Dilettante Music

It was on one of the first of the many trips by this British composer to Australia that, he was impressed by the aerial view of the "flayed raw landscape of central Australia."

Finnissy had closely studied the music of the aboriginal people of Australia. Through close study of many examples of it, he absorbed its smallest typical basic motives, and used them as the basis for a series of works with titles in aboriginal languages. "Red Earth" shares material with some of these pieces. The method of construction of the piece is to juxtapose blocks or regions of sound, sometimes shifting among these instantaneously, with no transition, in the nature of a quick cut in a film. The brilliant colors of the land and the feelings of lament for its ruined surface are expressed in a burst of "narrow pitch bands" in woodwinds and brass, while the violins add reflections of light in brief, tremolandos. Snakes and insects are suggested by tambourine and maracas. Roiling string figures suggest dense foliage. Rolls on drums evoke the feelings of awe and even the threatening qualities of the landscape.

There are prominent solo parts for oboe, piccolo, viola, and a pair of didjeridus (the long tubular native wind instrument). These tend to suggest individual humans; even the didjeridus with their commanding, proclamatory tone seem to suggest the entry of human beings as a group into this geography, in addition to seeming to represent western and native cultures. Duets for two harps suggest other forms of native music. However, the final solos for these instruments is interrupted by immense blows from the percussion: The earth re-asserts its permanence and majesty in distinction to the brevity of human life. The music, then, is harsh, uncompromising, and dramatic. ~ All Music Guide