Homage
for solo piano (1989)
duration: 3’
GRT • 008
recording available
Satellite Mapping
Complete works for solo piano (1989–2014)
Amir Farid
Move Records, MD3402, 2016
score available from
Australian Music Centre
program note
Professor Peter Dennison (1942-1989) once remarked that contradictory accidentals juxtaposed in different parts should be referred to as ‘cross–relations’ and not ‘false–relations’ since the term ‘false’ might imply that there was something wrong with them. The idea behind cross–relations subsequently became important in my writing. Dennison always taught that dissonance is the life–blood of music, and this is a premise upon which my music is based.
This homage is composed around a cross–relation motive, which is loosely in the style of Bach, being the style in which Dennison tutored us. The inherently chromatic nature of the motive, however, leads it into harmonic territory more closely associated with composers like Shostakovich. My part, as composer of this homage, was perhaps secondary to my desire to pay an academic debt to the professor within a style that he understood and was capable of imparting with remarkable clarity.
review
“If the listener allows CD2 to run on for another three minutes after the final track, s/he will discover a piece which is not identified in the paperwork. The “hidden track” is Homage, written in 1989. Apparently the composer did not think that the standard of this work was suitable for inclusion in the listings. Too much Bach and not enough Greenbaum? Certainly it is somewhat different from the later music, yet is quite appropriate, given the context. In any case, it needs to be included in order to give accuracy to the claim of 25 years of piano composition: 1989-2014.”
Gwen Bennett, Music Trust E–Zine, September 2016