Program notes of Maria's works are available here for inclusion in programs of performances. After each note is a download link to the program notes in both Word and PDF formats.

Ceol na Fidhle (1999)

Ceol na Fidhle (pronounced ‘kee-OL na fiddle’), for violin and percussion, is based on Celtic bagpipe and fiddle tunes.  The Gaelic title means “tunes for highland fiddle.”  Some of the tunes are obvious while others are almost hidden. Prologue starts with a bang, and is followed by Hornpipe where a familiar tune dances and then scurries away beneath a disguise of accompanying notes and rhythmic displacement.  The Boatman slows the pace and melodic decoration suggests the sound of bagpipes playing this rather wistful song.  Finally, Reel returns to the highly-charged drive of the Prologue with a frantic and virtuosic ending.

Ceol na Fidhle was written in 1999 for Tasmanian musicians Rachel Bremner and Tom O’Kelly and has received many subsequent performances, most notably by the Thornton School of Music Contemporary Music Ensemble at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles.

Ceol na Fidhle (1999) (Word document - 32 KB)
Ceol na Fidhle (1999) (PDF file - 49 KB)

Dancing at the Camerata (2003)

The Florentine Camerata was a group of musicians and ‘literati’ of the late sixteenth century that gathered to discuss the changing musical practices of the day, and saw the development of Baroque monodic vocal style and the first opera, ‘Euridice.’  The Camerata would engage in fierce debates about dissonance and counterpoint, and helped usher in a new era that strived to capture the emotion of the text in the music. During this period, music that included brass instruments was widely performed. Impressions of the Florentine Camerata, brass music, and Baroque ornamentation and dissonance were the inspiration for this piece: a madrigal, a recitative, and a quirky tango. 

Dancing at the Camerata was commissioned by Ars Musica Australis for the Australian Youth Orchestra, and premiered in Sydney in October, 2003.

Dancing at the Camerata (2003) (Word document - 96 KB)
Dancing at the Camerata (2003) (PDF file - 65 KB)

Di Primavera (1998, rev. 2001) for guitar and marimba

Di Primavera for guitar and marimba was inspired by a trip to Italy, an astonishing place that overflows with artistry in every aspect of its culture.  Di Primavera (“of Spring”) is reminiscent of warm spring breezes inviting a late afternoon thunderstorm in the Tuscan hills, the lusciousness of Botticelli’s painting “Primavera,” and echoes of a melodic idea derived from Monteverdi's fourth book of madrigals.

Di Primavera is featured on David Malone's recording of Tasmanian guitar music, Fretsongs.

Di Primavera (1998, rev. 2001) (Word document - 21 KB)
Di Primavera (1998, rev. 2001) (PDF file - 61 KB)

A Feather of Blue (2000)

Commissioned in 2000 by the New Zealand Trio, A Feather of Blue takes its title from a phrase in a poem called “A View From A Window” by New Zealand writer Kevin Ireland.  I have always admired the wry humour and brightness of Kevin Ireland’s writing and many years ago set three of his poems for soprano and mixed ensemble.  As a kind gesture Mr Ireland sent me a copy of his book of poems “Skinning A Fish”, and I was particularly struck by the imagery of colours, flowers, feathers and birds in this poem, which illustrates rain pouring down a window pane and giving way to a burst of sunshine after a storm.

A Feather of Blue appears on Spark by the NZ Trio.

A Feather of Blue (2000) (Word document - 95 KB)
A Feather of Blue (2000) (PDF file - 65 KB)

Maui Tikitiki a Taranga (1998)

Maui Tikitiki a Taranga ("Maui formed in the topknot of Taranga") was a demi-god found in the tribal myths of the Maori people of New Zealand.

Maui, the fifth and youngest child, was born at the edge of the sea.  His mother, Taranga, thought he was stillborn, and wrapped him in a tuft of her hair and set him adrift.  He was cared for by the seaweed until a breeze blew him ashore, where he was saved and brought up by one of his great-ancestors.

