Last week Professor Alistair Noble, the Head of UNE's School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS), delivered an intriguing presentation on the life and work of the enigmatic Australian composer, Moya Henderson (1941 - present)
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The lecture was a part of the HASS research seminar series, and featured a detailed appraisal of Ms Henderson's Prelude No.1 for Piano (1969).
As both a pianist and composer himself it was fitting that Mr Noble offered insights into Ms Henderson's oeuvre.
Prof Noble first gave a glimpse into composer's early adult life with the nuns in a convent. Fortunately for the Australian music scene the nuns permitted her to study music at University of Queensland (UQ) and she never looked back.
Ms Henderson went on to be inaugural composer in residence at the Sydney Opera House, with her studies continuing at Cologne's Musikhochschule.
In Germany she won the prestigious Kranichsteiner prize for composition, the only Australian ever to do so.
She returned to pursue her career in Australia, notably penning an opera on the Lindy Chamberlain story.
Whereas a prelude is normally a brief introduction to a larger work, Mr Noble characterised this "sonic escape machine" as a prelude to Henderson's whole radical career in composition.
He thus analysed in depth Prelude No.1, written in her first year of study at UQ. First Mr Noble played a piano recording, then he examined in detail the sheet music illustrating Ms Henderson's unique style of notational innovation.
Prof Noble drew attention to the lack of time signature or sharp and flat symbols. He explained that she initially used just 11 notes out of a 12 note scale "to create a sense of anticipation that was resolved later".
Prof Noble said she also deployed "chromatic clusters whereby the black and white piano notes would all be played together".
He said most distinctively she created "whole tone hexachords, hinging in and out of each other, in a dialectic of the hexachord talking to itself".
Ms Henderson's compositions were inspired by classical music, bird song and children as well as being influenced by her religious background. A strong theme in her work is 'escape'.
While she did receive several awards, Prof Noble contended that her exceptional contribution to music deserves greater attention and a more nuanced treatment than it has hitherto enjoyed. The seminar was well received by a hybrid audience of 65, both in the room and online.
Prof Noble is known to many as a regular commentator on ABC Classic FM radio. He was formerly associate Dean at the Australian National University and later a Dean of the Australian Institute of Music.
He was a founding member of the music ensemble Lachrymae Musarum (Sydney) and the Newling Ensemble (Armidale).
His compositions have been performed in Australia and abroad.
The HASS weekly research seminars are free and open to the public. Contact Sandy Boucher at UNE for the schedule and to join the email list: aboucher@une.edu.au.
