BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
If you’ve been to any major Australian event in the past couple of decades, you’re likely to have heard the music of Christopher Gordon.
The Sydney composer has written music for the official celebrations of the 2001 Centenary of Federation of Australia, the Millennium Eve telecast, the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Sydney, and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
In fact, the latter event will have its music taken out of the stadium and placed into the concert hall this month, when the National Capital Orchestra leads Christopher’s Ceremonial Games at Llewellyn Hall on September 15.
Christopher, whose work also extends into the world of film and television (think Mao’s Last Dancer, Ladies in Black, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World), has found a great deal of success in Australia – though he says that’s not why he has stayed here to build his musical career.
In this interview, we chat about his ceremonial music, his advice for emerging composers, and his deep connection to the nation (including his role as a deputy mayor of one Australian city – no joke).
Ceremonial Games was composed for the opening of the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. How has your relationship with the work evolved since?
Like most things written for a specific occasion, it has been hibernating in a drawer ever since its big outing. The middle movement gets pulled out every now and then when I give guest lectures because it is a good example of how a composer (or me, anyway) responds to a particular narrative. I’ll be explaining that in the pre-concert talk I am giving. But this will be the first performance of the music since the games, thanks to Leonard Weiss and his inventive programming and dedication to Australian music.
What does it mean to have a work performed after the event of its commission?
If it works as pure music then, of course, it will work in the concert hall. We can identify with the spirit of the music rather than the event.
This is not the only work you’ve composed for ceremonial purposes. What goes into a composition when your purpose is to excite, motivate, or unite the people?
For events like the Commonwealth Games, it is necessary that the music be accessible and enjoyed by as many people as possible; that’s an enormous spectrum of tastes! The brief was that it be orchestral, so that immediately gave me some focus and parameters. The purpose is to give excitement, thrills, and grandeur to the event.
Outside ceremonies, your career is widely centred on film – whether orchestrating or composing. What is it that you enjoy about creating mood, or emphasising an existing narrative?
Contrary to the general perception, I have scored only a few films – about one every five or six years, which is hardly a career! Perhaps it is because quite a few of them have been high-profile pictures – the luck of the draw. Speaking of which, my latest is Ladies in Black, which opens around the country next week.
I do enjoy exploring the psychological aspects of a character in a dramatic situation. As a teenager, I was very attracted to Wagner and Britten because they understand and portray character so well, and I guess those influences are still evident in my music.
I always felt I would be comfortable with opera, but that opportunity hasn’t arisen. I am currently composing my second full-length orchestral ballet at the moment for performance next year, so I am finding a very happy dramatic outlet there.
Unlike the tales we hear of composers and artists who leave Australia to “make it” in their careers, you’re based in Sydney and you’ve achieved success widely throughout the country. How has remaining in Australia served your career?
To be honest, I don’t think it has helped my career; certainly not the film part of it, anyway. It is difficult to be a full-time composer in Australia, though I have managed it for most of the last 20 years.
I stayed because it is home. It was also a warm and friendly place; I’m not sure how true that is at the moment, so we need to do what we can to get things back on track. Which is why I got into politics, being Deputy Mayor of Ryde, New South Wales for the last year. Balancing composing and Council is challenging but very rewarding.
What advice would you give other young composers looking to follow in your footsteps and create their own musical voices in this country?
Finding your own voice is the most difficult thing for most of us, but it is also the most important. Mahler was born Mahler! That’s rare. Vaughan Williams was almost 40 before he found his voice, and he worked rigorously at it. It is something most of us have to work at. The superficial ‘tics’ tend to be there early on; but a deep, resonant, individual voice takes experiment and technique, and that takes commitment.
Hear Christopher Gordon’s Ceremonial Games under the baton of Leonard Weiss with the National Capital Orchestra, 7.30pm September 15 in Llewellyn Hall. The event will also feature soprano Louise Page OAM with Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, and Smetana’s Vltava. A pre-concert talk will take place at 6.30pm.
Shout the writer a coffee?
No amount too much or little. Thanks for supporting Stephanie as she volunteers her time for Australian arts journalism.
[purchase_link id=”12246″ style=”button” color=”yellow” text=”Pay what you like”]
Images supplied. Pay what you like securely via PayPal. We protect your personal information.
