Fanfare for the Muses

Fanfare to women and the moon for 9 women’s voices

Vocal nonet: 3 sopranos, 3 mezzo-sopranos and 3 contraltos

Text fragments: Sappho, translated by Mary Barnard

Fanfare for the Muses was commissioned as acknowledgement to Becky for inaugurating the first Composing Women’s Festival in 1991. Seven short poems circa 600 BCE by Sappho, translated by Mary Barnard, form the basis of the work. Each of the nine female voices carries their own line with harmonies moving through various Greek modes. The piece, with a setting that critics called ‘Brittenesque,” explores women and the moon, space and sound with circular musical and spatial motifs.

Written in 1994, this 5-minute piece is suitable for a skilled women’s SSA choir. It was commissioned by Wendy Lasica, Festival Coordinator and the Composing Women’s Festival Organising Committee – Dr Therese Radic, chair, to open the Second Composing Women Festival in Melbourne June 29th 1994 and The Muses, a group of nine Melbourne singers led by Jeannie Marsh premiered it to open the Festival.