Performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giordano Bellincampi.
Leonie Holmes Photo: Gareth Watkins / Lilburn Trust / Wallace Arts Trust
This is the world première performance of a new work by Auckland-based composer Leonie Holmes, commissioned by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for it's Premier Series concert, 'Poetry and Passion'.
The work takes its inspiration from the following lines in Tessa Stephens’ poem Cycles:
'And life is tasted on the tongue
For just a little moment
Then, time’s toll must be paid
Matter melts, dries to dust
Shimmers into nothing
Yet something.
Hint of a new dawn.'
Just shortly before the beginning of this concert, the orchestra made the difficult and sensible decision to bar the audience from attending, owing to the possibility of a Covid-19 outbreak in the city. The orchestra performed to an empty hall, an RNZ Concert live broadcast and a live video stream.
The conductor, Giordano Bellincampi, spoke to camera and perceptively pointed out that while the pandemic was tragic and disruptive, we would get through it and that it could be seen in the context of the history of art and music as "Just a Little Moment" - adding an extra layer of meaning to Leonie Holmes's title.
Recorded by RNZ Concert, Auckland Town Hall, 12 November 2020
Producer: Tim Dodd; Engineers: Rangi Powick, Adrian Hollay