Maui was a great prankster.  In one of his mischievous moods he decided to put out all the fires in the world.  To bring fire back, he had to find Mahuika, the goddess of fire.  He was awestruck upon meeting her, but decided to play a trick on her by taking fire from her fingernails one at a time, until she realised his game and threw fire to the ground, catching everything alight.  Maui changed himself into a hawk to escape the flames, which singed his feathers.  He called upon his ancestor to send rain and drench the fire, depriving Mahuika of her powers.

Maui decided to defeat death by journeying to where the earth meets the sky, where lived his great-ancestress Hine nui te po ("Great Hine the Night").  He was accompanied by many birds, and told them his plan to enter the body of the sleeping Hine and so defeat death.  The birds sat quietly trying not to laugh as Maui, in the form of a caterpillar, crawled towards Hine.  Suddenly the fantail could be quiet no longer and laughed aloud, dancing about with delight.  Hine awoke with a start, realised Maui's trickery, and he was killed.

Maui Tikitiki a Taranga, concerto for flute and orchestra, was premiered by James Walker (flute) and the University of Southern California Symphony Orchestra in November 1998, conductor Jung-Ho Pak.

Maui Tikitiki a Taranga (1998) (Word document - 22 KB)
Maui Tikitiki a Taranga (1998) (PDF file - 84 KB)

Poems of a Bright Moon (2000)

Poems of a Bright Moon for flute/alto flute, clarinet and piano was inspired by the Hsiang-Yang Songs of Li Po, an 8th-century Chinese poet of the T’ang Dynasty (ca.618-906 A.D.).  On a visit to New Mexico in the United States, the discovery of the poet William Carlos Williams and the art work of Georgia O’Keeffe led to the poetry of Li Po, which conjures up visions of mountains and rivers, also very much part of the New Mexico landscape.  Li Po was something of a mischievous travelling minstrel and liked to indulge in the drink somewhat.  A legend says that “while out drunk in a boat, he fell into a river and drowned trying to embrace the moon.”   The moon appears in over a third of his poems, and the opportunity to combine Li Po’s images of moonlight with the rich dark tones of the alto flute was irresistible.  The individual titles of the movements of this piece come directly from the poems, and the music attempts to evoke the spirit of the titles: “Hsien mountain rises above emerald Han river,” “On a moonlit night, a recluse plays his pale white ch’in” and “A pure ten-thousand-mile wind arrives.”

 Poems of a Bright Moon was commissioned by Ethos trio with funding assistance from Creative New Zealand.

Poems of a Bright Moon (2000) (Word document - 160 KB)
Poems of a Bright Moon (2000) (PDF file - 69 KB)

River Mountain Sky (2004)

Commissioned by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra to mark Tasmania’s Bicentenary, River Mountain Sky suggests an impression of the beautiful island that has been my home since 1998.  It celebrates a landscape of rivers and mountains, painted by orange and pink skies at dawn and dusk; a landscape crowned by dramatic cloud formations that give way to quiet nights when stars sparkle across a clear clean southern sky.  River Mountain Sky portrays mist over the estuary, sunshine dancing off a bright blue river and cascades of rushing water, yielding to darkness and the peace of evening.

River Mountain Sky (2004) (Word document - 95 KB)
River Mountain Sky (2004) (PDF file - 63 KB)

A short biography for program notes

Maria Grenfell (b. 1969) was born in Malaysia, and completed composition studies in Christchurch, New Zealand, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she was also a lecturer.  Maria Grenfell’s work takes much of its influence from poetic, literary and visual sources and from non-Western music and literature.  Her works are performed by musicians in New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Europe, including the Vienna Piano Trio, Stellar Collective, Antipoduo (the Netherlands), the New Zealand Trio, and the Australia Ensemble.  Her music has been commissioned or performed by all the Symphony Australia orchestras, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Wellington Sinfonia and the Christchurch Symphony.   Maria Grenfell’s music is broadcast regularly in Australia and New Zealand, and is released on Kiwi-Pacific and Trust CDs.  She lives in Hobart, Australia, with her husband, guitarist David Malone, and their son Alexander.

Short Biography (Word document - 20 KB)
Short Biography (PDF file - 39 KB)