02.
Tetrafide Percussion, Tetrafide Percussion, TFP 01.
United States Air Force Band of the Golden West, West Coast Impact, This disk is not for sale.
168