Peter Sculthorpe Irkanda I for violin alone (1955).
‘Irkanda’ is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning a remote and lonely place, and this work is the first of a series of four pieces bearing this title. Irkanda I is in one movement, and in it, long, melodic lines and bird-sounds are contrasted with brittle, rhythmic sections. The opening melody follows three hundred and sixty degree contour of the hills around Canberra, where most of the work was written. It might be added that my use of bird-song stems from suggestions in the writing of the Australian composer and music critic, Henry Tate (1873 – 1926).

Published by Faber Music.