Dyirabun (2020)

I grew up in a part of Sydney that bordered onto two things, the bush and the great Hawkesbury

River. I would go down to the river in summer to swim and to jump into it, and in the winter I would

go on long walks in the surrounding bush. For this work I wanted to portray something quintessentially

Australian, and my first thought was my beloved Hawkesbury.

 

Dyriabun is the traditional Dharug word for this great river, and my piece takes inspiration from it in

three different movements. The first, a stream. The guitar and piano meander peacefully, being taken

along the calm banks of the many offshoots this great river feeds. The second, a river running free.

The piece gains a little movement and pulse as the bulk of the river runs constantly and freely.

Finally, the rapids, an onslought of water. The Hawkesbury doesn't have any rapids, but when I was

writing this piece it felt like the natural conclusion that accompanies so many great rivers.

 

In this work, you will hear many stages of the mighty river, the mighty Dyirabun.